The former president was banned from Facebook more than two years ago, after his followers attacked the US Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to stop certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
In a letter to Meta obtained by NBC News on Wednesday, Trump team argued that the ban “dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse” and should be rescinded.
Facebook and Twitter banned Trump a day after the January 6 attack, which has been linked to nine deaths including suicides among law enforcement.
Trump used Twitter to criticize his vice president, Mike Pence, for not stopping certification while the attack was in progress.
A congressional committee recommended that Trump be criminally charged in connection with the attack, the fate of hundreds of his supporters.
Twitter has lifted its ban on Donald Trump, allowing him to once again use the platform. Trump has not tweeted since March, however, choosing to remain on his own rival social media service, Truth Social.
Trump’s social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter have a combined following of 152 million followers. On Truth Social, he has less than 5 million followers.
Trump used Twitter and Facebook extensively when he ran for the presidency in 2016 and throughout his time in office.
Impeached over the Capitol attack but acquitted, Trump announced his 2024 run in November. In doing so he sought to take credit for Republicans winning back the US House in the midterm elections, though their majority was much narrower than expected and many candidates Trump endorsed suffered defeats.
