Topline
Morning Consult/Politico polled more than three-quarters of five Republicans. They said they plan to log on to the former President Donald Trump's social media platform, TRUTH Social. But few Democrats said that they would join them, despite Trump declaring they are welcome.
On January 9, 2020, Donald Trump, then-President, arrives at Huntington Center [+] in Toledo. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP through Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images
The Key Facts
A poll of 1,999 registered voters revealed that 27% of Republican respondents intend to use the platform "a lot," and 34% will use it "some". Only 20% of Republicans stated that they didn't intend to use the platform at all. 19% indicated that they will not be using it. 72% of Democrats said they didn't intend to use the site, while 7% said that they would use it "a lot", and 11% said that they will use it "some". The poll found that 53% of independents will not use the platform and 30% will either use it "a lot" (or "some"), while 33% said they will.
What to Watch
The website's beta version will be launched in November, ahead of its full rollout in the first half of next year. RightForge, a conservative-leaning internet infrastructure firm, will host the platform. Its CEO told Axios that the company plans to continue hosting the platform, even if it contains controversial comments.
Important Quote
Trump stated in a Tuesday statement that he invited people from all political backgrounds and all viewpoints to participate in the great American discussion.
Important Background
Trump's new company, the Trump Media and Technology Group, announced last week the creation of Truth Social. It called itself a "rival to liberal media consortium". The company will merge with a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which will fund large parts of the site. The shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, soared 17 times to $175 intra-day trading Friday. However, they have lost most of their gains and are now at $56.50 Wednesday morning. Trump Media and Technology Group also announced that it will launch a streaming service with "non-woke" programming and other "cancelproof" ventures in key areas, including payment processing and Web services.
Big Number
75 million. Martn Avila, CEO of RightForge, told Axios that this is the number of users Truth Social has in preparation.
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