President Donald Trump’s Twitter habits could create problems heading into the 2020 election, according to a new poll by Politico and Morning Consult.
Politico reported Wednesday that the president’s use of Twitter apparently even bothers 51 percent of Republicans, and “seven in 10 voters say Trump uses Twitter too much, while 14 percent say he uses it the right amount.”
According to Bloomberg News, the president “retweeted more than five dozen messages in an hour Wednesday morning, most seeking to cast doubt on the support of firefighters for Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden.” Trump’s often combative personality gets him in trouble on occasion, yet he is admired for his bluntness by a lot of voters. His reception at last weekend’s National Rifle Association Leadership Forum was boisterous, especially when he announced that the U.S. is withdrawing from a troubling international arms trade treaty process.
But there is a promising perspective, depending upon one’s viewpoint.
Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president, was quoted by Politico observing, “Fifty-one percent of Republican voters say President Trump uses Twitter too much, compared with 58 percent who said the same in May 2018. Among the same group, 38 percent say his use of the social network will help his reelection efforts, while only 25 percent say it will hurt those efforts.”
Translation: Fewer Republican voters are worried about Trump’s tweets than they were one year ago. More Republicans think the president’s use of social media will help him than those who think it will hurt. With the election 18 months away, that could change. Even a week can be an eternity in politics.
Bloomberg reported that Trump went on a tear Wednesday against the International Association of Firefighters union for endorsing Democrat Joe Biden, who instantly rose to the leader of the pack after he announced his candidacy. Bloomberg said “several polls on Tuesday showed the former vice president solidifying his lead in a crowded Democratic 2020 field.” There are now 20 Democrats in the race.
According to Bloomberg, Trump’s tweet claimed, “I’ve done more for Firefighters than this dues sucking union will ever do, and I get paid ZERO!” In that, he got some support from a retired fireman.
As a retired Firefighter, I can only speak for my fellow retirees,and I can assure you NONE of us support him,OR the unions decision.
— deplorable bartley (@tedbartley) April 30, 2019
According to ABC News, the president ‘s Wednesday Twitter activity was “a spree.” ABC described the firefighter union endorsement for Biden “a loss” for the president.
There were several tweets from firefighters suggesting that the union endorsement may be less of a victory for Biden than is being portrayed.
24 years plus firefighter here,& there’s no chance Biden is my choice. #NoMoJoe Actually, no one on the left has the American workers best interests in mind. Higher taxes, bigger government & mass giveaway plans does not help the American “Worker”. @POTUS works 4 every American
— Scott Bepler (@ScottBepler) April 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheDJDaniel01/status/1123528550110375936
Democrats may have another problem far more important than the president’s tweets. A new Rasmussen survey shows 69 percent of American adults believe it is possible for anyone to find a job if they want work, while only 20 percent disagree. Additionally, 55 percent of the survey respondents said it is possible “for just about anyone in the United States to work their way out of poverty.”
With those findings, will Trump’s Democrat challengers switch to name-calling in order to divert public attention away from the good economic news? Anything is possible in a presidential campaign.
