An unsettling look at Donald Trump’s social media rants

Once upon a time, former President Donald Trump was a prolific tweeter. Something would pop into his head, it would flow to his fingers, and, within seconds, you could read his thoughts, for better or worse, on Twitter.

Then came Jan. 6, 2021. Trump was soon suspended and then permanently banned from Twitter “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” following his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol. As it turned out, Trump’s permanent Twitter ban was not permanent.

Elon Musk bought Twitter, changed the name to X and then reinstated Trump’s account in November 2022.

Trump has tweeted only once since Jan. 8, 2021. That was Aug. 24, 2023, when he posted a photo of his mugshot from Georgia with the words: Election Interference. Never Surrender. DonaldJ.Trump.com.

But that doesn’t mean Trump has been inactive on social media. In fact, he is quite active on his own social media platform, called Truth Social. And that has led to quite the story in The Washington Post from Derek Hawkins, Clara Ence Morse, Drew Harwell, Irfan Uraizee and Adrián Blanco: “How Trump has become angrier and more isolated on Truth Social.”

Trump doesn’t have the reach he used to have back in the days of the old Twitter, where he still has more than 87 million followers. On his Truth Social, he has just under 7 million followers.

The Post writes, “His following has diminished, but his posting has accelerated. He has traded combative tweets for even more belligerent screeds. Diatribes against his perceived enemies have drawn gag orders from judges in multiple cases. His media diet has become almost exclusively right-wing. And above all, he persists in spreading lies about his 2020 election loss, deep into his campaign for another term.”

They add this ominous line that Trump’s social media usage “offers an intimate view of what his second term could look like: isolated, vitriolic and vengeful.”

In this painstaking work, the Post analyzed all of Trump’s posts “from the official launches of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2024 to show how his social media use has changed from his first presidential run.” In many of his untruthful posts, the Post adds footnotes to set the record straight or provide context.

Some of the numbers that the Post points out, on posts from Nov. 15, 2022, to March 15, 2024, are staggering:

• 760 posts are written in ALL CAPS.
• 570 posts are direct insults.
• 500 posts reference election denialism.

We all know of Trump’s unsettling and disturbing social media behavior, but to see the Post round up his commentary and put it in one place for us to study is even more, well, unsettling and disturbing.

The business of Truth Social isn’t doing so well, but Trump is expected to get a financial windfall from it today.

CNN’s Matt Egan notes, “As long as Trump Media & Technology Group’s share price doesn’t spectacularly implode before Tuesday’s closing bell, Trump is on track to receive another 36 million shares as the owner of Truth Social. This milestone is on track to be hit after the market closes on Tuesday. Even though Trump Media is losing money and Truth Social is very tiny, those new shares Trump is in line to receive would be valued at about $1.3 billion at current prices.”

Trump’s hush money criminal trial really got underway Monday with opening statements and the prosecution’s first witness: longtime National Enquirer publisher David Pecker.

But in order to follow along in the case, we must rely on reporting from the trial instead of being to watch it for ourselves. That’s because New York, where the trial is taking place, forbids cameras in courtrooms.

Associated Press media reporter David Bauder writes, “Television and text journalism are normally two very different mediums. Yet because New York state rules forbid camera coverage of trials and the former president’s case has such high interest, blogs are emerging as the best way to communicate for both formats.”

Bauder reports that about 140 reporters are either inside the courtroom or watching on closed circuit television from an overflow room. They then write their posts — anything from observations of the main players in the trial to reporting on details of the trial — which then eventually end up coming to you and me. And because TV stations such as CNN and MSNBC and Fox News can’t show live video, they too must rely on written dispatches from the reporters watching the trial.

One of the more intriguing sports TV deals to keep an eye on is the NBA media rights. The NBA’s current deals with ESPN/ABC and TNT Sports are set to expire after next season. But now is the time to pay attention to what happens next.

Monday was the last day for the current rights holders to have exclusive talks with the NBA. Starting today, the negotiations are open to any network.

In 2014, the NBA reached a pair of nine-year deals with ESPN/ABC and TNT that were worth a combined $24 billion. CNBC’s Alex Sherman reported the league is looking to double its current deal, meaning TV deals could bring in nearly $50 billion for the league.

All indications are ESPN/ABC and TNT remain very interested in continuing to carry NBA games. But other networks, particularly NBC (which used to carry the NBA), are interested, too.

And almost assuredly, at least one streaming network will get into the mix. Amazon, which carries NFL games on Thursday nights, could be the favorite and The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports the NBA could have talks with Google/YouTube, Netflix and Apple. A deal with NBC means Peacock would be involved.

Marchand wrote, “There will be at least three separate packages, which is the NBA’s preference, but the idea of ​​four has not been ruled out, those briefed on the discussions said. The notion that a pure streamer, like Amazon, could have significant games, including conference finals and perhaps even the NBA Finals at some point over the life of a long-term deal is a possibility, according to executives briefed on the NBA’s discussions.”

Front Office Sports’ David Rumsey also reported that Netflix might be a sleeper in all this.

Another wrinkle to remember involves reports that ESPN might consider the NBA taking a minority stake in the network, although Marchand said those talks have been put on the back burner until the TV rights are sorted out.

All this just goes to show you how valuable sports are in the world of television.

Sherman wrote for CNBC, “The value of popular live sports programming has increased because of its value to advertisers. While ad-free subscription streaming services have increasingly become the home for popular scripted programming, sports are still predominantly watched live, forcing viewers to see commercials.”

In addition, the NBA could be looking to give viewers a new broadcast experience. Basketball on TV is typically pretty good, but has been largely unchanged over the years.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver told Yahoo Sports’ Kendall Baker, “The experience that most viewers have is a very passive one (with) a producer and director choosing the camera angles and video feeds. What I’m most excited about is the opportunity to reinvent that. People will pick from a menu of unlimited audio feeds and camera angles. There will be a sports betting component … merchandising … Enormous amounts of customization and personalization. This is no knock on anything that’s happening now, because the technology wasn’t available. But I think what we’re going to see over the next five years is a reinvention of the way we deliver sports.”

You might not know the name Aaron LaBerge, but you are likely very familiar with his work. He was the chief technology officer for Disney and ESPN — a key force in developing Disney’s streaming services, integrating advertising into Disney+ and a major player behind ESPN+.

But he is leaving Disney and ESPN to take a job as CTO of PENN Entertainment, which operates ESPN Bet. That’s ESPN’s online sportsbook. He’ll be responsible for driving technology strategy as a top executive in the company’s interactive division.

In a joint statement to staff, ESPN chair Jimmy Pitaro and Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman said, “We want to thank Aaron for the contributions he has made and the leadership he has provided at Disney over his 20 years. It is a silver lining that he will continue to help Disney and ESPN win, as he transitions to a role at PENN Entertainment — where he will be a key partner in the continued growth and success of ESPN BET (and the rest of their Interactive business ).”

CNBC’s Alex Sherman has more.

• My Poynter colleague Kristen Hare with “Press Forward’s first open call for funding focuses on historic inequalities.”
• Good perspective about what’s going on at Columbia University from Columbia Journalism Review’s Jon Allsop: “Columbia in crisis, again.”
• Nieman Lab’s Sophie Culpepper with “What it takes to run a metro newspaper in the digital era, according to four top editors.”
• NBC News’ Ben Goggin with “Did TikTok videos inspire a teen’s suicide? His mom says she found graphic evidence.”
• The New York Times’ Maya Salam has watched all 231 episodes of MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show.” Her story: “The TV Show That Predicted America’s Lonely, Disorienting Digital Future.”
• The Tampa Bay Times’ Dan Sullivan with “Alleged co-conspirator in Tim Burke, Fox News case agrees to cooperate with feds.”
• The Verge’s Emma Roth with “Twitter alternative Post News is shutting down.”
• The Los Angeles Times’ Stacy Perman with “David Ellison’s journey from trust fund kid to media mogul vying to buy Paramount.”
• Philadelphia Magazine’s Victor Fiorillo with “The City of Philadelphia Mysteriously Disappears From Facebook and Instagram.”
• Comedian Elayne Boosler was arrested at Dodger Stadium over the weekend after an argument with security over the stadium’s bag policy. Here’s a YouTube clip of Boosler talking about what happened.
• I’ve written a lot about women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark lately, so I wanted to mention this interesting item. The Athletic had an anonymous NBA players’ poll, asking NBA players a bunch of questions. One question was, “Who is your favorite current non-NBA athlete?” Clark finished second in the voting at 6.9%. Only Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (13%) got more votes.
• The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand with “Ian Rapoport staying at NFL Network with new deal despite widespread changes, layoffs.”
• The Atlantic’s Elaina Plott Calabro writes about House Speaker Mike Johnson in “The Accidental Speaker.”
• From this past weekend: the sensational Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins with “Riding the baddest bulls made him a legend. Then one broke his neck.”
• Finally, do you know Craig Carton? He was the former WFAN sports talk show star who served a year in federal prison for conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud. It was all a result of a gambling addiction. Carton returned to WFAN and has since moved on to host a daily show on Fox Sports 1. But he also does a half-hour show every Saturday morning on WFAN about gambling addictions. Check out this story in The New York Times from Zach Schonbrun: “Saturday Mornings With the ‘Voice of Problem Gambling.’”

Do you have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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