{"id":1843,"date":"2017-11-06T17:01:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T17:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/?p=1843"},"modified":"2017-11-06T17:02:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T17:02:25","slug":"how-donald-trumps-itchy-twitter-thumbs-redefined-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigerianews.ca\/how-donald-trumps-itchy-twitter-thumbs-redefined-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"How Donald Trump’s itchy Twitter thumbs redefined politics"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the year since his election, Donald Trump has used Twitter as an official White House channel for everything from policies and praise to bullying and brinksmanship.
\n<\/span>BY TERRY COLLINS, CNET\u00a0 NOVEMBER 6, 2017<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"President<\/span>
US President Donald Trump’s prolific tweeting makes the world take notice.Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He hates being criticized, challenged or even cautioned by his own advisers. When they do speak up, President Donald Trump retaliates by doubling down on his virtual megaphone: Twitter.<\/p>\n

To his base, which led the way to his\u00a046.1 percent of the popular vote, Trump’s provocative tweets are a daily reminder they backed a Washington outsider who revels in using a\u00a0“tremendous platform”\u00a0to bypass what he calls the “fake media.” It doesn’t matter if \u00a0his comments are true — and multiple fact-checking sites like\u00a0PolitiFact,\u00a0FactCheck.org\u00a0and the Washington Post’s\u00a0Fact Checker\u00a0blog have shown that many of the assertions he tweets are false. Trump’s 140-character outbursts are just what many among his 41.5 million online followers want to hear.<\/p>\n

To his critics, the tweets sent from his personal handle —\u00a0@realDonaldTrump\u00a0— rather than the official\u00a0@POTUS\u00a0account are proof he’s a narcissistic “bully” they consider\u00a0misogynistic, ill-informed and racist. They say his tweetstorms, while\u00a0protected by the First Amendment\u00a0and even by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, often create false controversies aimed at switching attention away from things like his failed health-care reform efforts and the ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n

“Regardless of whether you support or oppose Trump, he is a dramatic demonstration of the platform’s impact in that space,” said\u00a0Adam Sharp, Twitter’s former head of news, government and elections.<\/p>\n

How dramatic? Two-thirds of Americans now get some of their news from social media, a\u00a0Pew Research Center study\u00a0found in September. And nearly 75 percent of Twitter subscribers now get their news from the service, 15 percent more than a year ago, Pew said. That translates to 11 percent of all US adults getting their news on Twitter. Dorsey has repeatedly boasted that Twitter is the first place where news breaks globally.<\/p>\n

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A year after Trump became US president in\u00a0one of the biggest political upsets in modern history, candidates for any public office now understand that social media has changed the political landscape, said\u00a0longtime Republican political strategist Rick Wilson, who’s now one of Trump’s most outspoken critics. Not so long ago, cozying up to reporters on TV and radio was \u00a0“the most powerful weapon” in a candidate’s arsenal, Wilson said. Trump has shown that may not be necessary anymore.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/span>Donald J. Trump<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2714<\/b><\/span>@realDonaldTrump<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u00a0Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH<\/div>\n
5:15 AM – Jun 6, 2017<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0‘Bing, bing, bing’<\/h2>\n

Initially claiming his Twitter use would be\u00a0“very restrained”\u00a0once in office, Trump, 71, relies on the platform more than ever to say what’s on his mind, often firing off tweetstorms in the predawn hours. His tweets drive headlines, and they’re hard to ignore — in June, the White House told the world to consider them\u00a0official presidential statements. Those tweets cover just about anything, from the\u00a0National Anthem, \u00a0disaster response\u00a0and criticisms of his former rival Hillary Clinton to his belittling of\u00a0North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Between June 1, 2016, and Nov. 1, 2017, he pumped out about 5,300 tweets.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/span>
Donald Trump doesn’t hesitate to use Twitter to take on news organizations or news personalities.Jaap Arriens\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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“I doubt I’d be here without social media, to be honest with you,” Trump told\u00a0Fox News\u00a0in October. “When somebody says something about me, I’m able to go ‘bing, bing, bing,’ and I take care of it.”<\/p>\n

The president uses “unconventional methods and communication tools,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told\u00a0CNN\u00a0on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

Tillerson said it’s because the president is pushing against the status quo. “Oftentimes, the tweets and the decisions [Trump] makes are intended to cause this forcing action,” Tillerson said.<\/p>\n

“The American people elected him to change the status quo, and that’s what he’s doing.”<\/p>\n

Still, about 69 percent of American voters think Trump should stop tweeting, according to a\u00a0Quinnipiac University poll\u00a0in late September. That sentiment got turned into reality briefly last week, when a\u00a0departing contract worker at Twitter suspended Trump’s account for 11 minutes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\"<\/span>Donald J. Trump<\/span>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2714<\/b><\/span>@realDonaldTrump<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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My Twitter account was taken down for 11 minutes by a rogue employee. I guess the word must finally be getting out-and having an impact.<\/p>\n

3:51 AM – Nov 3, 2017<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
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