x, the social media service owned by Elon Musk, will host live video meetings with former President Donald J. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the run-up to the US presidential election, a major boost to the policy, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The town halls, which will be produced in partnership with the cable channel NewsNation, have not yet been scheduled and moderators have not been selected, said the person, who declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public. x users will be able to ask questions of the presidential candidates during the events.
In an appearance on NewsNation Wednesday night, Kennedy confirmed his plans to participate in a town hall and added that Musk offered use of the platform.
x has undergone a transformation under Musk's ownership, as the billionaire has drastically reduced his workforce, overhauled his technology and used the platform to advance his personal agendas.
The town halls follow a meeting in March between Trump and Musk. The owner of x has posted about President Biden more frequently in recent months, criticizing him on several fronts, including his age and his immigration policies. x invited Biden to hold a town hall meeting on the platform, but his campaign did not respond, the person familiar with the arrangement said.
Musk has stopped short of endorsing Trump, who was banned from twitter after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. Musk quickly reinstated the former president after purchasing the platform in 2022, which he renamed x. Musk has courted Trump and asked him to use x again.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump's presence on x, even if just for the town hall, could bring new viewers to the platform, which has struggled under Musk's ownership. Advertisers have pulled out, concerned about reports of hate speech and misinformation on the platform.
The platform has long been known as a text-first social media service. But under its chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, a former advertising leader at NBC Universal, the company has increasingly added video capabilities.
He has made several deals to produce video content with television personalities, including Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host; Tulsi Gabbard, former Democratic presidential candidate; and Paris Hilton, the reality star and DJ
Ms. Yaccarino approached Nexstar, NewsNation's parent company, about the town hall concept, the person familiar with the deal said, and has been ironing out the details as part of her effort to make x a video platform. twitter-news-nation” title=”” rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>axios the city council previously reported.
