Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin ended their boycotts of Twitter after the company’s board of directors accepted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to take over the social media platform.
Carlson’s Twitter account was locked earlier this year after he posted a tweet calling Rachel Levine, a transgender woman who is currently serving as the Biden administration’s assistant secretary for health, a man.
The Fox News host made the comment in defense of The Babylon Bee, the satirical news site that “awarded” Levine its title of “Man of the Year.” The Bee’s account was suspended by Twitter as a result.
After Carlson’s account was locked, he vowed not to delete the tweet, according to Mediaite. But Carlson had apparently deleted the tweet as of Monday, as it no longer appears on his timeline.
An hour before Carlson went on the air to host his 8 p.m. primetime show on Monday, he tweeted: “We’re back.”
A Fox spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Levin, the syndicated radio talk show host who has a weekly show on Fox News Channel, tweeted for the first time in months. His account was not limited or suspended.
“Thanks to new ownership, I’ve decided to come back!” Levin tweeted.
The prospect of Musk taking over Twitter, which would officially come about after a months-long process, has conservatives and Republicans giddy while liberals are upset that it may lead to a relaxation of the company’s content moderation policies.
“Twitter openly censors speech based on political ideologies and makes a mockery of our Constitutional liberties,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted Monday morning.
“If Elon Musk can turn that around to actually protect free speech and encourage open discourse, Twitter’s full potential will be unlocked.”
The governor of the Lone Star State, Greg Abbott, also championed the sale — urging Musk to relocate the social media company to Texas.
“@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company,” he tweeted.
Prominent liberals vowed to shun the site if Musk completed his takeover.
Erik Larsen, the comic book creator whose credits include “The Amazing Spider-Man,” deleted his account after vowing to do so if Musk bought Twitter.
Jameela Jamil, the actress and activist, announced that she’s leaving Twitter after the platform accepted Musk’s offer to buy the company.
“Ah he got Twitter,” Jamil tweeted alongside four images of herself with her dog. “I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really any excuse to show pics of Barold.”
