Donald Trump and Twitter: an Analysis
Politics and elections campaigns are unimaginable without social networks. Yet Donald Trump, President-elect of the United States, has made Twitter into a political issue. He opts for a strategy which is completely different from his predecessors and lacks any clear vision.
His tweets shocks opponents and make his supporters cheer. How does it look on probably most the famous Twitter account in the world?
When Donald Trump was elected President, some voices hoped that he would take a step back verbally. In the beginning, he did. However, soon campaign-Trump showed his face on Twitter again. Just after students of a college in Massachusetts burned the US-American flag, he demanded in a Tweet to punish those who engage in flag-burning either with jail time or revocation of citizenship.
The reactions followed promptly. They pointed out that those measures would not be constitutional, that he is being ridiculous, that he is dangerous.
In addition, traditional media discussed Donald Trump and his statements in several talk shows. Still, his supporters were happy about his statement and cheered him on Twitter. They, for instance, look for confrontation with opponents, in which both sides heap insults on each other.
Donald Trump on Twitter and the talk of the town
This is just one example of tweets, which get the attention of the whole country. 140 characters have rarely irritated American society as much as these tweets. Besides, he seems to tweet about anything without anyone consulting him. Be it that he complains about his parody in “Saturday Night Life”, snubs China with his tweets about Taiwan or makes groundless statements about election fraud.
Often the same reactions follow: opponents are shocked, supporters applaud, and the media discusses. Thus, Trump has made a powerful tool for agenda setting his own. He puts topics on the top of the agenda to distract from unpleasant issues, such as when Trump had to pay 25 million dollars to former students of his university. Or when he began to tweet about the show “Hamilton” where his vice president Mike Pence was booed at.
His supporters wanted to boycott the piece and wrote angry messages; his opponents were aghast and referred Trump to the First Amendment. Moreover, the media reported detailed about the incident. This way, Trump-University receded into the background.
Varieties of Twitter-using
Trump uses his Twitter account differently than his predecessor Barack Obama and his competitor Hillary Clinton. They had a whole team behind them, whereas Trump’s tweets read as if he just thought of them a minute ago. This ‘authenticity’ makes allowances for his supporters.
Consequently, media and also Twitter users have to adapt to it. It is difficult to say how his Twitter behavior benefits Trump, despite the fact that he has a huge platform where he can present his views and set topics on top of agendas. At the same time, most Americans are of the opinion that Trump tweets excessively and does not behave like a President Elect should, according to a study.
Read more about using social media in your upcoming election