In a land where memes spread across the country as fast as news regarding terror attacks, natural disasters and other forms of mass destruction, can we honestly say we are at all surprised by the stupidity that is presidential candidates’ use of social media? I find any form of “Twitter war” cringe-worthy, due to the clear cowardliness that results in hiding behind a computer screen to fling insults. However, seeing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton’s recent mudslinging banter which took place not in an interview, not even face to face, but on Twitter (of all places) sent a chill down my spine. But maybe the worst part of all? The responding tweets from the public, which read “SAVAGE” and “NO CHILL” and “LMAO YES!” Is this really what we have come to, people?!?!?
As a presidential candidate, I don’t need you to be funny or entertaining, I need you to be good at your job. Somewhere along the way, the role of Twitter in the political realm seems to have gotten misconstrued. I frankly don’t care about what you had for lunch or your opinions on current television shows. I didn’t ask for your opinions about other candidates and I definitely didn’t ask to enter a sweepstakes to eat dinner with you. But instead, I AM asking to hear a more detailed foreign policy plan. I would LOVE to know who you would have on your cabinet. I DO CARE about your plan to defeat ISIS. But these ever so important facts are what is lacking. And in their place? Our news feeds are spammed with the garbage we thought we were done with seeing when we graduated high school. I would love for everyone to remember a specific tweet from George W. Bush or Barack Obama or any other political figure on social media. My bet is that you can’t think of many. That’s how it should be. There shouldn’t be entire internet articles remembering “Trumps 10 Most Ridiculous Tweets.” And unfortunately, this issue isn’t only limited to Trump.
As frustrating as this is, it quite frankly does make sense as a campaign tactic. Americans love their social media and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m quite guilty of it myself. Most of the general public would rather read a sleazy one-liner than read a twenty-page plan for an economic relief program. And while I totally understand that, we need to realize that presidential candidates should absolutely be held to a higher standard than any average American. They’re not running to be your peer or friend, they’re running to be the President of the United States. And when we begin to treat them as such and hold them to this higher standard, it’s only natural that they will have to rise to this new expectation and handle themselves with the dignity and professionalism their job requires. So, instead of celebrating their internet savagery, let’s discuss how unprofessional and utterly non-presidential they are.
