Can social media stump Donald Trump? His campaign team believes so.
Originally published at linkedin.com on November 8, 2016.
Within the last days before election day, Donald Trump’s campaign team has taken away his tweeting abilities, at least until after the election. As noted in The New York Times’s Sunday article, Maggie Haberman (among other authors) writes: “Aides to Mr. Trump have finally wrested away the Twitter account that he used to colorfully — and often counterproductively — savage his rivals.”
Many were quick to commentate on what seemed a harsh — yet surprising — action by Trump’s campaign; among them was President Barack Obama:
“I just heard that — this was just announced, I just read it so I can’t confirm this is true — but apparently his campaign has taken away his Twitter. In the last two days they had so little confidence in his self-control [that] they said ‘We’re just gonna take away your Twitter.’ Now, if somebody can’t handle a Twitter account, they can’t handle the nuclear codes. If somebody starts tweeting at 3 in the morning because SNL made fun of you, then you can’t handle the nuclear codes.” -Barack Obama in a Clinton rally, Nov. 6, 2016.
But why would Donald’s campaign take away his tweeting abilities so close to the election? After all, it has been Donald that has made Twitter so relevant to the 2016 election and his persona. His tweets have shown him as what his supporters call “an individual that speaks his mind” or that Donald “says what many others are afraid to say.” Well, as already addressed, Donald’s tweets tend to do more damage than good.
Quick Summary Of What To Expect On Trump’s Twitter
2016 is the year that Twitter was of most relevance to a political candidate, and it is all thanks to the Donald. Throughout his campaign, we have seen many (now infamous) tweets of his thoughts on various topics. Perhaps the most characteristic was his 3 AM rant on Hillary for bringing Alicia Machado (Miss Universe 1996) onstage:
Many other tweets that have made the infamous list are on rigged media corrupting the elections:
Say what you may, but Donald Trump has constantly made headlines with nothing else but tweets. And his followers support him. His followers retweet and heart what Donald posts — they proudly stand by Trump’s tweets.
Make Donald Tweet Again
The New York Times post caused many to believe that perhaps the account was actually taken from Donald and now managed by staff. However, Donald’s senior adviser Boris Epshteyn told USA Today’s Eliza Collins that Trump’s tweeting rights had not been taken away. But if you have been following Donald Trump for a while, you might have noticed that there is less of a balance in his tweets. There have been far more tweets with links to articles and some are focused solely on rally images. But where are Trump’s signature, attitude-filled, text-only tweets?
As Los Angeles Times’ Matt Pearce notices, Donald’s tweets have been uploaded via both an iPhone and an Android. In this piece, Pearce contrasts the difference in tone: iPhone tends to be more article/image focused, while Android tweets tend to show Donald’s distinguished tone, so that’s one clue. You can compare and contrast for yourself with a simple Twitter search: Android Tweets | iPhone Tweets.
This is to say that his campaigning tweets (links to articles and rally images) are more likely to be those uploaded via an iPhone (which more than likely belongs to a staff member), while Android tends to be Donald’s go-to device to address any topic he wishes, thus giving us the unfiltered Donald we have come to know. As of writing of this article (11/8/16), Donald’s last Android tweet has been a simple one:
The Most Ridiculous Election Will Finally Come To An End
2016’s election finally comes to a conclusion, and I, for one, am excited to see this end. Since early on, both Republican and Democratic parties have shown ridiculous amount of flaws in their campaigns, mostly giving entertainment shows hours of content, newspapers thousands of headlines, and the surfacing of many hashtags.
This election has been filled with controversy and drama from all sides, whether you are against “ locker-room talk,” email controversies, or both, I urge you to vote. Regardless if you are voting on the “lesser of two evils”, as social media has remarkably dubbed the election process, it is still important to go out and cast your vote this November 8th.
Have anything to add on Donald Trump’s change in tweets? Comment it below.
Got any thoughts to add? Tweet me @juliangumbo or comment below!
Julian Gamboa is a UC Berkeley graduate with a focus on marketing. Julian was selected as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Marketing and #Social Media (2017) and a Course Instructor of the marketing and digital publishing course Digital Marketing Today at the Haas School of Business. He is also the founder of Digiviewpoint, a millennial publishing account.
Like what you read? Share, like, and comment. Read Julian’s previous posts and follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
