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IN this modern age of social media, where many political battles are fought through Twitter handles and Facebook accounts, Craig LaMay, Northwestern University Qatar's (NU-Q) Journalism Program Associate Professor in Residence, explains to Qatar Tribune's Malek Helali how the newly-elected US President Donald Trump's frequent unconventional use of Twitter space is effective, but can also at times, be an embarrassment for his administration.
On former President Barack Obama & Trump: Obama used social media extensively, and I expect any administration to do it. It is an effective way of reaching your audience. However, I think it's remarkable that Trump's tweets are news being covered every night. The Republicans rejected every mainstream candidate for an unconventional one, so I wouldn't expect Trump to change. Presidents are generally elected for emotional reasons and not practical ones.
On anti-immigrant statements:
Trump is constantly tweeting and identifying enemies. Offensive statements are not smart, not very constructive if you're trying to formulate policy, but it is constitutional. In politics, hurling insults isn't a way of making friends or influencing people. When I read what he tweets, I assume there are people who influence what he says and how he says it, and they have a different idea of who's supporting them. I think they are misreading the American public.
On fake and alternative news:
The Washington Post and The New York Times wrote that his attack on the judiciary was a way of setting himself up for when there's a terrorist attack to say it's not his fault. I would argue that in my country there has not been a single politician who successfully waged a long term war with the media, (former President Richard) Nixon tried and it didn't work for him, eventually you do lose.
There are a lot of alternative news sources. You can watch NBC or you can watch Fox News, there are different audiences for these different news sources. If by alternative news they mean a different set of facts, that's a different thing. Facts in journalism and academia are confirmed through checking with multiple sources including those who tell different stories and through testing against alternative possibilities. If by alternative news you mean propaganda, stories that have no basis or haven't been checked, that's also different. People are throwing these terms around like fake news or alternative news and they can mean all kinds of things.
Trump doesn't have any beliefs. He previously supported Democratic politics, now he's a Republican but he's really not, everyone knows Republicans are the party of free trade. The Congress lets him do whatever he wants while doubling down on their legislative agenda. I'm more concerned about the Congress. They (Republicans) have all three branches now. They're interested in an acting legislative agenda they were trying to enact for 25 years.
