The company, then known as Twitter, removed Trump from its platform after the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, citing his inflammatory posts and arguing that they could lead to more violence. Trump sued, claiming Twitter and other tech firms that removed his accounts had wrongfully censored him.
Elon Musk, now X’s owner and a close adviser to the president, reinstated Trump’s account shortly after acquiring the company in 2022. Musk has thrown his support behind Trump, donating more than $250 million to his campaign, and is now running a government cost-cutting initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency.
The settlement further cements the relationship between Musk and Trump. Details of the agreement were not made public in court filings, but X and Trump notified the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that they had agreed to dismiss the lawsuit. Both parties agreed to pay their own costs, according to a court filing.
The settlement amount was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal. A spokesperson for X did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear what entity would receive the money.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, settled a similar lawsuit last month, agreeing to pay the president $25 million. Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has also courted Trump in recent months, donating to his inauguration fund and making sweeping changes to Meta’s policies to allow for more types of speech across the company’s apps.
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In December, ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit by Trump. ABC News said it would donate the money to Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum. Meta agreed to similar terms in its settlement with Trump. About $22 million will finance Trump’s presidential library, with the remaining $3 million set aside to for Trump’s legal fees and other plaintiffs who joined the lawsuit.