DONALD TRUMP claims he wanted to ban Facebook in the United States while he was president, but decided not to because Mark Zuckerberg "kept calling" him.
Trump, who was banned from Twitter, Facebook and all other major social media platforms in January for his perceived role in the Capitol riots, made the claim in the wake of Nigeria's indefinite ban of Twitter.
After Twitter deleted a post from Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari, the African country banned the site indefinitely, suggesting that the platform was "undermining Nigeria's corporate existence".
In response to the news, Trump said: "Congratulations to the country of Nigeria, who just banned Twitter because they banned their president.
"More countries should ban Twitter and Facebook for not allowing free and open speech - all voices should be heard," he stressed.
"In the meantime, competitors will emerge and take hold. Who are they to dictate good and evil if they themselves are evil?
"Perhaps I should have done it while I was President. But Zuckerberg kept calling me and coming to the White House for dinner telling me how great I was.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg"Next time I'm in the White House, there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will be all business!"
Trump's words appear to be in reference to a 'secret meeting' he had with Facebook's CEO in 2019.
Mr Zuckerberg said he and the president discussed "things that were on his mind, and, um, some of the topics that you'd read about in the news around, um, our work."
Facebook and Twitter have been frequently criticised for favouring left-wing political figures and agendas, especially since President Biden gave credence to the Wuhan 'lab-leak' theory, the theory that Covid-19 originated from a coronavirus testing laboratory, rather than from animal-to-human transmission in a wet-market.
It was a theory Trump suggested in 2020, but the comments were banned by all major social media platforms and labelled as nothing more than 'conspiracy theories'.
Mere hours after Biden suggested the theory might have some validity, Facebook lifted their ban.
Facebook also recently upheld their ban on Donald Trump's account until January 2023 following an internal review.
