Trump Weaponizes Social Media

There’s no doubt about it: Donald Trump has harnessed the incredible power of social media platforms like no political candidate has ever done before.

Rather than hiring a sophisticated team of media and communications professionals to carefully analyze and operate his Twitter account, the Republican presidential nominee has opted to unleash an unfiltered stream of commentary to the public at large that provides a direct line of communication between himself and his 10.6 million Twitter followers.

“But I think that’s one of the amazing things about this election cycle is that my father has the ability to bypass [the media’s] narrative and go directly to the people with his message.”

“I really enjoy doing it, but it’s really an asset,” Trump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper about Twitter. “You see what’s going on. And there is some genius there. I mean, you will get — you will read some of the stuff, there is genius there. You have to find the right genius. But it is a powerful thing.”

There is “genius” there, indeed — a genius that none of Trump’s Republican primary rivals ever remotely approached, and a genius that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has completely failed to pursue. Trump has used the platform to mobilize his campaign, energize millions of followers, and drive the national conversation by throwing up statements no one else in politics would ever have the guts to say.

“But I think that’s one of the amazing things about this election cycle is that my father has the ability to bypass [the media’s] narrative and go directly to the people with his message,” Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, said on Fox News’ “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren” Tuesday. “And he’s doing that — whether it’s the arenas he’s filling or whether it’s his use of social media as a way to communicate directly and in an unedited way.”

But Van Susteren brought up the point during the interview that Trump’s unfiltered use of social media has often gotten him into some “hot water” with the political correctness police.

“I think the authenticity of that balances out the times that, you know, occasionally it goes awry. You know, in a lot of politicians’ campaigns, they don’t write their tweets, they’re, you know, managed by a team of 50 people who are testing and polling every word,” Ivanka responded. “That’s not him. That’s not the leader he wants to be.”

Ivanka also revealed that she values her father’s authentic social media presence because it allows him to counteract the media spin that has dogged his presidential campaign and interpreted every word and action he has ever taken.

“He’s correctly portrayed in the sense that people know he is very authentic. My father says what he means and he means what he says and that’s very rare in politics,” Ivanka told Van Susteren. “But he’s incorrectly portrayed, often, by the media. My father is incredibly warm and compassionate and loyal and funny. And anyone who knows him knows that to be true.”

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In contrast with Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders when he was still in the race, Trump’s unpredictable whirlwind of a social media presence has kept him at the forefront of news coverage and earned him substantial amounts of free airtime. Original and direct tweets from the Democratic candidates were few and far between.

But rather than offering thoughts signed with a “-D” – like Clinton’s “-H” and Sanders’ “-B” – Trump’s tweets need no identification. They are his words, and he accepts the power, responsibility, and consequences that come with his freedom of speech.

“I think the American people want change,” Ivanka told Van Susteren. “They see an outsider that can bring fresh perspective and solutions to the table to bring the country where it needs to go.”