RIP Donald Trump’s Twitter: from Covid-19 to Capitol Hill, tracing the rise and fall of @realDonaldTrump, social media’s best and worst advertisement
Starting with a tweet about being on David Letterman’s late night show, all the way to the White House, The Donald commented on everything from fake news and covfefe, to Kristen Stewart’s love life and Hillary Clinton’s email saga
It’s the end of an era, of sorts – @realDonaldTrump, the Twitter feed that grew from the random musings of a reality TV star into the cudgel of an American president, died on Friday. It was not quite 12 years old.
The provocative handle was brought into the world by a New York real estate tycoon who used it to help him become the 45th US president. It began with a May 4, 2009, tweet promoting Donald Trump’s upcoming appearance on CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman.
The account met its demise when Twitter announced on January 8 that it was pulling the plug permanently on @realDonaldTrump, citing concern that Trump would use it for “further incitement of violence”. Trump retorted that he’d be “building out our own platform in the near future. We will not be SILENCED!”
Trump, a novice politician but seasoned salesman, realised the power of social media in ways that few other politicians did. And he wielded it with never-before-seen power to diminish his opponents, shape elections and mould reality – at least in the eyes of his supporters.