@realdonaldtrump
*It is interesting to note that most of Trump’s official accounts contain the word “real” before his actual name. This reflects how his personal celebrity status affects his political career. Many Americans think that his run for president is a joke, so he still needs to justify the fact that his candidacy is real. There are many fake social media Donald Trump accounts that mock Trump.
Of all social media sites, Donald Trump seems to be most active on Twitter and he uses it as his main media outlet. Trump’s Twitter account promotes himself and also expresses his opinions on certain issues and events. His tweets are not without controversy. Trump has earned a reputation for saying extreme, ridiculous things on his Twitter, and his tweets are often talked about and discussed on news stations. He has 5.12 million followers on his Twitter, the most among all of the presidential candidates. Trump takes advantage of this by using this social media site to gain attention, and his controversial tweets and retweets help him do so. Trump even admits that he has been “childish” at times during the campaign. His strategy for this social media site is to post tweets that will give people something to talk about. The more attention he can get, the better chance he has of staying relevant and present in the 2016 presidential race. In addition, if someone attacks him, he will respond. As his campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said in an interview on CNN, “If someone attacks him, he’s a counter puncher.” One example of this was his feud with Megan Kelly from Fox News that came about following the first GOP Primary Debate in August 2015. Below are a couple of his tweets in response to the situation.
Some of Trump’s most controversial Tweets, from before and during his current 2016 presidential campaign:
http://totalfratmove.com/the-20-most-controversial-donald-trump-tweets/
Trump is also very active on Facebook. Although he does not have as nearly as many followers on his Facebook page as his Twitter account, his Facebook profile is still very popular: 4,591,921 like his page. Of all the presidential candidates, only Ben Carson has more people who like his page than Trump. He posts videos of himself at rallies, links to images of recent polls, and posts his opinions on certain issues. He thanks the American people for all their support at his rallies and for their support that has allowed him to stay at the top of the Republican polls. In addition, he promotes and advertises certain events, such as his book signings, and posts links that allow people to get involved in his campaign, such as sign up links to volunteer. Another interesting thing to point out on his profile is the pages that his own Facebook likes. All the pages are associated with companies, events, and real estate that the Trump Organization owns, including Miss Teen USA, Trump Golf, and the Trump Hotel Collection. This shows how he connects his political career with his business and personal life. Most recently, he live-shared his thoughts on President Obama’s address from the Oval Office on Sunday, December 6. He was very blunt and honest about his opinions regarding Obama and his speech. Below is one post he made during the broadcast.
Trump has 659k followers on Instagram. While Trump criticizes and mocks other candidates on both Twitter and Facebook, it appears as though Trump most directly attacks candidates on his Instagram account, especially through videos. He posts videos that attack President Obama and 2016 presidential candidates, most notably Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush. In addition, unlike on Twitter and Facebook, Trump posts videos in which he addresses the nation from his office chair. In these videos, he mostly ridicules Obama or talks about certain issues. Trump also uses negative campaigning on Instagram. He and his team post attack ads about other candidates. There is also a mock ad that claims Bill Clinton supports Trump based on what he has said about Trump during the presidential race. Furthermore, Trump is not afraid to make in fun of himself on this social media site. For example, he posts a photo of his wearing a wig that is part blonde, part black and writes, “Getting ready for @nbcsnl commercial.” This is a play on his hair and the obsession Americans have with how ridiculous his hair can look sometimes. Humor makes people appear relatable, and Trump uses this to appeal to the American people and show that than he is capable of making fun of himself and can be funny. Lastly, trump has a series of #TrumpAdvice photos that he posts. I find some of these to be ironic and hard to take seriously. Through his use of videos and certain photos, followers are able to see different and more personal sides of Trump on his Instagram account.
