Donald Trump’s Twitch account has been reinstated after being "indefinitely" suspended following the January 6th, 2021, attacks on the US Capitol.
A Twitch spokesperson told PC Gamer, "We reinstated former President Trump’s Twitch channel. We believe there is value in hearing from Presidential nominees directly, when possible. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for US president."
The spokesperson added, "We continue to enforce our Community Guidelines and take necessary enforcement action when we identify violations of our rules. Twitch doesn’t have a ‘public figure policy,’ meaning all channels are equally subject to our guidelines, regardless of whether the channel belongs to a public figure."
Trump's Twitch channel was initially disabled the day after the Capitol attacks and banned indefinitely on January 20th, 2021, due to the "ongoing risk of further incitement of violence." This was Trump’s second Twitch suspension, following a two-week ban in 2020 for violating rules against hateful conduct and harassment. The indefinite suspension was imposed as Twitch stated that Trump's statements "continue to be interpreted as calls to action."
Earlier this week, Meta lifted restrictions on Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, which had been reinstated in January 2023. The reinstatement of Trump’s Twitch account appears to have caught many by surprise, as the channel is currently empty and still features the old Trump/Pence 2020 banner. It remains unclear whether the Trump campaign requested the reinstatement or if Twitch acted proactively. Notably, Mike Pence is not Trump’s running mate for 2024, partly due to Trump's reported support for threats against Pence during the Capitol attack.
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