Bill Gates Thinks Donald Trump Should Be Allowed Back On Twitter

Former President Donald Trump has a new ally in the restoration of his Twitter Inc TWTR account: Microsoft MSFT co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.

What Happened: "I think at some point he probably will be allowed back on and probably should be allowed back on," said Gates in an interview during CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Gates acknowledged the circumstances that led to Trump's banishment from the social media platform last month, stating it was "weird" and "corrosive" Trump kept stating the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him despite a thorough lack of evidence to back his claims. Yet, he also predicted a return of Trump to Twitter could involve the placing of warning labels on tweets that contained false information.

"I'll bet they'll find a way to let him back on," Gates said, adding it was possible "people's interest in what he says may go down quite a bit" if he resumed tweeting.

What Happens Next: Trump's absence from social media has limited his level of online visibility, but hasn't completely silenced him.

He issued written statements relating to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell following the U.S. Senate's acquittal vote on his second impeachment trial and offered praise of Rush Limbaugh following the radio talk show host's death this week. Both statements were widely shared across Twitter and other social media channels.

Trump also gave his first post-White House interview last night with Fox News' Sean Hannity regarding Limbaugh's legacy.

Last week, Twitter Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal appeared on "Squawk Box" to reaffirm Trump would not be welcomed back on the site if he sought a return to the White House in the 2024 election.

"The way our policies work, when you're removed from the platform, you're removed from the platform whether you are a commentator, a CFO or you are a former or public official," Segal said. "Our policies are designed to make sure that people are not inciting violence, and if anybody does that, we would have to remove them from the service and our policies don't allow people to come back."

(Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash)