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The unelected president-elect is not the only prominent politician with a Twitter account, but he’s the only one I can think of whose tweets consistently make the news.<\/p>\nThe unelected president-elect is not the only prominent politician with a Twitter account, but he’s the only one I can think of whose tweets consistently make the news.<\/p>\n
Yesterday Trump\u00a0tweeted about a military contract with Boeing to replace the existing presidential 747s with new aircraft. Cancel the order, he said, claiming the two new planes would cost taxpayers four billion dollars.<\/p>\n
Boeing responded with some tweets of its own, pointing out that the aircraft weren’t going to cost anywhere near that. Others responded by pointing out that Congress is in charge of the pursestrings, and that military contracts are not subject to cancellation on a presidential\u00a0whim. A few others pointed out that Trump is not the president, and won’t be until unauguration* day, January 20, 2017.<\/p>\n
When I walked in the door of\u00a0Anytime Fitness this morning, the wall monitors were set to Fox News, where a reporter was justifying Trump’s tweet by claiming “everyone knows” these airplanes will cost a lot more than Boeing says they will. Fortunately the volume was turned down and the stationary bicycle was far enough away from the TVs that once I got on it I could no longer hear the\u00a0smack of media lips kissing\u00a0Trump’s behind.<\/p>\n
Much ado about nothing? I’ve always looked on Trump’s tweets as his way of blowing off steam, a window to a\u00a0childish, vindictive soul. Maybe he’ll follow through on his threats once he’s president, maybe not. But a lot of prominent people, in and out of the media, take\u00a0his tweets\u00a0seriously. In their eyes, if Trump says cancel the contract, Boeing can kiss that order\u00a0goodbye. Trump’s tweets are often reported on as if they’re executive orders, or at the very minimum predictions of presidential policies to come.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, Trump’s tweets become turning points in an ongoing cultural war:<\/p>\n
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As of today<\/a>, 2.6 million\u00a0more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than for Donald Trump. Trump’s claim that anyone, let alone millions,\u00a0voted illegally is entirely false<\/a>. But members of Trump’s transition team swear in unison he won both the electoral and popular vote. Right-wing media repeat the claim verbatim. Mainstream media uselessly straddles the fence. Republican leaders in Congress, too chicken to come right out and endorse\u00a0Trump’s lie, pretend they simply don’t know<\/a> if millions voted illegally. Trump voters, I think it’s safe to say,\u00a0believe their man no matter what he says.<\/p>\n