Trump Reportedly Fuming and Confused as TruthSocial Nosedives From #1 to #72 in App Ranking

A new report citing sources around former US President Donald Trump claims the possible 2024 presidential candidate’s alternative social media app has failed to produce the desired result and has been further impacted by negative press on the platform’s promotional soft launch—which in true Trump style was actually a glorified waitlist for the app.

As former US President Donald Trump remains mum on whether he will return to the campaign trail for 2024, he has maintained star power and public pull due to his views on the current government and various rallies around the nation.

Trump’s celebrity appears to not be enough for the rollout of Truth Social, however, his social media venture, designed as an alternative platform for supporters of the former US president and his ‘Make America Great Again’ personal agenda.

The conservative-friendly app rocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store during its February release shortly after Trump issued his one-and-only post on the site: “Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!”

As of this article’s publication, Trump’s posting, dubbed a “truth” on the website, has accrued tens of thousands of likes, and thousands of comments and retweets.

A February 25 tweet from Donald Trump Jr. teases a screengrab of former US President Donald Trump's first post to 'Truth Social,' 45's new social media app.

© Twitter/@DonaldTrumpJr

However, users were disheartened to learn that a so-called rollout of the app was in truth an application for a waitlist, rather than any immediate access and networking. The app is only available to Apple iOS devices, although Android users could theoretically download an iOS emulator to access the app.

The Truth Social app has acknowledged that it is dealing with bugs and other issues that will impact the pace of the waitlist, which has reportedly authorized hundreds of thousands of accounts although it is not known how many are ‘bot’ accounts.

Meanwhile, Trump appears to be growing increasingly impatient, as the app he heavily promoted and tied to his personal brand is not embraced as a viable competitor to Twitter and Facebook.

“‘What the f**k is going on’ with Truth Social?”, Trump has been overheard asking within recent weeks, demanding additional information on why netizens are not flocking to the app, which has fallen from #1 in its first 24 hours to below 72nd in the Apple App Store.

A number of Republican lawmakers—including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—are said to have accounts on TruthSocial.

A former GOP House of representatives lawmaker in California, Devin Nunes is the dairy farmer whose pro-Trump loyalty chiefly led to him being offered the role of chief executive officer of the Trump Media & Technology Group, a conservative media outlet for Trump’s personal brand.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, and fellow Republicans arrive for a meeting to consider a replacement for Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was ousted from the GOP leadership Wednesday at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, May 13, 2021.

© J. Scott Applewhite

The US lawmaker is notorious for taking critics to court with frivolous cases that generally result in dismissals. Despite his claims of being a farmer, the Fresno Bee discovered in 2019 that he had not reported income from a ‘farm’ in over a decade.

Nunes was among the senior-most members of the House Republican party at the time of his December 2021 departure to lead Trump’s media venture.

One clear hurdle that the app hopes to achieve will be a standardization of content management that promotes free speech rather than erratic, case-by-case moderation.

The app, which touts itself as a safe space for “free expression” and encourages “all viewpoints,” per a post-registration email, appears to take a different approach when the CEO is involved, as one user was promptly banned for creating the username @DevinNunesCow, a clear reference to the parody Twitter account ‘Devin Nunes cow’ (@DevinCow).

Nunes unsuccessfully sued both Twitter and the individual behind the referenced Twitter account that he complained had led a “vicious defamation campaign” against him.

A statement from Truth Social asserted that the app should be functional by the end of March.