My sentiments exactly.
I think it’s wishful thinking to say that Trump’s tweeting harms him. Those of us who mock him for “covfefe” and alarming lack of spelling/grammar skills didn’t like him in the first place; his tweets only serve to reinforce what we already believed. On the other hand, Trump supporters don’t care. Which isn’t necessarily misguided; if I found out a politician I admire was a lousy speller, it wouldn’t change my feelings about them.
I don’t tweet (or have a cell phone). If I became president I would defy logic and physics and tweet even less because at the moment I only refrain from tweeting because I think it’s stupid and pointless, and as an important leader I would see it as a dangerously unfiltered way of saying things that would risk being inappropriate or unwise for any number of reasons.
There would also be no official twitter account representing my office. Screw that. Putting aside that I think that the entire platform is bad for the country, no matter what I wanted to say, it wouldn’t fit in 280 characters.
From what I’ve seen elsewhere on the Web, one thing that Trump supporters really appreciate is the fact that Trump’s tweets are Trump’s words, directly from the man himself, and not filtered through the White House press office or the mainstream media. Spelling and grammar don’t matter; any errors just prove that Trump’s messages come from Trump himself.
I wouldn’t tweet. I might ask my staff to set up a White House account, so news and other things (e.g. congratulations to the Superbowl winner) could get out there, but only with my approval. At least, the messages would be coherent and correctly spelled, and we’d all be on the same page as to policy (e.g. no surprise policy statements, leaving White House staff scrambling to do damage control).
For short form like Twitter I’d keep to daily info, e.g.,
“Meeting with the President of Zenda this morning then off to speak at the National Muffin Convention.”
And then later post pics of such events.
For longer form I’d use the official White House website for announcements, etc.
In no case would I allow people to post comments, etc.
I’d do my own Facebook posts, but they’d be at the same level as my current Facebook posts. Grandkid’s finger painting (prints available; see reelection page for details), First Lady candids (hehe, gf asleep on air force one), pet pics (who’s the bad dog that did this in the Lincoln bedroom?).
If I were President, the @POTUS Twitter account would be silent for four (or eight, as it were) years.
If I were President, I would be given the nickname “The Ghost President,” as I believe the office of the POTUS, Constitutionally, is one of quiet, behind-the-scenes work. There would be no White House Easter Egg rolls, no championship-winning teams invited to the White House, no telling reporters my thoughts on things over which the POTUS has exactly zero purview, such as sports or what have you.
You want a ceremonial Head of State, install a constitutional monarchy.
But the point is, we don’t have a ceremonial head of state. We have a head of state who’s also the most powerful politician in the country. And just as it’s the head of government’s job to negotiate with Congress behind the scenes, it’s the head of state’s job to host Easter egg hunts and congratulate sports teams.
The British Prime Minister doesn’t do the things you say you wouldn’t do, precisely because he has a Queen to do them for him.
As president I would have better and more important things to do than be on social media.
Golf!
Probably a mixture. For the most part, that’s what the press office is for. But there are times when I’d want it to be my words.
I would not tweet stream-of-consciousness blather. I think remarks from the president should be serious things and there’s a reason why “extemporaneous” speeches weren’t all that extemporaneous in previous administrations. There are good reasons to have at least a little time and a low filter between someone’s thoughts and what’s put out for international public consumption.
I think it harms him from a policy standpoint. Watching his tweets (and watching them careen back and forth from one POV to another, get really petty over small things, etc.) paints a picture of someone that serious people just don’t want to or can’t work with to get things done. He becomes a thing to be worked around or ignored while other alternate non-President-dependent solutions to problems can be found. When the adults need to talk, he’s not going to be asked to the table. (e.g., California and the car companies. The international discussions where the US is becoming more and more conspicuously absent and less and less consulted, considered, or catered to.) He doesn’t care about those things.
OTOH, they re-enforce his popularity with his base. Which helps draw larger crowds to his campaign rallies. Which he does care about.