According to an excerpt from Michael Wolff’s upcoming book about the last president, the alternative social network Parler and representatives of former President Donald Trump were reportedly considering an idea to make Trump an active member of the platform after he left office, but Parler apparently pushed back on one key part of the proposed arrangement: the platform did not want to ban Trump’s detractors.
According to Wolff, the following happened:
One peculiar point of concern for the [Trump] family [on the morning of January 6th] — foreshadowing the events that would follow — was a follow-up to a debate started by advisers and relatives months before. Trump representatives approached Parler, the social network backed by Bob Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, far-right supporters and significant Trump backers, with the help of Trump family members. They had proposed that after Trump left office, he join Parler as an active member, taking much of his social media activity away from Twitter. In exchange, Trump would receive 40% of Parler’s gross revenue, and anyone who spoke adversely about him would be banned from the service.
Only this last criterion made Parler squirm.
Parler, which has a conservative user base, has long positioned itself as a social network that isn’t as strictly monitored as other platforms, so it’s not unexpected that it didn’t want to draw a line in the sand on material, even when its most famous potential member requested it. A request for comment on the purported negotiations has gone unanswered by the corporation.
BuzzFeed News covered the talks about Trump’s possible increased involvement with Parler in February, but they reported on different proposed terms — “Parler offered the Trump Organization a 40% stake in the company,” according to BuzzFeed News — and didn’t cover Parler’s apparent refusal to ban Trump critics.
Parler was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores shortly after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6th, and Amazon cancelled Parler’s hosting. In May, the software was re-released on Apple’s App Store, albeit with certain content removed. It is still not accessible for download on Google Play.
