I don’t want to talk about him, I never should have to talk about him, but we HAVE to talk about Donald Trump.
“FDR was the first “radio” president. JFK emerged as the first “television” president. Barack Obama broke through as the first “Internet” president. Next up? Prepare to meet Donald Trump, possibly the first “social media” and “reality TV” president.” He’s everywhere from Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram, and Vine! He’s an unstoppable force that has more press than the Kardashians and that’s saying something.
The billionaire presidential candidate had 6.8 million unique visitors on Facebook just in the last week – crushing his nearest Republican opponent, Jeb Bush, who had 964,000, according to figures provided by the site. Trump also tore it up on Twitter, gaining 100,000 new followers compared to Clinton’s new 45,000 in one week, according to Twitter. Clinton still has more Twitter followers at 4.1 million, compared to Trump’s 3.75 million. But she’s choosy about what to post — with less than 1,400 tweets.
Now looking back through history in every generation, the triumphant politician is the one who first masters his era’s media tools. “FDR’s “fireside chats” are now legendary. And yet we forget how innovative they were. Here was a president using the most cutting-edge technology of the day to speak directly to millions. His radio persona did not simply mask his physical limitations. You could argue that his physical limitations forced him to develop the rhetorical genius perfectly suited to a radio era.”
“Polished, handsome and energetic, JFK first captured America’s heart through the power of television. He was only outdone when an actual screen actor rose to the highest office in the land: Ronald Reagan. The Gipper’s televised charisma helped earn him the moniker “the Great Communicator.””
So it’s really no surprise that Trump is smashing polls because he has taken over the media. Yes, we do see Hilary in the paper, we do hear about Sanders on the radio; yet is it at the ferocity in which we see Trump? I also believe it has to do with his attitude towards everything; he has a bulldog like attitude in which he’s not afraid to say what he wants when he wants without thinking twice about it. And it’s THAT mindset that is the driving force behind his campaign.
“We thought the billionaire was leaving the world of Entertainment, climbing over a wall and joining us in the sober domain of Politics. But in fact, the opposite happened. “Trump, The Entertainer” stayed exactly where he was. Instead, he pulled the political establishment over the wall and into HIS domain. The political class is now lost in the world of reality television and social media.”
“In the old system of carefully controlled images, going wildly off message with bombastic statements would terminate a campaign. But not on a reality TV show. There, saying and doing crazy stuff just makes you more famous. Under the old system, extreme narcissists turn voters off. On reality TV, braggarts get sky-high ratings.” It’s the entertainment aspect that keeps us coming back, we want to know what insane thing Trump will say next, what meme will go viral in the coming hours on the internet, who will “endorse” Trump next; it’s all just a waiting game to gossip about.
Under the old system, scathing attacks on individuals and ethnic groups would scare away voters. But on Twitter, insulting people and throwing rhetorical bombs doesn’t cost you followers. It usually gains you followers. Lots of them. Under the old rules, retweeting an attack on the sanity of early state voters would send a campaign into a tailspin. In Trump’s world, he can simply blame a phantom “intern” and move on. Nobody even demands to interview the “intern.”
“No wonder almost every time we predict Trump will collapse, he only grows stronger. Trump is not breaking the rules. He is playing by a new set of rules. These are rules that everyday Americans have been living under (and adapting to) for more than a decade. The American pundit class, apparently, is late to this kind of a party.” I find Trump’s racist fear-mongering and anti-worker economic policies horrifying. And I truly hope that the juvenile tone and terrible substance of what he is saying will bring him down, eventually.
“But every political era is shaped by the media environment of its time. The most successful politicians have an innate understanding of that environment and the skill to act on it. In our era, that could be Trump. The reality-show president could soon become reality.”
I really could do without more reality television. But talk to you all next week!
Hugs Xoxo
tessamariaa 