Donald Trump doubled his tweets in 2019
President Trump hit Twitter’s “send” button more than twice as often in 2019 as in 2018.
Trump sent more than 7,700 missives on the social media service in 2019 — compared to 3,600 in the previous 12 months.
Of his 2019 blasts, some 3,000 were retweets. That’s compared to 775 retweets issued during his first two years in office.
Several of those who graced the president’s feed last year told The Post that although it was a thrill — they were left defending the legitimacy of their accounts.
“I was attacked by many on the left who like to refer to me as a bot,” said Bradley Crain, of Arkansas, who was retweeted by Trump on Dec. 27.
Crain’s tweet, which read: “The facts are clear, Nancy. You led an impeachment without a crime based on 2nd, 3rd and 4th hand accounts…,” racked up more than 24,000 likes — and he now has nearly 150,000 followers.
“While so many think they are above us regular people, President Trump actually interacts with us, he thanks us, he travels the country to speak to us,” Crain said.
Julie Reichwein of Santa Fe, New Mexico, saw her message about an alleged murder committed by an illegal immigrant retweeted by Trump Dec. 28. It was seen by more than 6 million people, according to a screenshot she shared with The Post.
A tool created by Indiana University called Botometer determined that Reichwein’s account could be a bot. Her feed is flooded with messages of support for far-right activist Laura Loomer, who has been permanently banned from the platform.
Reichwein speculated that her frequent posting could have led to the determination, and branded herself a “MAGA warrior.”
Trump retweeting supporters is great, “because there are thousands of us who are dedicated to being digital MAGA warriors who want to help President Trump save this country,” she said.
Some of the accounts Trump retweeted did show signs of being automated.
“Of the 684 unique accounts he’s retweeted [this year], 30 are now dead, suspended or moved names … a not insignificant percent,” said Bill Frischling, the founder of Factba.se, which closely tracts Trump Twitter trends.
“In terms of bots, it’s not a huge number, but there’s an appreciably greater than random [number] in the mix,” said Frischling.
The suggestion that Trump is retweeting bots boomed this weekend when he shared a tweet by @Surfermom77, which allegedly named the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the impeachment inquiry. The account changed handles after it was boosted by Trump.
The uptick in how often the president promotes his backers could be tied to the impeachment saga, and a desire to spur his fans into showing their support, experts told The Post.
“Impeachment really has had a dramatic impact on him,” said presidential historian Martha Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project.
“His constituents knew him coming in and liked what they saw. They followed him on ‘The Apprentice’, and he had a base of people who felt familiar with him and trusted him,” said Kumar.
“He wants to make sure to energize them, and Twitter is a great way of doing it, by saying, ‘Look at all these people who are against me. I need you to help me.’ And they respond.”
For Long Island resident Montgomery Granger, the author of a book on Guantanamo Bay, the boost was beneficial. He gained thousands of followers after a retweet from Trump last month.
“The presidential RT is good marketing for me and the president,” Granger said. “It didn’t cost either of us anything but a little time.”
Source: Read Full Article