Should The President of The United States Be On Twitter?
Why is President Donald Trump, the president of the most powerful nation on earth continually on twitter? I am sure that is what a lot of people are wondering. Is this alright? Is this ethical, or is this even safe for us as a nation? There are many people who are sick and tired of seeing and hearing about the president’s continual tweets he has made in this past year. In his tweets are insults, accusations, opinions, etc., from our commander and chief. This blog is not to bash the president, and it has nothing to do with the republicans or democrats. All I want to do is bring up the question; is it ok for a president, whether he or she is a democrat or a republican to be continually on twitter during his or her presidency?
We have seen and heard the reports of the president commenting on twitter concerning his opinions of the NFL players who were taking a knee during the national anthem. Many of us have also heard of the president’s opinion when Stephen Curry of the NBA did not want to attend the White House with his championship team the Golden State Warriors. The president tweeted; “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating; therefore, invitation is withdrawn (Gartland)!” Commenting on the North Korean crisis, the President tweeted; “only one thing will work to solve the North Korea crisis (Lockie). Which we know what the President was talking about…war!
Now I understand, that the president has been severely criticized for tweeting continually, but President Trump was not the first president to use social media in their campaign or during their presidency. Former President Barack Obama used social media as well to get his points across. According to Ian Bogost, President Obama was called “the first social media president (Bogost).” President Obama used social media, and it worked greatly in his favor. Now let me ask the question again. Should any president of any party be on twitter or any other social media outlet during their presidency?
I know President Trump used social media to share his opinions on certain issues that came up continually. The president during his campaign aimed for the working middle class, with his theme, “make America great again.” He twitted this, time and time again.
In this blog, I want to talk about why I believe the President should not be constantly on twitter. I believe to be the president of the United States is a sacred position. It is not just a title. He is the leader of the free world that this country represents. The position that any president of the United States holds, is a position that is greater than any gossip in Hollywood or in sports. I don’t believe that any president should be tweeting on so many things going on, because compared to the serious global issues and threats going on around us continually, it seems insignificant.
The President shouldn’t be so public on twitter. I understand the need to hold news conferences, interviews, address the nation on certain events that may arise, but it is not continual. When we continually read the tweets of the president for things that he shouldn’t be commenting on continually, it makes the citizens in this country and in the world wonder, what is going on?
When the President is more private in his dealings, I believe it gives the citizens an assurance that we know that our commander and chief is doing his job. I’m not saying that he is not doing his job, I’m just stating the image it gives us as U.S. citizens. I remember, when I was a kid during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. The cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union, everyone was worried about nuclear war. I remember in my household, my parents would always say, “President Reagan don’t play”. When he would address the nation, everyone knew it was something serious. We did not know all the thoughts and opinions of President Reagan on a daily basis, and that was ok, because he was getting the job done.
Even though a lot of people are against President Trump, and I know he is not perfect, I really believe he can do a good job as President.
If we look at this from a Christian perspective, the Bible states in 1st Timothy 2:1, 2 — I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (New International Version). I know President Trump says he is a believer, and many people do not believe this, but he has had many ministers of the Christian faith lay hands on him and pray for him. For his inauguration he had various Christian Ministers pray and express the Word, from Franklin Graham, to Rev. Samuel Rodriguez. A lot of people may have doubts of his Christianity as I stated previously, but the President is pro-Christianity, unlike our last President, but that is another topic for another day. As a believer I must cheer and root for any candidate that is going to support more of what I believe. With that being said, that does not mean that if such a leader does something wrong, I would not call them out on it. If they are wrong on a topic, issue, or action committed, then they are wrong.
I believe President Trump, should not be so obsessed with the criticisms of the media. The media always have and always will criticize the president. Whether it is on his policies, decisions, speeches, whatever it may be, they will find something to say. The president should just let them talk, and let his presidency define who he is. He is already the president, stop defending yourself and arguing with reporters, news agencies, etc. The president should just trust in God and ask Him for wisdom to lead this very liberal nation, as Salomon did in the Bible. When he shoots back and argues back on twitter, he is just adding fuel to the fire.
As a Christian I realize and admit that our president has made mistakes, but who hasn’t. The scriptures tell us to pray for those over us, no matter what political party, we are to pray for those who are in authority over us.
The president needs to cut down on the twitter feeds, and focus on the task at hand, which is to continue to run and unite the nation. I know that the president with his tweets and comments has divided the nation at times (which I am totally against), but that is part of praying for our imperfect president. If he is going to use twitter, use it for unity, and keep it at a minimal. That is what I feel and believe, but the reality is that social media is part of politics now. According to Ramona Kreis, she conducted a study of the president’s twitter feed and she stated that this, “demonstrates how his top-down use of Twitter may lead to the normalization of right-wing populist discourses, and thus aims to contribute to the understanding of right-wing populist discourse online (Kreis).”
The reality is that everyone realizes that social media will continue to be the future of politics, because social media can make you or break you. So much information can be shared, so much news, stories, break downs of every word a politician speaks in an instant. I know that social media can be used for good as well. If the president is going to use twitter, use it to unite the social classes, not just focusing on the middle working class. A true job of any politician is to help meet the needs of his or her people, no matter if they are democrats, republicans, independent, or no political affiliation. For the rich, poor, middle class, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, Arab, middle eastern, it does not matter. This country is made up of many nations, cultures, customs, societies. We must get along, and pray for one another. We must respect the opinions of others, no matter what political affiliations, religion, or social class.
Works Cited
Bogost, Ian. “Obama Was Too Good at Social Media.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 6 Jan. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/did-america-need-a-social-media-president/512405/.
Gartland, Dan. “Donald Trump Rescinds Warriors’ White House Invitation After Stephen Curry Comments.” www.si.com, Sports Illustrated, 23 Sept. 2017, www.si.com/nba/2017/09/23/donald-trump-warriors-white-house-stephen-curry-tweet.
Kreis R. The “Tweet Politics” of President Trump. Journal of Language & Politics [serial on the internet]. (2017, July), [cited October 30, 2017]; 16(4): 607–618. Available from: Communication & Mass Media Complete.
Lockie, Alex. “‘Policy Didn’t Work!’: Trump Tweets of North Korea after Hinting at War. “Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 Oct. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/trump-tweets-north-korea-hinting-at-war-2017-10.
The Holy Bible: New International Version Containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. Logos. Zondervan, 2009.
