What is ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’? Elon Musk tweets phrase after reinstating Donald Trump on Twitter

Elon Musk tweeted the Latin phrase “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” after reinstating former President Donald Trump on Twitter on Saturday night. The restoration of Trump’s account, which was banned in January 2021, was done following a poll on the platform, where a majority of Twitter users wanted the ex-president back. 

“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” Musk wrote after reinstating Trump’s account. He had tweeted the same phrase at the time of setting up the poll on Friday, which he said would run for 24 hours. It asked the question if people wanted to “Reinstate former President Trump”.

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 The Twitter poll logged more than 15 million votes with nearly 52% of those weighing in favoring Trump’s return. The platform’s CEO announced soon after that based on people’s voices that he would be reinstating Trump’s Twitter account and did just that. 

What is ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’?

The phrase ‘Vox Populi, Vox Dei’ translates in English to “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Its first usage can be traced back to the title of a Whig tract of 1709, which was expanded in 1710 and later reprintings as The Judgment of whole Kingdoms and Nations: Concerning the Rights, Power, and Prerogative of Kings, and the Rights, Privileges, and Properties of the People. The author is unknown. However, it is speculated that it was either Robert Ferguson or Thomas Harrison.  

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In this context, Musk used the phrase to let Twitter users know that he is leaving it up to people to decide if they would like to have Trump back. The decision would not be influenced by why he was banned in the first place.

Meanwhile, the ex-POTUS’ ban on other platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and the inability to post on YouTube remain intact. 

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Following his reinstation, Trump said that he would rather stick to Truth Social, which he founded in October 2021 and has been the former President’s go-to platform. It was originally aimed at “rivaling Twitter.”

“Truth Social has been very, very powerful,” Trump said during a virtual appearance Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas. “And I’ll be staying there. But I hear we’re getting a big vote to also go back on Twitter. I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it.”