“We believe there is value in hearing from the presidential candidates directly, when possible,” the streaming site said in a statement following the Republican National Convention.
Good news for Twitch announced Friday that it has restored former President Donald Trump's channel after he was banned from the platform in 2021.
Just weeks after lifting “barriers” on Trump’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, Twitch also welcomed the Republican presidential candidate back on Friday after he accepted the nomination at the Republican National Convention earlier this week.
“We have reactivated former President Trump’s Twitch channel. We believe there is value in hearing from presidential candidates directly, when possible. Trump is now the official Republican nominee for president of the United States,” a Twitch spokesperson said in a statement to computer gamer.
“We continue to enforce our Community Guidelines and take enforcement action when we identify violations of our rules. Twitch does not have a “public figure policy,” which means that all channels are subject to our guidelines equally, regardless of whether or not the channel is owned by a public figure.”
In total, Trump was banned from Twitch for three years, five months and four weeks, a ban that coincided with the Jan. 6 riots at the Capitol. At the time of the ban, Twitch said it removed Trump’s channel due to the president’s “inflammatory rhetoric” and that the suspension was necessary “to protect our community and prevent Twitch from being used to incite further violence.”
As of press time, no videos had been uploaded to Trump's Twitch account — which has 142,000 followers — despite the logo image being updated to a 2024 rally image.
