A New Framework for Politics
Popular assembly is back, except this time it’s on Twitter
How did Trump win the presidency? He’s a reality TV star with no political experience. He’s an Ivy League graduate who lives in a $100m gold-encrusted Manhattan penthouse, yet he won over rural whites unhappy with coastal elites. In one of the most partisan eras in American politics, he won as a Republican, even though he has changed parties five times. And he said so many outrageous things — on camera!
Yet now he is President.
This doesn’t just happen. It’s not an accident. It’s not simply a reaction to economic and social change, a regression, or a Russian plot. Despite being out-spent, out-staffed, and basically abandoned by Republicans in the final weeks, Trump convinced enough Americans in the right places that he was the man for the job.
How?
Because Trump does something different — he tweets for himself.
He doesn’t write some of his tweets, and sign those “-D.” He doesn’t have a team reviewing and sanitizing them. Many (most?) of his tweets are ill-advised, especially the ones at 2am. But, in an age of so much distortion, Trump seems real. He is flawed, biased, and — to many — relatable.
And he is speaking directly to the American people.
Ecclesia 2.0
In 5th century Athens, during the city’s “Golden Age,” all male citizens would come together in an open assembly to debate issues and elect representatives. It was called the Ecclesia. Thousands of citizens attended, voting by show-of-hands.
2500 years later, American democracy feels more distant. Many see Washington as partisan, gridlocked, profligate, and foreign. Many of us can’t name our representatives. Many don’t (or can’t easily) vote or participate in the process at all. The United States is a huge, diverse country. It would be hard to get tens of millions of people out in a field to do a show-of-hands.
Yet all of a sudden, technological changes are bringing us together again. Instead of a field, we’re on a feed. We have access to the internet, and we can all see @realDonaldTrump’s real thoughts (in realtime!) — and we can react.
Popular assembly is back, on steroids.
And Katy Perry has the loudest megaphone.
This is not Fake News
Now that we’re all on the same page, the way the political machine works has changed. It’s #nofilter; the power of media outlets and pundits has weakened, in favor of direct dialogue. We’re one tap away from direct access to our leaders; we’re closer in many ways than they were in Ancient Athens. And leaders can say whatever they want, unchecked.
The old system has come completely unhinged.
It’s not fake news — it’s reality TV. And Trump knows a lot about ratings. Trump has built a consistent, authentic personal brand on social (and traditional) media, and his cult of personality delivered him the White House. He didn’t have well-elucidated policies and he certainly didn’t have political experience or party support; instead, he appealed to emotion, humor, and ego. He seemed to be having fun. He is more Kim Kardashian than Hillary Clinton.
Hillary, on the other hand, was professional (presidential?). She was careful, controlled, and classy in the face of circus-like antics. But her Twitter feed was a firehose of soundbites (carefully scheduled by a team, no doubt): some great policy quotes and motivational photos, but very little Hillary. With Donald, you knew exactly what he was thinking… even at 2am.
Ultimately, to his supporters, Trump came off “real.” Maybe he is real. The important thing is that these underlying forces aren’t going away. We can’t expect rural Tea Party voters to start reading long-form policy articles in The Atlantic or that Kim’s 91m Instagram followers will start migrating to PBS Frontline’s feed.
Politics is now happening in the Feed, and this changes everything.
Medium Matters
Political discourse on social media is noisy, realtime, and emotional. The mob dictates what rises to the top of the feed; the feed algorithmically surfaces things the mob will like; feedback loops are created, and red and blue feeds result.
But even more important than the algorithms is the fact that social media is personality-driven. People have the most followers, not organizations. Personality is more important than policy.
We live in a celebrity era.
Does this sound dystopian? Maybe, but it’s also arguably more egalitarian than any political arrangement since Ancient Athens. Leaders are speaking directly to the people, and those leaders that are able to connect with the masses win.
Donald Trump understood this new framework for politics. Maybe Ivanka or Tiffany gave him some tips. If we want future leaders who are more qualified than the Donald, then we’ll have learn from him.
Don’t Fight the Framework
Partisan politics is coming to an end. Personality politics is the future. New media opens the door to much closer, more personal relationships with our leaders; they become celebrities and public personas. Trump is the first truly post-partisan President; he’s a celebrity more than a Republican.
If future politicians want to meaningfully connect to people, they need to tweet for themselves. Or use whatever social platform comes next. They need to communicate honestly, openly, and plainly. Not repetitive, whitewashed marketing soundbites…. but real, personal, meaningful, and timely communication that lets the American public in on who they are and what they are really thinking about.
One Tap Away
For many people, the aftermath of the 2016 election has been gut-wrenching. This is a testament to how many citizens love their country; that sentiment should be celebrated.
I believe Hillary would have won if she would’ve engaged in more direct, less-filtered dialogue with Americans. Whenever she did this in offhand moments, it was clear that she is a thoughtful, passionate person who would have made an excellent president. But it was impossible for many Americans to see this side of Hillary, because her image was so carefully managed.
Values are meaningless without compelling voices to manifest them. We need new leaders in America who get “out on the Feed” with unfiltered voices like Trump did, sharing honestly and authentically, as themselves. We need them defending American values on the new platforms that Americans are using to express themselves.
We need to hear them directly.
