14 DAY TRIAL // US President-elect Donald Trump took to social media several times in the last 12 months to tweet comments that drew heavy criticism, but starting January, he’ll be a completely different person when using the likes of Twitter and Facebook. Or at least, that’s what he promises.
In a recent interview on 60 Minutes, Trump explains that he’ll continue using social media, but he’ll no longer post his rage online, choosing instead to be a little bit more reserved.
“I'm going to be very restrained, if I use it at all, I'm going to be very restrained. I find it tremendous. It's a modern form of communication. There should be nothing we should be ashamed of,” he said.
Trump went on to explain that social media was a powerful weapon during the presidential race, explaining that it really had a substantial contribution in him becoming the President of the United States.
“It's where it's at...I do believe this, I really believe that the fact that I have such power in terms of numbers with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et cetera - I think it helped me win all of these races where they're spending much more money than I spent,” he explained.
Trump and the protesters
Donald Trump won’t give up on social media, he added. At this point, he has approximately 15 million followers on Twitter, and 28 million followers on all his social media accounts, so he sees this as an important communication channel that can be used especially when traditional media publishes what he calls “inaccurate” information.
“It's a great form of communication. Now do I say I'll give it up entirely?” he said. “I'm not saying I love it, but it does get the word out. When you give me a bad story or when you give me an inaccurate,” he added.
And yet, a leopard can’t change its spots, or at least, not overnight. Donald Trump took to Twitter on November 11 to criticize protesters in the United States who do not agree with him winning the presidential race, saying that “just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”
Shortly after that, probably acknowledging what he said in the interview for 60 Minutes, Donald Trump took back to Twitter to post a more “restrained” message: “Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!”
This is Donald Trump, ladies and gentlemen, the new President of the United States, and the next four years are going to be veeeery interesting.
