NEWS AND OPINION:
President Trump often bypasses the irate news media with his tweets, pushing back against hostile press narratives that overlook such positive nuggets as this: 82 percent of those who voted for him back in 2016 would do so again, according to a tidy new Politico poll. Mr. Trump maintains a conversational tone to his Twitter missives; he appears accessible, unapologetic and in good humor to his fans. And there are many. The president currently has 42.3 million followers and has tweeted over 36,000 times.
“If there’s one thing that’s transfixed the world, it’s President Trump’s tweets. On every topic, at all times of day, we get a glimpse into what the president is thinking on a daily basis,” says Todd Grossman, CEO of Talkwalker.com, a global data research group which tracks the impact of social media and other online fare in 187 languages.
The organization analyzed every Trump tweet since election night 2016, and here’s what they found: The president tweets, on average, six times day. Each tweet averages 98,000 likes or retweets. His favorite hashtags are #MAGA, #America First, #USA and #Fakenews. A morning guy, Mr. Trump is most active on Twitter between 6 and 9 a.m. ET.
The tweet that got the most reaction? That was on July 2 when the president tweeted out a video clip showing a Trump character knocking out a CNN character, bearing the hashtag #FraudNewsCNN. It was retweeted 365,000 times and garnered close to 600,000 likes from Trump fans. The second most popular tweet? That was in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2016, when President-elect Mr. Trump tweeted “The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before” — which drew 213,000 retweets and 617,000 likes.
The people he mentioned most in his tweets “probably aren’t at the top of his Christmas card list,” advises Mr. Grossman. They were former President Barack Obama, mentioned 54 times during the yearlong study period, followed by Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton (53 times) and former FBI Director James B. Comey (26 times).
THOSE HASTY CONCLUSIONS ’PREMATURE’
The giddy press was eager to declare that Democratic election victories this week signaled the beginning of the end of the Trump administration, and a “repudiation” of all President Trump stands for. Wait. Not so fast says Jon Allsop, a fellow with (drum roll, please) the Columbia Journalism Review.
“Sweeping conclusions about the frailty of Trump and the resurgence of the Democratic Party are premature. These were local elections settled by local dynamics — and while Trump was a factor, it’s impossible to divine a uniform ’Trump effect”’ across states. Editors and observers interviewed by Columbia Journalism Review paint a more complex picture than a Trump slump: The president was one consideration in elections that hinged on state-specific issues and personalities, filtered through particular demographics that don’t perfectly reflect the country as a whole,” Mr. Allsop writes.
The media is “too thirsty for a narrative shift on Trump,” he says.
A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR THE GOP
Meanwhile, some warn Republicans that undermining President Trump and neglecting serious policy is folly.
“Never-Trump Republicans, including former President George W. Bush and Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker, echoed by a number of prominent conservative columnists seem to suggest the GOP path to salvation is to disavow Trump and thus reclaim their honor and the party the president and the voters hijacked in 2016,” cautions Jonathan Tobin, in a column for The New York Post.
“But what is the point of such moral preening? Umbrage about Trump’s shortcomings isn’t a substitute for a political agenda. The only alternative to Trump is Democratic rule. The midterms won’t be so much a referendum on his manners and tweets as it will be on an effort to overthrow the most conservative government in recent memory,” writes Mr. Tobin.
“Republicans’ only rational path forward is to forget about ditching Trump and get their own act together in the House and Senate,” he advises. “Doing so will require some hard work and growing up on the president’s part, too. But if congressional Republicans can put aside their intra-party feuds and resentment toward Trump, they can still present midterm voters with a record of accomplishment that will give them a fighting chance.”
A MANHATTAN GET-TOGETHER
An upcoming event boasts a noteworthy guest list. Among those attending the annual Justice Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner, staged at a glittering hotel for 1,000 attendees in New York City on Sunday: Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican; former Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, author and former White House adviser Steve Bannon, Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, media kingpin Mortimer Zuckerman, Israel’s representative to the United Nations Danny Danon, philanthropists Sheldon and Miriam Adelson and Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, the host organization.
Fox Business Network anchor Liz Claman will serve as emcee of the event, which features a convivial reception, a kosher buffet and such recognitions as the “Defender of Israel Award” — which goes to Mr. Cotton.
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POLL DU JOUR
• 85 percent of those who voted for President Trump say he will complete his term in office; 52 percent of all U.S. voters and 24 percent of those who voted for Hillary Clinton agree.
• 82 percent of Trump voters would vote for him if they “had it to do over”; 79 percent of all voters would vote for their chosen candidate again; 78 percent of Clinton voters would vote for her again.
• 7 percent of Trump voters would vote for someone else if they had a chance; 8 percent of all voters and 8 percent of Clinton voters also would vote for someone else.
• 5 percent of Trump votes would not have voted in 2016 if they had to do it over; 8 percent of all voters and 9 percent of Clinton voters also would not have voted.
Source: A Politico/Morning Consult poll of 1,900 registered U.S. voters conducted October 26-30.
• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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