Buying Twitter for $44 billion or $54.20 a share, 50-year-old Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, completed what many thought was a hostile takeover, when the media ginned up opposition to Musk on the Twitter board. In reality, Twitter was in a bad place financially, needing a rich suitor, despite the media’s apparent opposition to Musk’s purchase. If nothing else, the last few days exposed for all to see the kind of Democrat-media bias behind the scenes, with journalists expressing unfounded opinions not reporting on the news. Why should any journalists, financial, political or foreign policy, have an ax to grind in reporting the news? Musk’s purchase was pure economics, confirmed by billionaire 45-year-old Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey. Contrary to media reports, Dorsey was thrilled over Musk’s purchase, largely because he knew it was good for the company.
Yet if you listened to the press over the last few weeks, they were horrified over Musk’s Twitter purchase, largely because they thought it would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was banned, something that happened after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on Jan. 9, 2021. Trump’s ban opened up a can of worms about Social Network’s Section 230 protections, giving the companies immunity from lawsuits, viewing Social Media platforms as conduits for third-party information. Yet to the Democrat-biased media, they relished the opportunity to ban Trump, thinking that it would forever damage his political future. Trump said yesterday that he has no plans to rejoining Twitter even if he’s reinstated. Trump’s been busy rolling out his TruthSocial network, claiming he has no plains to return to Twitter. But whatever Trump does, why is the press invested one way or another?
Musk said he was pleased to become a majority shareholder in Twitter, despite the all the media hubbub that opposed Musk’s initial offer for the company. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matter vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement. When Trump was banned from Twitter Jan. 9, 2021, the U.S. press cheered, concluding he orchestrated and planned the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. No one in the press had any facts, especially since Trump was already acquitted in the U.S. Senate Feb. 13, 2020 on the impeachment charge, “incitement of insurrection.” Instead of accepting the judgment of the U.S. Senate, Twitter CEO and his board banned Trump, robbing the 45th president of his 14th Amendment Due Process rights. Where does the press think it’s OK to charge, try and convict Trump?
U.S. press had nothing to say when Dorsey approved of Musk’s purchase, knowing Twitter had no other choice. “Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step,” Dorsey said, approving Musk’s plan to take the company private. Whatever Twitter’s value at one time, the same thing can be said for any stock that hits a peak then rolls back. Twitter once sold for $70 a share but that doesn’t mean that Musk got such a deal at $52.70. “I think if the company were given enough time to transform, we should have made substantially more than what Musk is currently offering,” said Jonathan Boyer, managing director of the Boyer Group. While shareholders don’t know what they’ll get paid, most likely $54.20 as shares settle, when Twitter goes off the market on deal’s completion.
Whatever Twitter might have traded for in a Bull Market is anyone’s guess. Hard to cry over spilt milk in Wall Street where share prices gyrate minute-to-minute, unable to predict future stock values. Musk said he wasn’t too concerned about the purchase price, returning him to secure $25.5 billion in debt and margin loan financing and another $21 billion equity commitment. “Having a public platform that is maximally trust and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization. I don’t care about the economics at all,” Musk said recently. Twitter shareholders must now vote to approve the sale to Musk. “Once the deal closes, we don’t know which direction the platform will go,” said Paraq Agrawal, Twitter’s Board Chairman. Agrawal said Musk decided not to join the board at this time. All the hype from the Democrat-controlled press amounts to a real smokescreen.
Musk let some of his feelings come out about how Silicon Valley got too big for its britches deciding who can use social networks, caving to Democrat pressure to regulate conservative voices like Trump. “A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech,” Musck said, hinting that he condemned Dorsey and Twitter’s board when the banned Trump. Under 1996 Section 230, Social Networks, for better or worse, were not suppose to censor content of who would arbitrarily be approved on Social Network platforms. When Twitter banned Trump Jan. 9, 2021, Dorsey and the board concluded that Trump was a menace, planning and orchestrating the Capitol riot. White House Press Secretary Jen Paski confirmed President Joe Biden’s concerns about the use of Social Networks, especially by hostile states like Russia and China.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
