Inside the Beltway: Trump Twitter has ‘a good chance of success’

NEWS AND OPINION:

Political foes of former President Donald Trump should not forget that he has a viable background in entertainment, public engagement and media outreach. Mr. Trump is also very canny about personal branding and can create productive buzz around his interests or activities before the media even wakes up in the morning.

One of Mr. Trump’s interests is to create a social media platform of his own after he was permanently banned from Twitter. Consider that 65% of Twitter users now identify as Democratic and 33% as Republican, according to a Pew Research Center report issued Jan. 11. This finding suggests there would be a receptive following for Mr. Trump and his potential endeavor.

“Trump’s social media platform has a good chance of success,” advised Raghavan Mayur, president and founder of the marketing consultancy TechnoMetrica, and the director of the Investors Business Daily/TIPP Poll — which has received an A-plus rating for its accuracy and methodology from polling news outlet FiveThirtyEight.com.

All that said, here’s what the TIPP Poll revealed about a potential Trump Twitter entity.

“Some of Trump’s detractors are already nervous,” Mr. Mayur wrote in an analysis released Monday.

It revealed that 40% of U.S. adults said they would join Mr. Trump’s social media platform. Of this group, 39% would “abandon Twitter” in the process.

“A new Trump platform will likely be a refuge for a large share of conservatives (61%), with smaller percentages of moderates (23%) and liberals (16%),” Mr. Mayur said.

“The platform is also likely to appeal to younger age groups,” he noted, adding that it would “provide an opportunity for Trump to reach out to younger people.”

Indeed, the poll found that 49% of those ages 18-24, along with 49% of those 24-44 would join Mr. Trump’s social media outreach. In summation, the poll and its analysis had promising news for the 45th president’s social media project.

“It has good chance of success, no matter what the media and its experts say. The United States has a Twitter problem. Market forces, public opinion, and regulators will have to resolve it sooner or later,” Mr. Mayur concluded.

The TIPP Poll of 1,436 U.S. adults was conducted March 31-April 3.

VACCINATION SELFIES BECOME A MEDIA THING

Security experts have already warned Americans not to post any images of their vaccination cards, which prove they have been inoculated against COVID-19. Getting a vaccination live on camera, however, seems to be the thing to do among TV anchors and personalities, however.

“We’ve seen a lot of vaccine selfies from lots of folks at lots of different networks. It’s been really inspiring to see. The ’Today’ show even brought the co-hosts outside for a live group vaccination,” pointed out CNN media analyst Brian Stelter.

He is not happy that prominent Fox News hosts and anchors are not joining the on-camera crowd.

“So, I say all of that to make the following point: Where are Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham? Where is Ainsley Earhardt and Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade? Where are the biggest stars on Fox getting vaccinated?” Mr. Stelter asked.

“I get that it is a personal choice between the hosts and their health care provider. But everybody else is doing it. All across television, all of those anchors are rolling up their sleeves,” he advised.

THE CRAFT OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Critics have complained that Vice President Kamala Harris — designated official in charge of immigration — has not visited the southern border or suggested any remedies for the situation. This is all intentional, says Newt Gingrich, who believes that President Biden and his administration have adopted a distinct strategy on the issue.

“They wanted Harris to be in charge of the border because they knew she wouldn’t do anything. This is not a mistake, this is why they refuse to call it a crisis. They want the border to be open,” Mr. Gingrich tells Fox News.

“Go back and look at the presidential primary debates. They are all in favor of open borders. They are all in favor of eliminating ICE. They are all in favor of eliminating any threat to sanctuary cities. So from their perspective, the next 10 or 15,000 people coming in are good because it further increases the number of illegal immigrants in the United States — which is what they want,” the former House speaker explained.

NOT OVERLOOKED

Sens. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, and Kirsten E. Gillibrand, New York Democrat, plus Rep. Raul Ruiz, California Democrat, will gather Tuesday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Capitol Hill to announce the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act which has affected some 3.5 million veterans, they say.

The lawmakers will be joined by representatives from interest and advocacy groups to make their point.

“The legislation would remove the ’burden of proof’ from the veteran to provide enough evidence to establish a direct service connection between their health condition and exposure. Rather, the veteran would only need to submit documentation that they received a campaign medal associated with the Global War on Terror or the Gulf War and they suffer from a qualifying health condition,” noted a statement released by Mr. Rubio’s office.

POLL DU JOUR

• 46% of U.S. adults say President Biden will not be able to “bring the country together”; 81% of Republicans, 55% of independents and 11% of Democrats agree.

• 51% of men, 41% of women also agree.

• 28% overall say Mr. Biden will be able to bring the country together; 10% of Republicans, 18% of independents and 53% of Democrats agree.

• 25% of men and 30% of women also agree.

• 26% are not sure about the issue; 8% of Republicans, 27% of independents and 35% of Democrats agree.

• 24% of men and 29% of women also agree.

Source: An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted. April 3-6.

• Helpful information to jharper@washingtontimes.com.