If you have been overwhelmed by the velocity of developments over the last couple months of Donald Trump’s presidency, there may be a silver lining to be found in that breakneck pace. The very same thing that helped Donald Trump win the 2016 election might also be working to take down his presidency with extraordinary speed—his relentless use of Twitter. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times writes:
Many of the advantages that Mr. Trump had as a fast-moving outsider candidate — namely his ability to ridicule adversaries into submission on cable or social media — aren’t nearly as useful in the presidency. Twitter is far less effective in defense than offense, and unflattering fact has much greater power than Twitter bombast to set the narrative of a presidency.
Twitter could ultimately be the means of his undoing, current and former White House officials said.
“For Trump, at this point, social media isn’t helping — it’s an accelerant,” said Bob Bauer, President Barack Obama’s first White House counsel, who was known for his caution during his two-and-a-half-year West Wing tenure. [...]
“It took a long time for people to know what Nixon was thinking and feeling. Then they heard those tapes,” he added. “Nixon’s fortunes declined markedly when people heard it all in real time — all those four-letter words, his disrespect for institutions, his crudity. Trump is tweeting all of this in real time. Just think about that. He’s creating tapes with those tweets.
Trump’s real-time Twitter narration of his predicament along with his total lack of judgment/discretion has undoubtedly fueled news, speculation, reporting and maybe even leaks. So if you feel exhausted by Trump’s overactive thumbs and constant stupidity, take solace in the fact that his every single utterance is likely bringing our long national nightmare to a close sooner rather than later. Here’s hoping.