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economy from his Democratic predecessor. Trump also says im-
migration is harming America and foreigners are invading in large
numbers, when government figures show foreign workers boost
economic activity. He has called climate change a hoax and por-
trayed Democrats as radical socialists. When his claims are chal-
lenged, Trump simply moves on to another topic.
Fact-checkers at the
Washington Post
assert that Trump had
made more than ten thousand false or misleading claims in office
as of June 2019. Journalists try to correct the record, but some
fear that repeating his misstatements only helps spread his mes-
sage. As for Trump’s loyal core of supporters, they love his ag-
gressive rhetoric and are not fazed by his falsehoods. Some con-
tend that what the media reports as lies are often political views
on which people may disagree. At any rate, polls in the spring of
2019 showed Trump’s approval ratings on the rise. His approval
fluctuates from 45 percent to 50 percent—a fairly solid mark for
such a divisive president.
The Twitter Habit
Another thing that exasperates Trump’s opponents is his con-
stant use of Twitter. For Trump, however, Twitter is an important
weapon in his arsenal. He uses it to reach his audience directly,
without media filters. His Twitter feed has more than 60 million
followers, which is 45 million less than Barack Obama’s. Trump
is not bashful about tweeting, posting 2,227 tweets in 2017 and
increasing the number to 2,843 in 2018. All that Twitter activity
strikes Trump’s critics as foolish and unpresidential. During the
2016 campaign Trump seemed to agree, tweeting, “Don’t worry.
I’ll give it up after I’m president. We won’t tweet anymore. I don’t
know. Not presidential.”
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Nonetheless, as with so many things,
Trump changed his mind about Twitter.
He often begins tweeting early in the morning, promoting his
agenda, attacking enemies, making jokes, and boasting about
his record. On March 13, 2018, he even announced the firing of
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson via Twitter. A typical tweet from
