Twitch reinstates ex-President Trump’s Twitch account
Twitch has announced that the three-year ban of former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on the gaming stream platform has been lifted. A statement from Twitch confirmed the reversal of Trump’s ban from the platform.
“We have reinstated former President Trump’s Twitch channel,” the statement read. “We believe it is valuable to hear directly from the presidential candidates whenever possible. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for President of the United States.
The Amazon-owned platform temporarily suspended President Trump’s account in 2020 for violating its hateful behavior and harassment, and reinstated it two weeks later. Twitch suspended the account after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 due to “current extraordinary circumstances and the president’s inflammatory rhetoric,” before issuing an indefinite ban two weeks later, according to a Twitch spokesperson.
Four people died and 174 policemen were injured in the attack. According to the New York Times, three other police officers involved in the riot died in the days and weeks after January 6.
Twitch is the latest internet platform to unban one of Trump’s accounts. Meta revoked Trump’s restrictions on Facebook and Instagram a week ago.
Trump first joined Twitch in 2019 during his presidential campaign against President Joe Biden. His campaign team used the platform to stream his rallies and other events, starting with a keynote address in Minneapolis.
Since then, politics has carved out a significant corner on Twitch, with live streams of moments like the recent Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and even its own official category. Pundits and commentators on both sides of the political aisle also regularly broadcast live streams of political events and speeches and host debates on Twitch.
