Trump moves to assert party control despite Facebook ban

US President Joe Biden said a "mini-revolution" was upending the Republican Party as it grapples with wether or not to embrace former president Donald Trump or forge a new path

Former US president Donald Trump, who remains the most influential figure within the Republican Party, saw his Facebook ban upheld by the social media giant's oversight boardspeaks during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, in Washington, DC on August 19, 2020.Donald Trump on May 5, 2021 reiterated his false claims that voter fraud caused his election loss to Joe Biden last November, shortly after a Facebook oversight board upheld the platform's ban on the former US president. "Had gutless and clueless MINORITY Leader Mitch McConnell... fought to expose all of the corruption that was presented at the time, with more found since, we would have had a far different Presidential result," Trump said in a statement following the Facebook ruling.Trump, who is mulling another run for the White House, repeated his insistence that there is abundant evidence of voter fraud, and urged his followers to "never give up."

Social media has been his weapon of choice for battling Republican dissidents, but Donald Trump is seeking to tighten his iron grip on the party even after a ruling Wednesday extending his ban on Facebook.

"To be clear, if you are Trump and you want to have influence in 2022 and 2024 -- and possibly run for office in 2024 -- it is better to be on social media than not," Professor Joshua Tucker, co-director of New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics, told AFP. Trump's attacks Wednesday appeared aimed at clipping the wings of high-profile Republicans who have not embraced his false voter fraud narrative.