TWEETSTORMS IN
TRUMP TOWN
COMPILATION AND
COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
MAY 28, 2020
THIS ARTICLE
GIVES BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE LATEST TRUMP FALSEHOOD AND TWITTER’S PUBLICLY
SLAPPING HIS HAND OVER IT, LIGHTLY. SEE THE DAILY BLOG OF MAY 26 AND 27 FOR
MORE, AND FOR FOLLOWUP STORIES. THE YAHOO ARTICLE IS VERY LONG, 14 PAGES, SO I HAVE
PLACED IT IN A POST OF ITS’ OWN. THE TEXT OF ALL THE TWEETS HAS BEEN BLANKED
OUT EITHER BY YAHOO THEMSELVES OR BY THE POWERS ABOVE US. I SUGGEST THAT
BECAUSE TRUMP DOESN’T LIKE CONTRADICTION OR CRITICISM, AND HAS THREATENED TO
DISCIPLINE TWITTER WITH SOME RESTRAINTS FOR THEIR ACTION. HE WOULD HAVE TO DO
THAT TO ALL RATHER THAN JUST ONE, I WOULD THINK THOUGH, AND THERE WILL BE A
HUGE OUTCRY IF HE UNILATERALLY TRIES TO TACKLE THE INTERNET.
Wielding
Twitter like a weapon: Here's what was really going on when Trump's most
outrageous tweet storms took place
Business
Insider
insider@insider.com
(Jake Lahut,Rhea Mahbubani)
Business
Insider • May 27, 2020
PHOTOGRAPH --
Trump's ability to drive news cycles from his Twitter account has remained a
fixture of his presidency, but sometimes the sheer volume itself becomes the
story. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President
Donald Trump's Twitter use has gotten to the point where the social media
company has, for the first time, marked two of his tweets with a fact check for
the public.
His use of the
platform to communicate with his fans and detractors is unprecedented. Trump's
tweets from the White House have the ability to not only drive news cycles but
spark policy and force the hands of his opponents.
Back on
Mother's Day, President Trump came close to breaking his all-time record for
most tweets in a day.
The president's
Twitter use is often understood as trying to create a distraction or push for a
shift in messaging when he doesn't like his press coverage. He also tweets a
lot about ratings.
Using a
database logging all of Trump's tweets, Business Insider analyzed how Trump wields
tweets in order to control the narrative.
Visit Business
Insider's homepage for more stories.
Donald Trump
was a prolific Twitter user well before entering politics.
Now that he's
president, his tweets can move markets, force the hands of world leaders, and
scramble his own administration into action.
Over the last
week, Trump has used his influence on Twitter to hammer out false accusations
that a cable news host murdered a former staffer and to call the legitimacy of
mail-in voting into question. And for the first time, Twitter slapped a fact
check on two of Trump's tweets that attempted to undermine public confidence in
voting by mail. The president has since issued a "Clean up your act,
NOW!!!!" directive to social media platforms.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2020
Trump is truly
the first social media president, and it's hard to imagine what his time in
office might look like if Twitter wasn't at his disposal. The platform allows
him to shift the story, control the narrative, and speak directly to his
constituents in an unfettered, unfiltered way that thrills fans and pains
critics.
The volume —
and volatility — of Trump's tweets tell a bigger story than the day-to-day
controversy over their content. In Trump's world, you distract from one problem
— impeachment, poor ratings, the Mueller Report — by creating another (on
Twitter).
Here are
Trump's record days on Twitter, and why he may have been running rampant over
your timeline, according to the Factba.se database:
1. Peak
'Apprentice': 161 tweets on Jan. 5, 2015
Trump tweeted
161 times on a Monday when his final season of "Celebrity Apprentice"
was coming out.
Trump tweeted
161 times on a Monday when his final season of "Celebrity Apprentice"
was coming out.
Chris
Pizzello/Invision/AP
Trump's ability
to flood the zone with tweets and retweets was on full display back in 2015.
With the 14th
season of the "Celebrity Apprentice" premiering — his final one as
the show's host — Trump went to town promoting the show on a Monday.
As expected,
the show's ratings were a major focus.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2015
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2015
The bulk of
these tweets would have benefited from the quote tweet function, which did not
exist at the time.
So for most of
these, Trump is just copy and pasting people praising him and tweeting that out
instead of hitting the retweet button, which he still had fully at his
disposal.
Despite all of
the busy Twitter days that have come since he moved into the Oval Office, the
record still stands.
2. Davos
dreaming: 142 tweets on Jan. 22, 2020
When Trump was
meeting with business leaders during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual
meeting in Davos, Switzerland, he managed to rattle out 142 tweets in a day.
When Trump was
meeting with business leaders during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting
in Davos, Switzerland, he managed to rattle out 142 tweets in a day.
Carlos
Barria/Reuters
While overseas
in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, Trump's impeachment trial was set
to get underway in the Senate.
The House had
already impeached him on the counts of abuse of power and obstruction of
Congress stemming from his efforts to get dirt on former Vice President Joe
Biden's son in Ukraine
Trump was eager
to change the subject, promoting his appearances on cable news, touting the
"Very successful (for USA) trip" and quoting people defending him on
Fox News.
He also weighed
in on the Democratic primary, once again alleging the primary was
"rigged" against Bernie Sanders.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2020
Adding those to
a mix of retweeting Republican lawmakers and the Republican National
Committee's campaign videos, Trump hit a clip of as many as 41 tweets per hour.
Some were also
hard to make sense of, such as a nonsequitur "NO PRESSURE" tweet
during the evening over in Davos.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2020
That day's
total of 142 is his record so far as president.
3. The Mother's
Day storm: 126 tweets on May 10, 2020
Trump's
excessive Twitter use drew a lot of attention on Mother's Day when he fired off
126 tweets that Sunday.
Trump's
excessive Twitter use drew a lot of attention on Mother's Day when he fired off
126 tweets that Sunday.
AP
Photo/Richard Drew
Not long after
Trump tweeted an almost obligatory "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!" at 8:10 a.m.
on Sunday, May 10, he cleared 50 tweets and retweets combined by the bottom of
the hour.
Outside of the
president's Twitter account, the news was not good. The coronavirus death toll
mounted and his approval ratings continued to sag as new polls showed former
Vice President Joe Biden ahead in key swing states.
Trump's topics
were a mix of old and new.
He re-litigated
the Russia investigation, calling for Pulitzer Prizes for reporting on the
probe to be revoked.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2020
In addition to
retweeting a QAnon conspiracy theory account and a bunch of other regularly
referenced people, Trump kept beating the drum on his newly formed
"Obamagate" conspiracy — accusing the former president of a crime he
can't quite explain.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2020
Trump kept up
that blistering pace through the night, ending up with 142 tweets on the day
and nearly breaking his presidential record.
4. More
impeachment woes: 123 tweets on Dec. 12, 2019
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi of Calif., walks to the House floor, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, on
Capitol Hill in Washington
House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi of Calif., walks to the House floor, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019, on
Capitol Hill in Washington
AP
Photo/Patrick Semansky
When the House
Judiciary Committee was debating what would become the two articles of
impeachment against President Trump, he kicked his tweeting into high gear.
Although Trump
was irritated — decrying the process as a "hoax" and retweeting his
Republican defenders — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had been hesitant to begin
the process at all, were it not for the scandal snowballing from an anonymous
whistleblower complaint about Trump seeking leverage over the Ukrainian
president to announce an investigation into Hunter Biden.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
As lawmakers
parsed through the Ukraine scandal, Trump live-tweeted the cable news coverage
by touting anyone who was willing to defend him.
Trump hit 58
tweets per hour, for an average of one tweet every 62 seconds, according to the
Factba.se database.
5. 'Celebrity
Apprentice' redux: 119 tweets on Jan. 6, 2015
Rounding out
the top 5, Trump's drive to promote the "Celebrity Apprentice"
brought him close to the record he set the previous day.
Rounding out
the top 5, Trump's drive to promote the "Celebrity Apprentice"
brought him close to the record he set the previous day.
Virginia
Sherwood/NBC
If Trump had
somehow managed to shoehorn all of the promoting he was doing on Twitter for
the "Celebrity Apprentice" into one day, he would have hit 280 tweets
in 24 hours.
In total, he's
tweeted about the show more than 1,000 times since creating his account,
according to the Factba.se database, and continues to do so to this day.
But because
there are only so many hours in the day, Trump picked up where he left off the
day before and clocked in at 119 tweets the day after he set his all-time
record.
Following
another common pattern in his Twitter use, Trump shared articles mentioning
him, such as a TMZ story involving comments he made about former NFL wide
receiver Terrell "T.O." Owens, who was competing on the show that
season.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2015
PHOTOGRAPH --
Rep. Eric Swalwell in a press conference on Capitol Hill.
AP Photo/Alex
Brandon
6. Impeachment
woes, Sunday shows edition: 105 tweets on Dec. 8, 2019
After a week of
contentious Ukraine hearings on Capitol Hill, President Trump fired off on
Twitter as big interviews on the major networks' Sunday shows aired.
Programs like
"Meet The Press," "Face the Nation," and "Fox News
Sunday" usually feature panels of reporters and political operatives
recapping the news of the week and offering analysis. They also usually have a
couple of news-making interviews with federal officials.
With the
Ukraine scandal approaching formal articles of impeachment, Trump went into TV
critic overdrive.
Trump was
critical of "Fox News Sunday" for featuring guests — including
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California — who were not staunch supporters
of the president, and touted Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas for defending
him on NBC's "Meet the Press."
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2019
Overall,
Trump's high volume Sunday was another example of his propensity for using his
executive time to watch TV and weigh-in in real-time, all day long.
7. "Vote
for @realDonaldTrump & stop Hillary!" A preview of things to come: 102
tweets, April 12, 2015.
Trump's tweets
about Hillary Clinton on the day she announced her candidacy were a harbinger
of how he would campaign in 2016.
Trump's tweets
about Hillary Clinton on the day she announced her candidacy were a harbinger
of how he would campaign in 2016.
Saul
Loeb-Pool/Getty Images
Again, in the
era before the quote tweet function, Donald Trump did a lot of copy and
pasting.
On the day
Hillary Clinton announced her plans to run for president in 2016 — confirming
what had been a foregone conclusion in the political press for years — Trump
gave a shoutout to just about anyone who was tweeting at him to encourage the
then-real estate mogul to take on HRC.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2015
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2015
A common theme
among those whom Trump touted that day was an imagined debate between him and
Clinton.
While it may
have seemed like a distant fantasy then, even for Trump's most ardent fans, it
would become a reality just over a year later.
8. More
ratings, more 'Apprentice': 100 tweets on Feb. 27, 2013
Another season
of 'Apprentice' brought a triple-digit tweet total for the day.
Another season
of 'Apprentice' brought a triple-digit tweet total for the day.
AP Photo/Carrie
Antlfinger
Trump's last
triple digit tweet day came on the heels of another new season of the Celebrity
Apprentice.
Using Twitter
to keep the publicity going, Trump tweeted heavily about his appearances on
Jimmy Fallon, Howard Stern, "The Today Show," and "The Kelly and
Michael Show," the latter of which also featured his daughter, Ivanka.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2013
Otherwise,
Trump took some shots at his now-campaign adviser Karl Rove for his work on
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's reelection race.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2013
9. "Carlos
Danger" and Steve Jobs come back from the grave: 95 tweets on July 24,
2013.
PHOTOGRAPH -- Anthony
Weiner, AP
Trump was not
alone in tweeting about Anthony Weiner, whose online alias "Carlos
Danger" had been making headlines.
The former
congressman was waging a comeback campaign for mayor of New York City, only to
have it all unravel again by being embroiled in a second sexting scandal.
As a longtime
fixture of New York tabloids, Trump was quick to weigh in.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2013
Elsewhere,
Trump tweeted about iPhone screens being too small, and quipped that Steve Jobs
should come back from the grave.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2013
Otherwise,
Trump was not tweeting as much about ratings, but he was still weighing in
frequently about the biggest story on TV that day, rarely passing up an
occasion to inject himself into the conversation.
10. More Chuck
Todd: 92 tweets on Jan. 27, 2015
VIDEO -- Chuck
Todd, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," once again found himself the
focus of Trump's tweets in January 2015.
YouTube
Although Trump
would be running for president in a few months, something about Chuck Todd
hosting "Meet the Press" made him think he could do a better job.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2015
Trump is a
creature of TV, even watching up to seven hours of cable news in the White
House residence before heading down to the West Wing to start the work day.
Otherwise,
Trump spent the day tweeting about the Miss Univese pageant — a fixture of his
celebity persona — and alleging that Hurricane Juno was not that bad, blaming
President Obama for reasons that are unclear.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2015
There were also
more Celebrity Apprentice retweets, of course.
These Twitter
tears have relied heavily on retweets with original posts scattered throughout.
Here are five
"honorary mentions" or days when Trump lashed out at those he
disagreed with, in his own words with original tweets.
11. Trump's
tirade targets some common enemies: 36 tweets on Nov. 17, 2019.
PHOTOGRAPH -- President
Donald Trump greets Rep Steve Scalise (L) R-LA upon arrival at Louis Armstrong
New Orleans International Airport. Mandel
Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
If it's Sunday,
chances are Trump is live-tweeting "the shows."
The
Commander-in-Tweet took aim at the "Fake News," "Fake
Whistleblower," "Do Nothing Democrats," and "Never
Trumpers" in a Ukraine investigation tirade.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
Catching up
with those Sunday shows, Trump in the same tweet lauded Rep. Steve Scalise of
Louisiana and condemned Fox News host Chris Wallace.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
He also heaped
praise on Rep. Elise Stefanik and Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, and
displayed somewhat uncharacteristic generosity toward former Vice President Joe
Biden, saying he is not a "rabid dog. He is actually somewhat better than
that."
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
While the
Sunday shows often seek to frame the important news stories for the coming
week, this is a prime example of Trump trying to counterprogram them one tweet
at a time.
12. A day for
freewheeling and wide-ranging rancor: 36 tweets on July 11, 2019.
PHOTOGRAPH -- Sen.
Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, addresses people outside an organizing event at
McCoy's Bar Patio and Grill in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Jan. 4, 2019. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Trump had a
packed morning: He body-shamed Sen. Elizabeth Warren and resurrected her nickname
of "Pocahantas"; compared former Democratic presidential hopeful Pete
Buttigieg to to cartoon character Alfred E. Neuman from "Mad"
magazine and tagged an incorrect Twitter profile in the process (that's since
been deleted); and joked about staying in the White House beyond a second term.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
While hyping a
Social Media Summit geared toward protecting Americans' right to free speech,
Trump ended up sowing confusion by referring to "that day in November,
2016, that I came down the escalator with the person who was to become your
future First Lady." Seeing as the election happened in November 2016,
however, he was likely referring to announcing his presidential campaign in
June 2015.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
Trump also
claimed that "didn't use many banks" because he didn't "need
their money." However, The New York Times reported that he took $2 billion
in loans from Deutsche Bank alone.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2019
13. Trump
defends a 'congenial phone call' with the Ukrainian president: 35 tweets on
Oct. 3, 2019.
PHOTOGRAPH -- Rep.
Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee
stands next to a photograph of President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2017. More Alex
Brandon/AP
Trump was in
Florida, where he signed the "Executive Order on Protecting and Improving
Medicare for Our Nation's Seniors."
But the actual
workings of the government didn't stop him from doubling down on the Democratic
party and its alleged partner-in-crime, the news media, and accusing them of
conducting the "Greatest Witch Hunt" in American history based on a
"congenial phone call."
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2019
Trump also
continued slinging mud at Rep. Adam Schiff and renewed calls for his ouster.
This would only
get more heated as the impeachment inquiry progressed.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2019
14. Trump rains
down on Robert Mueller: 34 tweets on July 24, 2019.
PHOTOGRAPH -- Former
Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs from the US Capitol following his
testimonies before the House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Tom Brenner/Reuters
Trump clung
tightly to the victim card, casting former Special Counsel Robert Mueller as
Public Enemy No. 1 ahead of his highly-anticipated testimony at the conclusion
of the Mueller Report into Trump's alleged collusion and obstruction.
He also blasted
Democrats for "illegally" making up a crime and "pinning it on a
very innocent President." Even "crooked" Hillary Clinton and
"lying and leakin'" James Comey didn't escape the line of fire.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
But his tune
changed as the day progressed, with The Times reporting that the White House
was abuzz because Mueller's testimonial had been a disappointment, and Trump
crowed over the left's "BIG" defeat.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2019
15. Democrats
v. Trump: 34 tweets on Oct. 14, 2019.
PHOTOGRAPH -- House
members vote as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, stands on the
dais, during a vote on Article II of impeachment against President Donald
Trump. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Decrying the
"impeachment scam," Trump characterized Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib
of Michigan as a "despicable human being!" and then lashed out at
Adam Schiff, who served as the lead impeachment manager, for protecting the
identity of the whistleblower who sounded the alarm on the April 21 call
between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump that triggered the
ensuing impeachment trial.
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
He shared
segments by Mark Levin on "The Mark Levin Show" on Fox News that
labeled the impeachment inquiry as a "coup" and described Pelosi as
"the ring leader in this whole rogue operation."
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
And he also
issued a statement imposing "powerful" sanctions on Turkey and called
on "anyone who wants to assist Syria in protecting the Kurds."
—Donald J.
Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 14, 2019
Read the
original article on Business Insider
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