As a result of it being a highly accessible form of communication, social media has been used to start movements and to create platforms for discussion. It is a platform that politicians have used to further their political agendas, and since social media is a type of life narrative it is possible to learn something from those politicians who use it. President-elect Trump has received attention for his use of social media from critics and fans. There is something that can be understood about the way the Trump presents himself and his ideas through his twitter account. This understanding is further enriched when comparing Trump’s tweets with the tweets of the current President.
A general look of President-elect Trump’s twitter page shows a number of tweets that defend his actions and attack people and groups. This can be seen through the words he uses, such as “Dishonest media”, “fake news” (shows up multiple times), and “false and fictitious”, to refer to the media. These words show a harsh position against media and show a distrust of media outlets. Presidents have a considerable amount of influence, thus the way in which President-elect Trump refers to the media is dangerous because he is establishing an amount of hatred and distrust.
In addition to attacking the media, Trump attacks people who do not agree with him. For example, Trump refers to Meryl Streep as “one of the most over-rated actresses” and refers to Hillary as “flunky who lost big”. In Trump’s position of power, he has generated a national, and international, audience. As the future leader of the United States, Trump’s tweets become consequential because they begin and shut down certain conversations. By calling the media “dishonest” and by calling the news “fake” Trump is setting up a conversation that excludes these important sources of information for the public. It creates a cognitive dissonance because, generally, people are taught to trust news outlets, and to have that put to question repeatedly by the future President is troubling. These are claims that lead to fear and to distrust either in the future President or the media, both of which are equally dangerous.
In contrast, there are Barack Obama and President Obama (two separate pages) Twitter pages; the focuses of these pages are to get people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act and for short announcements. One tweet reads: “Let’s keep working to keep our economy on a better, stronger course.” These tweets are short and positive, and each tweet finishes a complete thought, which does not always occur with Trump’s tweets. The Twitter pages for Obama do not through out opinions or unsubstantiated claims. Obama’s tweets do not stir up feelings of anger and hate, but instead contain messages of hope to the American public. The differences between Obama and Trump’s use of twitter are indicative of two very different approaches to social media and to politics. One approach is to inspire hope and change, the other is to fuel fear and division.
