While I am of a certain mature age, and thus sometimes
discomforted by President Trump’s seeming Twitter addiction, I am convinced
that he is truly the first 21st century
American President based upon his communication style.
While
I frequently disagree with his Twitter content (or regard it as trivial, petty
or just weird) he is demonstrating what an economist might call “communication
disintermediation.” In simpler terms, removing the middleman media filters who
charge the public for their obsolete services. Usually in the business world,
‘intermediation’ is merely a useless rent seeking opportunity often created by
state regulation. Not always of course, if the intermediaries perform some
information utilization/acquisition services. But the modern mainstream media
(MSM) merely promotes its own ideological agenda, i.e. propaganda line, not a
useful or truthful type of filtering.
So
we don’t need NPR, CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC NYT, WaPo, AP et.al. intermediaries to
inform us of what Trump is “thinking” or “saying” about various subjects.
Instead, we can merely follow his Twitter feed if so inclined (I’m not but many
others are).
In
the past, presidential “press secretaries” (i.e. paid government propaganda
liars) spoke to rooms full of flunky reporters to provide “guidance” on
presidential policy, etc. Then we got pictures, videos or print stories after
media filtration about the content. On rare occasions – more infrequent in
recent times – Presidents would hold press conferences where they would make
short statements and often answer from vetted MSM reporters a few selected
questions, rarely candidly or truthfully. Thus the media priesthood, highly
paid and self-important, would transmit the oracular presidential “thinking” to
the masses. Such media priests were highly paid gossipers and influencers, much
sought after by lobbyists and political insiders. Most are paid salaries of
hundreds of thousands annually if not more.
Trump
has largely ruined that business model. Like cell phone addicted teenagers (or
anyone under 30) he is constantly thumbing his random thoughts and emotional reactions
to the world at large. Many of his barbs are directed at the former high media
priests, with whom he seems all too obsessed. But those tweets get
disproportionate attention from the MSM priesthood, so the Trump’s more
substantial comments are under reported by them. The media priesthood is
self-obsessed, so their comments about “presidential dignity” and
“recklessness” of Trump tweets are merely sour grapes or relics of past
imperial presidential facades they once promoted to enhance their own status.
This
is the new age of instant communication. Is it wise for Trump to do so much
tweeting? Perhaps. Perhaps not. It does annoy me at times. But I’m a mid-20th century
born person, when Mao, Stalin and Truman ruled the globe. TV and computers were
then only bare scientific experiments. I accept that times are radically
different from what I was used to, so I better get with the program. Of course
nearly all media priests are middle aged or older, so they are both befuddled
and scared that their long, ruthless climb to the top of the well-paid MSM
priesthood heap is now in service to a false god. No one needs pyramid builders
today. MSM intermediation is a dying business worldwide.
I
first noticed something strange was occurring when it was reported that the
current Egyptian military dictatorship was posting their post-coup decrees on
their own Facebook page. Clearly a first for a fresh military dictatorship. But
if you wanted to know their rules, there it was. Hammurabi updated by three
millennia or so. Much faster than carving stone tablets for sure.
Trump
is reviled for being a thumb shooting cell phone tweeter on any and all
subjects. As the MSM priesthood and legions of Foreign Office state bureaucrats
worldwide watch in horror as their cushy sinecures are becoming obsolete
overnight. They are no longer needed to read American presidential tea leaves.
Just grab your mobile phone and read Trump’s latest Twitter posts. Better
update those resumes!
While
Trump’s tweets may be inconsistent, naïve, wrong-headed or silly at times,
there they are. This is what he did while running successfully for President
against everyone’s advice to “stop doing that!” Bad advice which he ignored.
Well
here he is, still doing that. As Trump noted in a recent tweet, he is President
and they are not.
Welcome
to the 21st century folks. The millennials and kids will soon be
running the world. Trump doesn’t wear his MAGA ball cap backwards, but other
than that he is one of them when it comes to youth culture communication.
Better get used to it, like it or not. He has successfully disrupted the MSM
presidential priesthood business, just like Uber and Airbnb did with theirs.
Trump is the future; the MSM is heading into the proverbial dustbin of history.