Why Presidents Should Not Use Social Media

Why Presidents Should Not Use Social Media

            Technology has been a great boon to us in the past few decades. It’s allowed us to do much more than we ever could before. One way it’s improved our lives is allowing us to communicate with anyone across the world in real-time. However, as that old adage about the internet states, “once it’s out there, it can’t be deleted.” Although sites like Twitter allow us to share our thoughts to the rest of the world in short messages, some people feel the need to use it as their soapbox, like our current President, Donald Trump.

           

Twitter is something that hasn’t been around that long, and so, not many people of high power have had the opportunity to use it. Former President Barack Obama was the first President to make use of it, and he used it conservatively; usually to promote bills or movements he supported. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has used it nearly every day; all it takes is one look at his personal Twitter to know that Trump speaks his mind on Twitter like he does in public; often no filter, with whatever comes to his mind as fair game.

In fact, Trump uses Twitter so much, that he is sometimes coined the “Twitter-in-Chief”, and there are many jokes of how he’ll be up at 3 o’clock in the morning tweeting. Trump’s tweets are featured prominently on late night shows like The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. This, of course, exposes many of Trump’s twitter-tantrums to the TV audience, and is one of the many ways that those in foreign countries see just how deranged our President is.

Whether he’s calling out news outlets as “fake news” for disagreeing with him, bashing politicians (on both sides) for disagreeing with him, or insulting other world leaders for disagreeing with him, social media sites like Twitter have allowed Trump to show the world who he really is; someone who isn’t fit for the Presidency (or, at the very least, not fit to use Twitter properly.)
           

It is true that the media likes to hound on Trump, and they may do it quite a bit, but that’s mainly because Trump provides so much ammunition with which the news media and other such outlets use to blast him when he does something wrong. It also doesn’t help that Trump resorts to pulling the “fake news” card whenever there’s a news story that portray him in a negative light, and he is very quick in letting his Twitter followers know. Yes, even the President has the right to free speech, but only if he lets other speak freely, as well, along with the point that free speech does not give one the right to demean others.

           

I think the easiest thing to do would be for Trump to not be allowed on Twitter. Failing that, I would hope that someone at the White House takes over his Twitter for him; at least this way, it could be given to someone who knows what to say and what not to say, and much less likely to tweet profanities and insults to the very people he swore he would serve.