Trump announced he has added what is effectively a blog to his website. The left mocked and sneered at the development while the right hailed it as a new opportunity to directly address his supporters.
Summary
Former President Donald Trump is back online as he unveiled a feature on his website called “From the Desk of Donald J. Trump”, which functions much like a blog and allows followers to “like” posts from Trump and share them on other platforms, though commenting is not yet allowed.
- The announcement comes a few days after reports Trump was pitched on a “Trump Plus” streaming service and media company that would “rival the liberal media and fight back against ‘Big Tech’ companies of Silicon Valley.”
- Trump’s turn to his own blog followed his deplatforming from Facebook and Twitter, among other sites, which were considered a unique gift Trump took advantage of better than any other politician, after their allegations of his incitement of violence before the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol.
- The ability to share content from the blog by other users will likely be allowed by both Facebook and Twitter provided any account sharing the content is not intended to “imitate” the former president or if their “sole intent is to replace a suspended account.”
- Facebook is slated to announce today whether their suspension of Trump’s account and related pages will be permanent.
- Trump’s staying power in social media and news cycles waned significantly after being banned, with data showing engagement in Trump-related stories dropped by around 95% since January.
- Traditional mainstream media has largely not covered Trump’s announcement. That has not stopped the likes of The Verge and Gizmodo from mocking Trump for “area man” starting “just a blog.”
- Slate sneered at the website, calling it a “crude Twitter replica” in which users cannot reply or comment.
- Vox noted Trump advisor Jason Miller saying From the Desk of Donald J Trump is not the “new social media platform” that was promised, and that announcement should be expected soon.
- Fox News highlighted the announcement, saying it is a way to “circumvent” Big Tech and serve as “a place to speak freely and safely.”
- Conservative outlets were far more celebratory with RedState declaring “Trump is Back”, dismissing the inability of users and readers to interact while getting “daily posts from the leader of the Republican Party.”
- Newsmax and The Daily Caller provided details that the blog appears to be powered by technology created and owned by former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale.
- OANN’s short report noted Trump was “banned by Big Tech in early 2021” and the new blog is “reminiscent of the President’s Twitter account.”
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
