Conservatives reacted with joy after news broke Monday of Elon Musk’s dramatic, $44 billion takeover of Twitter, the powerful social media platform they have long accused of systematically silencing their voices.
The tech maven and world’s wealthiest man sealed the deal after an 11-day whirlwind that first saw resistance, then resignation from the San Francisco-based platform’s board of directors. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, said all along he wanted to take Twitter, where he has 80 million followers, private so he could ensure it operates as a free-speech forum for all.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) tweeted simply, “Free speech is making a comeback.”
Free speech is making a comeback. https://t.co/WMWZ4A4yHd
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 25, 2022
Actor James Woods enthused, “I’ve never been a proponent of electric cars, nor do I ever wish to fly into space. That said, @elonmusk is a hero. He proved that capitalism will crush socialism every time. #BravoElonMusk.”
I’ve never been a proponent of electric cars, nor do I ever wish to fly into space.
That said, @elonmusk is a hero. He proved that capitalism will crush socialism every time. #BravoElonMusk
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 26, 2022
Sports maven Clay Travis chimed in, “Elon Musk has officially purchased Twitter for $54.20 a share. Absolutely monstrous win for free speech on social media. Feast on the left wing blue check tears as they realize their rigged marketplace of ideas is dying. Glorious.”
Elon Musk has officially purchased Twitter for $54.20 a share. Absolutely monstrous win for free speech on social media. Feast on the left wing blue check tears as they realize their rigged marketplace of ideas is dying. Glorious.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 25, 2022
Mathematics whiz and Thiel Capital exec Eric Weinstein cheered while pointing out, “I’m excited to see what happens next. Here’s to the future! But one request for @elonmusk: can you use Twitter Logs to show us how our communications were manipulated? Who was shaddowbanned or targeted by bots? How algorithms limited our reach? Why we were throttled?”
I’m excited to see what happens next. Here’s to the future!
But one request for @elonmusk: can you use Twitter Logs to show us how our communications were manipulated? Who was shaddowbanned or targeted by bots? How algorithms limited our reach? Why we were throttled? Etc. 🙏 https://t.co/XWBN42JIHG
— Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) April 25, 2022
Rep. Dan Crenshaw succinctly predicted the leftist hysteria that would follow the news of Musk’s purchase: “Cue the meltdowns.”
Cue the meltdowns
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) April 25, 2022
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) issued a shot series of tweets celebrating the day: “This is a great day to be conservative on Twitter. … Free speech is a foundation of American democracy. … Elon Musk buying Twitter terrifies the left because they don’t want their power to censor conservatives threatened.”
This is a great day to be conservative on Twitter.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 25, 2022
Free speech is a foundation of American democracy.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 25, 2022
Elon Musk buying Twitter terrifies the left because they don’t want their power to censor conservatives threatened.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 25, 2022
Mocking the leftist tilt at Twitter before Musk’s takeover, Hillel Neuer of UN Watch remarked sardonically, “I fear Elon Musk could undermine the ideological diversity, equity and inclusion at Twitter which currently maintains a careful balance of 98.7% for one side.”
I fear Elon Musk could undermine the ideological diversity, equity and inclusion at Twitter which currently maintains a careful balance of 98.7% for one side. pic.twitter.com/I6JeTuTx9k
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 25, 2022
Twitter acknowledged Musk’s purchase by announcing, “”Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.”
Musk himself issued a statement after the news broke of his purchase, saying, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Story cited here.