Don’t expect Donald Trump to stop using Twitter in 2017.
The president-elect will continue tweeting on the social media platform, his incoming press secretary said today on ABC’s This Week. Sean Spicer said that Trump’s following on social media “freaks out the mainstream media.” He said Trump uses digital tools like Facebook and Twitter to have more direct conversations.
“He doesn’t have to funnel it through the media,” Spicer said.
Trump recently said on 60 Minutes that his Twitter use would be “very restrained” as president. But then one day later, he bashed The New York Times on Twitter for its “very poor and highly inaccurate coverage.”
Trump made headlines on New Year’s Eve with this widely-shared tweet:
Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2016
Spicer said that when Trump tweets, “he gets results.”
“So whether it’s Twitter, holding a news conference, picking up the phone, or having a meeting, he is going to make sure that he continues to fight for the American people every single day,” Spicer said.
Trump, who hasn’t held a news conference in 157 days, also ruffled feathers when he tweeted last month about strengthening the country’s “nuclear capability.”
The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016
Trump, who used social media heavily and strategically during his presidential campaign, is proving that Twitter still has at least some value. The company last year explored a potential acquisition with companies like Google and Salesforce, but remains independent as it struggles to add new users and generate more revenue.
