Trump responds to Twitter ban: 'I predicted this would happen,' may build 'our own platform'

President Trump responded on Friday night to news that he had been permanently banned by Twitter, saying he "predicted this would happen" and that he may build "our own platform in the near future."

Twitter on Friday night permanently banned Trump from its platform for what it said were violations of the Twitter rules.

The company had earlier in the week temporarily locked Trump out of his account and threatened to make the ban permanent if it deemed Trump a safety threat in the wake of Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

Judd Deere, White House deputy press secretary, confirmed to the White House press pool that Trump's statement had been posted from the @POTUS Twitter account. That official account was still active earlier in the evening, even following Trump's ban on his personal account. The @POTUS account is a Twitter username that changes hands with each administration. However, that account later in the evening subsequent to the posting appears now to be locked.

See Trump's full statement below:

"As I have been saying for a long time, Twitter has gone further and further in banning free speech, and tonight, Twitter employees have coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left in removing my account from their platform, to silence me — and YOU, the 75,000,000 great patriots who voted for me. Twitter may be a private company, but without the government's gift of Section 230 they would not exist for long.

"I predicted this would happen. We have been negotiating with various other sites, and will have a big announcement soon, while we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future. We will not be SILENCED!

"Twitter is not about FREE SPEECH. They are all about promoting a Radical Left platform where some of the most vicious people in the world are allowed to speak freely.

"STAY TUNED!"