“There is no doubt that Twitter was the president’s megaphone for his supporters and the media. In fact, without Twitter, he may not have been elected in 2016, ”said Tony Fabrizio, a Trump researcher who worked on the president’s campaigns in 2016 and 2020.“ Although I’m sure he will find other ways to communicate with its main loyalists, losing the ability to communicate with 88 million people at once will definitely decrease its reach after January. 20. ”
Trump’s advisers have prepared a post-presidential political apparatus that can be used to target Republicans he has declared disloyal, such as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, South Dakota Senator John Thune and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski. Trump will have a huge financial arsenal at his disposal, having raised hundreds of millions of dollars since the election – much of it for a new political action committee he formed.
But Trump’s most potent political weapon has probably been his Twitter account, which he has long used to gather supporters against those he feels have wronged him. He has followed Kemp and Thune repeatedly on Twitter in the past few months, accusing them of undermining his quest to overturn the election.
The mechanics of the social media platform matched Trump’s overall goal of bending Republicans at will, allowing him to post one attack after another in bursts. The posts attracted wide media coverage, further expanding their power.
Trump used his Twitter feed during the 2018 midterm elections to turn his supporters against once popular Republicans, such as former South Carolina deputy Mark Sanford, former Arizona senator Jeff Flake and former senator from Tennessee Bob Corker, who lost re-election or chose to retire. During the 2020 election cycle, he pursued former Michigan deputy Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party and did not seek re-election.
“Trump has just lost his favorite final game and is put aside,” said Scott Reed, a former senior political adviser to the United States Chamber of Commerce.
As they laid the groundwork for the 2020 re-election campaign, Trump advisers acknowledged that being banned from Twitter can be devastating. There have been ongoing conversations with the president last year about making Facebook his primary media, with advisers considering it a more conservative platform. Talks about Parler continued into the summer. But Trump has always turned to Twitter.
Current and former Trump advisers were surprised by the announcement of the ban on Twitter, with some admitting that it could seriously undermine his ability to communicate as he approaches post-White House life. A former aide to the president commented, “Without Twitter, he’s just a guy talking to himself.”
Which Trump platform to turn to next is unclear. After the deadly invasion of the Capitol on Wednesday, Facebook and Instagram announced that Trump would be banned “indefinitely”, at least until President-elect Joe Biden took office on January 20. YouTube has not yet banned Trump, but announced earlier in the week which would suspend any channel that echoes unfounded allegations of electoral fraud, something to which Trump gave a voice.
It has long been said that Trump could open his own media once he leaves the White House, but people in his orbit have long been skeptical of this idea, arguing that launching a new platform would be a major undertaking.
Shortly after his account was suspended, Trump turned to his official government feed on Twitter to declare that he and his supporters would “look at the possibilities of building our own platform in the near future”.
“We will not be silenced,” wrote Trump. “Stay tuned.”
The post appears to have been deleted by Twitter shortly after its publication. Twitter also suspended the Trump campaign account.
Many believe Trump will find another way to get his message across.
“I always knew that social media platforms were ready to ban the president. They were just waiting for the right moment. However, this will not prevent the president from communicating. He will post elsewhere, ”said Parscale, who served as digital director for Trump’s 2016 campaign before becoming his 2020 campaign manager.
Others argue that Trump will have numerous other ways to reach the media, which will certainly obsessively cover post-White House life.
“It closes a big platform, yes, but it has other platforms,” said Kevin Madden, a leading spokesman in Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. “He can go on the radio or call cable news whenever he wants. Any message or content he wants to promote still has a legion of supporters ready to promote it. “
There is also the possibility that Trump’s absence from Twitter could leave a void for one of his children to fill. Donald Trump Jr., who used social media to establish his own followers, is expected to remain visible and assume a role as a king maker in the Republican Party in the coming months.
Young Trump, who has often accused technology companies of being biased against conservatives, accessed Twitter after Friday night’s announcement to criticize the move.
“Censorship is happening like NEVER before!” he posted.