“President Obama was the first president to deal with the technology while in office, he was the first to command the various social media accounts now associated with the presidency.”
President Trump is a big fan of using Twitter to communicate with Americans and the world, despite the fact that the character limit on tweets can sometimes lead to confusion. For example, when he issued the tweet about banning transgenders in the military, the first tweet read:
“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow…..”
This was followed by a few minutes of silence as Trump prepared his next tweet, leaving some of his followers wondering what was going to come next. Some even speculated that this tweet was the beginning of a declaration of war. Not exactly the best message to be sending unintentionally.
The way presidents have communicated has changed over time as the forms of media communication have changed over time. Early presidents such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson traveled by horseback or carriage to deliver speeches to constituents, and published statements in newspapers.
Eventually, emerging technologies like the telegraph and telephone, as well as advances in transportation made it easier for messages to be spread further, faster. The invention of the phonograph allowed presidents to record speeches and distribute them across the country for constituents to hear.
Then radio was invented as a form of communication, and for the first time, politicians were given the ability to communicate instantaneously. It became much easier for the messages of presidents to reach a larger number of their constituents as the radio became a household staple.
While President Harding was the first president to use radio to communicate, President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) was known for utilizing the technology the best with his Fireside Chats and radio friendly speaking manner. He invoked a sense of closeness and intimacy that wasn’t used for public speeches, and it helped him to win over the hearts of his constituents.
The next big technological change was the invention of the television. As with radio, the technology was utilized by many, but mastered by few. President John F. Kennedy (JFK) was the first to really use television masterfully, and he paved the way for future presidents to use the medium to communicate with Americans and the world. His good looks and sense of confidence on screen contributed to his winning of the election, and changed the face of politics for the future. Suddenly, personality on screen became an important factor in the consideration of how electable a candidate was.
Now, in 2017, we have the internet and social media. It still remains to be seen how much social media will change the way the President communicates with constituents. President Obama was the first president to deal with the technology while in office, he was the first to command the various social media accounts now associated with the presidency, and he faced a need to create a system for handing over the various accounts to his successor.
President Trump is the first president to enter office already versed in the technology, as well as the first to enter office with his own accounts and his own social media following.
As President Trump was preparing to take office, many were concerned about his ability to control himself on social media, particularly on Twitter, for he was known for spouting rants at odd hours of the evening and sometimes saying things that could be damaging to his campaign. The question on people’s minds was, would he do the same as President?
So far, he has managed to do reasonably well at controlling the media that comes out of the White House. While the first of the series of tweets on the transgender ban may have caused some confusion, it didn’t cause any outright damage.
But, will President Trump become a social media master in the history books, as FDR was with radio and JFK was with television? Or will that honor be given to a future president down the line?
President Trump has the opportunity to make a name for himself as the first president to do social media really well. The question of course then becomes, will he?
