2018-01-03, Pankaj Thapa
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Nepalese Voice.
Trump on Tiwitter: Just dumb or a master manipulator?
Do you follow Trump on Twitter? If not, you should – it is the most unpredictable thing – from making America great, to discrediting every media outlet in the world except his beloved Fox News, and to angering allies on New Year’s day, everything in 280 characters.
It is just a little over 48 hours since the US has entered 2018 and Trump with an effort as minimal as moving his fingers has created a worldwide sensation – talk about power. Every news channel is glued to his account, waiting for his next tweet, trying to fruitlessly understand – “What is going on in this guy’s mind?” One thing is predictable though – the next tweet will either praise himself or criticize someone else.
His tweets have been the talk of town for quite a while, especially his accusation towards the media who speak against him – The Fake News Media – as he likes to call them. So much so, an entire episode of UpFront by Al-Jazeera was devoted to his twitter use, and if he has possibly broken the media.
“When he attacks the media … one of the things he’s doing is to delegitimise any independent source of information that might criticise him, immunise himself against any of the bad stories that are coming,” says Charles Sykes, a former Conservative radio talk show host, and author of How the Right Lost its Mind.
Jane Coaston, Senior Politics Reporter at Vox says “And because there’s always just this constant push of Tweet after Tweet after Tweet, it kind of gets lost in there. And so, I think that something that’s really important for the media to do is say, okay, you know, we need to be anchored in something that is not Donald Trump’s Twitter feed.”
Quoted from ‘Has Donald Trump broken the Media?’, UpFront, 28th December, 2017.
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2017/12/donald-trump-broken-media-171225150845866.html
Here is a brief summary of his tweets from end 2017 to 02/01/2018.
His last tweet of 2017 was a New Year wish to the world. He adds his favourite line – ‘making America great again’. If he went to bed or a New Year’s eve party after thought, I do not know.
But come 2018, his first tweet angered a sovereign nation.
His first tweet of 2018? An allegation against Pakistan claiming they are deceitful despite the US providing them so much in financial aid.
‘Donald Trump’s first tweet of 2018 was an accusation towards Pakistan claiming they harbour and protect terrorists despite US’s massive aids to the nation.
In retaliation, the Pakistan Defense Ministry tweeted US’s mistrust over Pakistan despite being an anti-terror ally and providing them with land and air communication, military bases and intel.’
Aawaaj News
Was it probably just a bad morning or perhaps a massive hangover, I sincerely do not know. But you simply cannot, should not, and a political figure of that status would not, attack a sovereign nation in that manner. There are channels you follow and Twitter is not one of them.
His second tweet, he speaks on behalf of Iranian people and says the government is failing despite the terrible deal made with them by Obama administration. He shows concern about Iranians freedom, and surprisingly hunger.
On his third tweet, he probably realizes, “Oh, I have an important position. I need to go to work”. New Years vacation is over.
4th – Again Iran and Obama administration’s foolishness.
5th – Crooked Hillary Clinton and her top aide’s disregard towards security protocol.
6th – Thanking border protector’s union and the necessity for a wall.
7th – How companies are giving out big bonuses because of his Tax Cut Bill.
8th – A comment on North Korea’s willingness to talk to South Korea, and a reference to Kim Jong –un as ‘rocket man’, again. Subtlety is not one of his traits.
9th – How he has been paying deep attention to commercial aviation and 2017 was a record year of no deaths. (This actually is positive news, but perhaps like he thanked the Border Protector’s Union, he could have thanked a few pilots and ground controllers?)
10th and 11th – A piece of advice for New York Times.
12th – A jab at the Dems
13th– A recognition of Veterans and the state recognizing their importance.
14th – Congratulating Senator Orrin Hatch.
15th and 16th – How it is not only Pakistan that the US gives money for nothing, but Palestine as well. He accuses Palestine and their unwillingness for the trouble in the region, at the same time, on behalf of Israel says Jerusalem is a no.
17th – How he goes on to say how he has a nuclear button much bigger than his, and one which works.
This was a reply to Kim’s address on New Year’s Day. “The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk,” Kim said on New Year’s Day.
The wordplay on this one is just too beautiful.
18th : An attack on the media outlets, again.
19th: His achievements.
He has tweeted nineteen times in 2018 – and in them, he has attacked three sovereign nations and one de jure sovereign nation, praised himself – how he, and his administration is excellent, advised New York Times and apparently is hosting a Fake News Awards.
