WASHINGTON

Ex-US President Donald Trump lent his approval on Friday to Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, saying the company is now "in sane hands."

Trump continued to tout his own in-house Twitter competitor Truth Social, which has largely become a bastion of right-wing and far-right opinions, saying the company "has become somewhat of a phenomena," and claiming it had "bigger numbers than all other platforms" last week.

It is unclear to what Trump was referring, but he went on to say that after Musk purchased Twitter, the microblogging website "will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country."

"Twitter must now work hard to rid itself of all of the bots and fake accounts that have hurt it so badly. It will be much smaller, but better. I LOVE TRUTH!" he said.

Musk said in the run-up to deal's realization that should he become Twitter's owner he would move to reinstate Trump's account, which was permanently deleted in the wake of the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol by Trump's supporters.

Trump, however, has said he will not return.

After falling off Forbe's annual list of the 400 wealthiest Americans in 2021, Trump reemerged this year in 343rd place with a net worth estimated at $3.2 billion. Trump has been buoyed by his recently-launched Trump Media and Technology Group and its premier Twitter competitor, Truth Social, Forbes said.

Trump's New York real estate empire that enabled much of his past successes has become a financial liability for him in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have become the focus of a state investigation turned lawsuit against the former commander-in-chief.