TWITTER AND U.S. POLITICIANS: STYLE AND SUBSTANCE

Abstract

The current, nearly ubiquitous, use of Twitter by U.S. politicians makes important the question of how politicians capitalize on this social media platform in order to have their messages spread to other media both on- and off-line. This paper explores the role of style in helping U.S. politicians to achieve massive attention on Twitter through the use of case studies of two prominent national politicians: U.S. Senator Charles “Chuck” Grassley and U.S. President Donald J. Trump. These two politicians were selected for their success in getting their Tweets spread via other social media and picked up by more traditional media outlets. They are also known for their unique, distinctive styles, which may be part of the reason for the attention they have garnered. The discussion of the style and substance of the Tweets of these two U.S. politicians is designed to be suggestive rather than conclusive. It is an exploration of the attention their Tweets have garnered and the analyses their Tweets have engendered as evidenced by recent research published online by data scientists and supported and illustrated by my own examples and observations regarding their individual styles. This piece suggests the importance of style in the effective use of Twitter and other social media by politicians. Style is an aspect of Twitter use that deserves much more attention, from both researchers and practitioners.