Trump’s “X” Return Gets the World Atwitter, Highlights His Ability to Turn on a Dime
He's back like he never left!
[Margo Martin / X]
The original influencer, Donald J. Trump, joined TikTok last month in an effort to win the youth vote.
Now, “the Donald” has returned to “X” (the platform formerly known as Twitter) in addition to other mainstream social media in response to Kamala Harris’ shallow campaign to win over voters with little real-world information.
While the Democrat Party’s nominee has no solid in-depth policy stances (as evidenced by her own website which features exactly zero), having Trump return to the #1 social media distribution platform is a smart move. It’s also a necessary move, given that he’s up against the disinformation and misinformation machines within mainstream media.
Last time I was backstage with President Trump before a rally, he asked me how he can win more young voters. I encouraged him to join and rejoin mainstream social media to get his message out. I told him Truth Social is great, but it’s an echo chamber among conservatives. I said, “Mister President, You have to get on mainstream platforms.” I specifically mentioned X, TikTok, and Instagram as hot properties where Gen Z and millennials frequently visit.
In the weeks following, Trump immediately rejoined Instagram, he’s launched a TikTok account (now the fastest growing TikTok account in the platform’s history), and this week he’s back on “X” and hosted a town hall with Elon Musk that’s already reached 1 billion pairs of eyeballs. He’s also created a robust social media program, partnered with influencers, content creators, and streamers to reach hundreds of millions of their followers, which is genius: ignore the mainstream media that hates him and talk directly to Gen Z!
Trump’s strategy to speak directly with voters is already paying off. Even though Harris has been holding arena rallies and trying to get away with not talking to media for 24 days now, social media creators are holding her accountable — for distancing herself from her role as “Border Czar” and more. She’s not getting the cake walk she’s used to since her meteoric rise through the ranks of California politics.
However, the next 90 days won’t be easy for Trump nor his supporters.
New polling indicates that Harris is now ahead with youth voters aged 18 to 29. The new poll (full dislaimer: from the Democrat Super PAC, “Won’t Back Down PAC”) she’s up 18 points just since the beginning of July. Some of that can simply be attributed to the so-called “Harris honeymoon,” and relief among youth voters that the elder Biden is no longer on the ticket.
But soon, youth voters will want more substance.
My generation of Generation Z and millennial voters care about prosperity, security, and having competence at the top of the ticket.
Della Volpe, who serves as the polling director for the Harvard Institute of Politics agrees: "Young people… want to know more about her values and vision, and I'm sure that's coming soon."
Don’t hold your breath.
This is where Trump can gain ground.
As Harris will try to skirt the issues (or outright steal from Trump’s policy playbook!), look for Trump to agree to more viral town halls over the next 90 days as a means of getting his message out.
Trump entered the political scene with his fiery political tweets when he was a New York businessman and reality TV star in 2015. He understands the importance of branding and harnessing social media to get his message out to my peers where we are - online.
His social media presence made him a more relatable and down-to-Earth candidate in 2016, and I believe he will lean into it with all his might in order to have a repeat victory in 2024!