President-elect Donald Trump’s tweets are a new form of governing by edict. They’re tweedicts.
Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said, “Whatever he tweets, he is going to drive the news.”
That’s the problem. In driving the news, Trump’s tweedicts gain the power of implied threats — that he’ll, for example, sanction a particular company (Ford, General Motors, Carrier or Boeing); unilaterally alter foreign policy (recognize Taiwan, encourage Israel to expand on the West Bank, not back NATO against Russian aggression); unleash his angry followers on a particular critic (a local union leader in Michigan, a teenage girl in New Hampshire, a TV news host); cause customers or readers to boycott a media outlet (CNN, the Arizona Republican, “Saturday Night Live,” the cast of “Hamilton”); or impose high political costs on Republican members of Congress (for pursuing an investigation against Russia, gutting an ethics office).
Source: Salon: in-depth news, politics, business, technology & culture > Politics
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