I think this shows how the governments access to social media is abused and how the president is seemingly unable to get his point across without relying on the platform. This shows how easy it is for the president to essentially draft an address where he taps a few buttons and any thought that is in his head, any opinion, can just be published. I think this picture specifically illustrates how the thoughts in his head are directly reflected in his tweets with little to no filter.
While I do agree that social media is a GREAT way to get politics into the view of younger generations that may not read a news paper, watch the new, or research it on their own. Having it on a platform we enjoy and have easy access to is amazing but relying on that media to assert your dominance and prove your points is immature and not the person we need controlling our country.
The images is saying that he uses twitter. Extensively. He relies on that platform to get his message across. I don’t need to see the image to know what it’s saying. Half of political news about him involves his tweets. Instead of his head in the clouds, it’s probably saying that his head is in the tweets (tweet bubbles?). He always tweets his inner thoughts and it usually backfires by either proving how much of an idiot he is, how biased he is, his plans for the future, or a combination of the three. There isn’t much to say about the picture but I tried to say enough.
In today's society, social media plays quite a role in communication among political figures. In the related article, journalists collected data on president Trump’s tweets. They say that he has reshaped the American presidency through his use of twitter and I agree with this. In today’s society, we have advantages that no other generations before us had. We have the ability to use technology to communicate our thoughts in the click of a button. Before Instagram and twitter, presidents got their messages across on television not twitter. I think president Trump uses the fact that millions of people have access to social media and technology to his advantage.
Although his tweets can be quite controversial and I don’t agree with some of his remarks because I don’t think presidents should feed into arguments on social media, I do think that him using twitter to reach people is smart in a way. I think that the fact that his face is mostly covered by his remarks in the photo, shows that he uses his tweets to hide behind. I think this message is scary because I don’t want my president hiding anything.
@Grace Smith One of the biggest components of today's communication is social media. I agree that the president uses social media to his advantage. However, he should not be using it to "feed into arguments", like you said. This picture shows that he hides behind his tweets. I would like to add that communication through social media is not the same as communication in person. You are more likely to say something you regret because you can't see others' faces. This picture shows that through revealing just his one eye.
In today's society, we are facing an epidemic: social media. Growing up as a Millennial or Gen-Z, we have been given an outlet to share with the world how we're feeling and what we're doing, only social media has also provided a way for people to say things they normally wouldn't. This picture depicts our president hiding behind that protective wall of social media. He uses his Twitter as a way to tell us what's going on in his mind; only with the way he uses this outlet, one could say he is characterized by the immature comments he publishes to the public. I feel as though he's not the one one who does this either. Society as a whole has taken social media - along with the mindset, "if the president can say it, so can I." - and releases to the public content that isn't always appropriate.
No matter what all you liberals are saying, President Trump has the freedom to say whatever he wants. It is protected by the first amendment, the freedom of speech. If his twitter account gets taken down, then that is violating his freedom of speech. He can say whatever he wants on twitter, and nobody should really care. Just cause you don't agree with him doesn't mean he has to shut up. He has his opinions, and you have yours. You have the freedom of speech, as does he. So please stop complaining about President Trump's twitter account. Thank you.
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@Bob yes, as human beings living in the United States, we are automatically granted with the right to free speech; However, that doesn't mean we can say whatever we want. Just because the president has power and influence on our society, he is not excluded from the consequences brought upon by the things he says. We may have the freedom of speech, but that amendment doesn't veto other's power to respond nor does it excuse immature and unethical behavior.
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@Bob
We “liberals” are talking about THE president of the United States. Yes, freedom of speech exists, but he, as well as anyone, can’t just say disgusting immoral things without facing major disapproval. This applies more to one of the most widely known political figures with so much power that he’s clearly abusing. Everything he says via social media platforms is recorded, analyzed, and talked about; he has a thousand times more influence than any average person. He’s using his freedom of speech as an excuse to voice his most vile and immature views on Twitter that appear to be written by a four year old. Hate to break it to you, but decent people aren’t just going to sit back and watch him tweet repulsive threats and indecent opinions. That’s just not how the world works.
@Bob
You are correct that every human has the freedom of speech protected under our first amendment, but I believe you are missing the point of this message. He uses social media as a way to hide from the real world and criticize different types of people. It is immature and frankly embarrassing that we have a president who has no filter when it comes to what is on his mind. Yes, you are right that he can say these things, but its the fact that our own president would in the first place that makes people upset and disappointed. Our president should be more professional and the tweets he posts are similar to a cyber bully you would see in high school. Thank you for sharing your opinion, but I hope this makes you see the bigger picture.
I think this image is saying that the president hides behind his tweets, them being “just posts” and not official documents allows him to say that they don’t matter. His eye being shown says to me that he is looking out at us, watching everything even from behind his tweets. His hair is still visible, a part of the body, that, if hit will not injure the body in any real way. He is protected like a wall, however the wall is only one layer thick and can be broken through with some effort, with some focus. The eye is also exposed and visible, even with his tweet defense, he can still be hit in a very vulnerable area. The eye could also represent the need to see what effect his tweets have. The reflection in his eye appears to be his view of himself giving a speech on a podium. The openness of talking to a crowd against the closed off nature of the image could be representative of his actions so far in his campaign. The only visible part of the president’s body is his face, the first thing that people see when they look at someone. This means, however, that the body is not visible. Only a small part of the whole, and mostly covered even then, is visible. Most of the body is unknown, what is happening below our field of view, we can’t know. He is shut off, showing only what needs to be shown, he has power here, he is protected, cut off, and only showing what he wants to show: his eye, his hair, and a small part of his chin, as token openness.
The image displayed depicts the face of President Donald Trump hidden behind a collection of his controversial tweets, with only a small opening in which one eye peers through. This exhibition reveals an important message pertaining to the actions of the incumbent president as well as society entirely. This image is derived from the issue in which people tend to state their grievances and make bold statements while hiding behind a medium instead of facing the issue head on in attempt for resolution. This image also coveys how society as become informal over time. This factor is inversely related to the evolution of humanity as we have traveled backwards in this aspect. This is shown through the actions of President Trump as his language is generally perceived as critical, benevolent, and informal. Pertaining to this is the factor in which he extensively uses the app twitter to communicate with the public. This is peculiar, as we do not expect someone in such a position of power to act in this manner. If a previous president had behaved in such a way, society would have responded in shock. Surprisingly, however, President Trump's actions are now seen by many as “normal”. This goes to show how much society has changed within this small fraction of time, and conveys the extent to which we are adapting in this manner. Humanity is, and has always been consistently evolving in many aspects may it be beneficial, or detrimental; many people are oblivious to this inevitable concept.
@Zain Zeitouni I really liked your point on the symbolism of only one eye poking out. I agree that the artist is depicting him hiding behind these tweets, almost using them as a mask. Thinking about what you said, there's so many ways to elaborate on that idea. Notice in all his tweets, his face is in color, but here it is black and white. Twitter he has a bold face, here one could almost see someone worried. I think all of this builds further on the idea of hiding behind the louder twitter persona.
Twitter is one of the biggest social media platforms of this day and age. Everyone who's anyone is scrolling through liking, retweeting, and especially feuding. Twitter feuds can be found and every social media app or website; and President Trump’s tweets are the center of them all. I feel as though this image is representing trump and how he’s viewed by the world. People don’t sit down and watch debates or speeches anymore. We watch clips and read summaries, then decide our stance on it all. No one sees our presidents face, we read his tweets and the controversy they cause. Every now and then we get so fed up with what we see and lash out on everyone, whether they are defending or attacking trump. A majority of our society sees trump through what he tweets, and nothing more. We don’t dig any deeper, we don’t look for the other side, we read and attack. I think this image doesn’t just show how our world views trump, but how the world views a lot of higher ups in the world. It’s honestly one of the most pitiful things about humans right now. We don’t see anyone for who they are, but what they tweet.
Twitter has over one hundred million users active on their platform. Everyday people see tweets from all types of people. This includes the tweets from Trump. In that position of authority, Trump should be held to a high standard of representing who Americans are and what they believe. When Trump tweets with harsh language and tones, he is representing a bad image of all Americans. People around the world, in most cases, see us as the words in Trump’s tweets. This translates to opinions in American life. In places in society, when you hear that someone supports Trump, you immediately think of what he has said and represents. You rarely think about them as a person, but what what Trump says. I think his message is tarnishing America and certain parties and people. His constant, unending, language and rudeness is only doing bad.
In my eyes I feel like this image is trying to say that Trump is narcissistic and will do anything to be the center of attention. As everyone knows he converses with people via twitter, which is not the most professional and/or presidential way to get your point across, especially when you are one of the world's leaders. Moving on, this relates to society, because nowadays everyone communicates through social media sites, like twitter. This shows that we would rather communicate with people through a screen, rather than having to speak to someone in person. Because of this it's creating a society where people are bullied more often, suicide rates have increased, and teens especially have started to have a decrease in their self-esteem. The worst part about this image is that it's an accurate representation of our president. He would rather get his feelings out through a tweet like a child, and not speak in a formal way face to face with someone.
@Kaydence Jusseaume While I see how you may take it this way I respectively beg to differ. President Trump uses Twitter to communicate with America. As an American he has his freedom of speech and with said freedom he chooses to broadcast messages so we will see. Adults and teens have the ability to use twitter and other social medias which is why it is a good way to spread ideas and connect. You may say that Trump is narcissistic, but I feel as if this photo and these comments just come to show how some of us judge Trump on his social media and not by his presidency.
The image serves to represent Donald Trump's fabricated online presence, most often featuring uniquely unpresidential slander and pedestrian vocabulary; adorned with harsh capitalization that paints him in an irrational light. "FAKE NEWS." BORING!" "LOCK HER UP."
He tweets out short, one-line mantras to rally his supporters. Equally prevalent are lengthy, opinionated posts that attempt to highlight his large role in America's success and to establish a scapegoat for its many downfalls. Tweet by tweet, Trump builds up a wall of ridiculous statements to reel in mindless scrollers who are only stimulated by hysteria.
@Matalin Bloomfield Society today is based online. We get food online, we get educated online, and we also get our opinions online. He uses this platform to tweet rants and unprofessional sentences that places himself in a positive light while pulling others down. These comments fuel the fire of his supporters and create nationwide discussions and chaos in retaliation or support for his words. I agree wholeheartedly with you and the wall that has been built by ridiculous statements.
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@Matalin Bloomfield Social media is present in everyone lives, we live online. Since social media is a very large platform, many people choose to express their opinion or influence others through their online presence. Trumps collection of tweets is just another example. This study created categories and sub categories of the different things Trump said. His harsh words, along with praises. The study stated that twitter is the way trump likes to communicate, and I believe its a fair place to communicate due to the wide large audience hes reaching. There are now records of what category each of his 11,000 tweets have fallen under. The study wasn't done to point out this "wall of ridiculous statements," but instead to show readers how he decides to communicate with the public and in what manner.
Donald Trump, President of the United States since 2017, hides behind a mask made up of the various negative, and sometimes somewhat praising, tweets he publishes on Twitter. The President, meant to be one of the more important symbols of the U.S., continually criticizes and makes fun of activists and supporters of causes he doesn’t agree with, with the occasional tweet praising people from his political party and campaigning for a second term. Maybe the tweets are a mask meant to distract people from his insecurities about being in office. Or maybe, since his mouth is also covered in pictures of his tweets, the 280 character messages are the only way he truly knows to communicate. Either way, the impersonal form of communication he uses, and the way he uses it, affect the connotation of his words whether they were meant to be positive or negative.
@Laura Arbona
The things Trump says in his tweets are recorded on the internet forever. You’d think that if he wanted people to understand the message he’s trying to send, he’d find a way to explain what he means without limiting himself. That is, if he doesn’t mean all the things he comes across as saying. I think that since he always speaks his mind every time has a single thought, America probably knows him better than any other president we’ve had. Every negative or positive thought that crosses his mind, a billion people immediately know it. We don’t know the president he probably thinks he is because of the “mask” he’s intentionally or unintentionally created.
Personally I think this pictures represents your words have a big part of how you see yourself and overall how you are as a person . Though it’s hard to read them, some say “BORING” or “PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT” as if he was the victim of some sort. He promotes himself in such a bright light that he doesn’t see that he hasn’t made much of a change in our world other than more rivalries and negativity. Of course I can’t say he hasn’t done anything good for us, he is constantly proving everyone to be what everyone calls him, he is known for his bad and inappropriate behavior. He caused many controversial topics and his overall presence has become a joke to many, until he starts making a real change I believe he will continue to hide behind those tweets of his.
@Lizbeth Bolanos I like the way you see it. Since Social media is used often to create a false Persona, I see what you meant by saying that the president is painting himself as a victim. I agree with your viewpoint that while he has done dome good, it is mostly outweigh by the negative connotations and atmosphere surrounding him. And his tweets often support the viewpoint of those who think he is inappropriately behaved for his position.
The image is suggesting that Donald Trump uses Twitter to try to cover up the negatives of his presidency. All of the tweets shown are very positive messages about the greatness of the United States, but none of his specific policies or instances of taking responsibility for failure are not exemplified on his Twitter.
@Aiden To add onto what you are saying, it seems as though Donald Trump isn’t the only one hiding. We, too, seem to hide behind our social media platforms. None of us ever post about the bad things in our life. The moments that aren’t celebrated don’t get the spotlight. We don’t show our true selves on screen. In fact, most of us seem to be completely different people on social media than we are in real life. We build this on-screen character, and before we know it, it’s taken over our whole lives. Nobody ever even talks about the bad anymore. The bad is important too; It shows a learning curve, that over-time seems to have vansihed.
Should I post this? Ooo, I need a picture to put on my story. What should my caption be? These are the questions we ask now. Why not ask what they moment meant. How did that moment changed you as a person? How did it affect you? Not just the good ones, but the bad ones too. Donald Trump is only an example of what a lot of us seem to be doing, too. He's hiding behind his tweets to cover the negatives of his presidency; We hide behind our social media platforms to cover up the negatives of our lives.
This image has defined the Donald Trump Presidency. Donald Trump hides behind his tweets, bolstering himself with lies and propaganda, and the worst part is that a large portion of his base believes him. They don't bother to fact check, after all, he is the President. We can see this today, as the threat of impeachment looms over Donald Trump. He sends out tweet after tweet, calling it a witch hunt and a Democratic power scheme. He claims the Democrats are taking the voices away from the people, removing an elected President (who lost the popular vote by 3 million votes, I might add).
Donald Trump ran on a platform of building a wall along the southern border, but really, he has only build a wall for himself.
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@Cooper Hyldahl
I really like how you pointed out that many of his supporters see his tweets as facts when many of them are over-exaggerated versions of the truth. It ties into the belief people have that everything that's on the internet is true, which is obviously wrong.
I also really like how you gave examples for tweets that Donald Trump has posted. They really cement your statement on how he uses tweets to basically make himself look better.
If you take one look at President Trump’s Twitter account, you will see many tweets of his that are extremely ignorant and unprofessional. In one of his tweets from July 14, 2019 he bad-mouths four congresswomen of color and says “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came,” which is a completely uncalled for statement in general, but it is even more bogus because none of the congresswomen were born outside of the U.S. Looking at this image, I can imagine him hiding behind his Twitter to trash talk other politicians and influential individuals because he feels like it’s an appropriate way to address issues he is faced with, when in reality he should not be posting such unprofessional and controversial things online.
I think this picture is showing how much the president is defined by his tweets. His tweets are almost his whole image. I can’t tell you how many acts he has signed but I can tell you what he tweeted last week. This is the first time in history that we get most of our information on what the president is doing in office from a social media platform. If we were told 8 years ago that we rely on social media instead of press conferences to get up to date on politics, everyone would think it was incredibly unprofessional. This just shows how much technology is changing not only our lives but how the government works.
At first, I thought this image was portraying President Trump's readiness to hide himself behind carelessly said things on the internet. That instead of coming forward and talking to people in person, he hides behind the screen and ruthlessly tears others down. After looking into the article provided, I was shocked to find out there was more to his tweeting than just commenting on a person or current issue. What surprised me even more was the extent that journalists Karen and Larry went too to analyze his tweets. If President Trump’s posts are so controversial that Karen and Larry had to go through all 11,000 of them to find out who the targets of his tweets were, there’s definitely something wrong. Even the thought that the president of our country is attacking a group of Americans, be it “specific people, or minorities, or other groups” presents a problem. The leader of our country shouldn’t be letting us know that it’s okay to tear down fellow citizens.
Another thing I noticed about the image was President Trump’s one eye peeking out from behind his stack of tweets. Having one eye out can show that while he tries to hide himself behind the posts, President Trump still wants to keep an eye on everything that’s currently happening in his country, not wanting to miss a chance to create a new tweet.
@Ted Allan I liked your perspective that he was just passively observing, waiting for the right moment to strike and write another tweet. Excellent comment.
President Donald Trump puts a lot of his personal thoughts and announcements onto his twitter. Unlike presidents of the past, and unconventional to leaders of the world, Trump uses Twitter and social media to an unprecedented level as a means of communication.
One trend of social media is prevalent in this picture. When users post tweets, pictures, or videos of themselves, they usually reserve only their most ideal image to be seen by others. Likewise, it is likely that Donald Trump tweets about an ideal version of himself, that he wants viewers to see. A plethora of his tweets cover his face in the image, with the only exception of his left eye. It seems that the image is saying that the common viewer only sees Donald Trump at face value, or his "mask" of tweets, and Trump is left carefully observing the viewer, probably gauging the reaction and thinking of his own response.
While Twitter is certainly an unconventional way for a head of state to communicate, it is easy and has massive outreach. More people can see his tweets than a rally or a press conference, which is why it is such a powerful tool. However, a lot of Trump's tweets are unfiltered and often controversial, resulting in his tweets coming off as unprofessional and becoming the subject of criticism, like this image tells.
@Jack Huo
You're right that Twitter is an unconventional way for a President to communicate, but I think it is the way of the future. I actively take part in politics and I can tell you that I have not tuned in to a single press conference made by the administration, but I have read countless tweets written by Donald Trump. Twitter has much greater power of decimation and Donald Trump is fully aware of this. Furthermore, the more outlandish, aggressive, or even offensive a tweet is, the more attention it will get and the more the media will pick up on it. This is a powerful tool that Donald Trump uses to spread his message and will only make his tweets get more and more outlandish to receive more and more attention.
The president is what every child across America looks up to as their biggest role model. They listen to what they say in speeches and what they write online. Unfortunately, our president does not have a professional filter when it comes to his tweets. He can be offensive and cruel. These tweets are not things we want to see out of the president. In my opinion, he shouldn’t have twitter.
In the related article a group of people did extensive research on Trump's tweets and how we have never had a presidency like his. They look at when he calls out specific people, minorities, or certain beliefs. They even focused on the tweets he deleted.
In this image, Trump’s tweets swirl around his face, covering everything except for his eye, which stares directly at the camera. Most of the tweets have his political statements on them; from ‘Crooked Hilary” to “Build a wall,” they are all there and all highly scrutinized. I believe that the artist used his more heavily criticized tweets to highlight the silliness of him venting on such a platform. It also adds to the commentary on his values and beliefs.
The fact that they are covering his face shows that he is hiding himself with his tweets/statements. Oftentimes, people feel like they can hide behind their screens, and the president shares the same sentiment. Even so, we can still see one of his eyes. This detail is used to show that not everything is what he posts on twitter; he is still a man, under all of the criticism and all of the tweets. From a differing interpretation, it could mean that his ears are covered to facts, and the tweets surrounding him are only products of his very narrow sight/field of beliefs. It could also mean that he only sees things his way and is stubborn and unwilling to give up his conventional set of thoughts. In all, this image could be interpreted in many ways, and not a certain interpretation is correct.
Trump can barely see through his own tweets. They cover each of his facial features, except his left eye. How is he supposed to listen to anyone? His ears are covered up. Is the endless stream of Tweets impulsive? Or are the thousands of them a true reflection of his character?
“MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” is posted three times on his face. It really yells at you. I also noticed that almost every single Tweet has an exclamation point. They grab your attention. Bring you in. The shock value!
Politics have become modernized along with everything else. Our president is an example of the changing world wrapped in technology. Tweets are so instant, like texts, and other social media forms. They sort-of mask someones filter… mute some of their morals. You have something you want to say to the whole world right this minute? We’ve got you covered. Just a couple clicks and you're there. Trump has used this platform religiously, whether is be good or bad is for you to decide. But one thing’s for sure, Trump wouldn’t be Trump without his tweets.
@Mollie Brinker I didn't notice the prevalence of the exclamation point until you pointed it out. I agree that social media users are much more likely to respond to a ridiculous statement that causes a shock than a well-stated but less dramatic one. Excellent work on your comment!
Many of the tweets here are covering up his face, but I noticed that his eye is left uncovered. Why not his nose, or his mouth? It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. I think the image is suggesting that there is more to Trump than what he puts out on his account, but all people are able to see are his tweets. They cover his face, distorting our view of him. He is hiding his face from the world, using these as a sort of mask whenever he feels attacked.
On another view, maybe the eye was left uncovered to show that he is capable of seeing lots of things but his solutions to them are his tweets on social media. "Thoughts and prayers" and twitter posts. His mouth never opens, his ears are covered from listening. He only sees and tweets out the opinion.
Or maybe the eye is just to get you thinking that it is the window to the soul- and the tweets are products of his soul. It is his left eye that is shown, and the left has been associated with the devil before, so maybe the tweets show the bad side of him?
The picture's meaning is ambiguous and I don't want to limit myself to one meaning of it, so these interpretations do not necessarily reflect my views.
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@Gracelynn Whitaker I love your comment, and I have never veiwed Trump's tweets this way. As though he is hiding himself and we are not fully able to see who he is. I have always been quick to judge him from his tweets thinking they were unprofessional and childish, without realizing that tweets from social media don't even come close to representing him as a whole. This comment made me think and gain perspective. I thought about the saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover." As though we should not judge Trump by his tweets and his public speaking skills.
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@Gracelynn Whitaker I really liked your second paragraph and how you explained that he sees things and isn't completely disconnected, but he chooses to hide behind his tweets having them take over his verbal words and how he tunes out the noise and doesn't quite listen.
I also liked how you explained two political sides of this picture to show that there are more then one meaning to it.
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@Gracelynn Whitaker I found your "thoughts and prayers" statement very interesting. The idea that Trump only sees, but never speaks or listens is very unfortunate when it comes to someone who has this much control over our nation. I think that your comment is eloquently put, thank you for making sense out of the various meanings of the picture.
There is something about Trump's tweets that seem fake or phony. The majority are overly exaggerated to the point where it seems like he is putting on a facade. This photo suggests that Trump is using his tweets to hide his true identity. On Twitter, Trump tries to convey himself as strong-willed, experienced, and knowledgeable about politics. In actuality, however, Trump has little political expertise, and does not have the skill needed to make important decisions.
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@Jillian Steeves I agree. He puts on this tough guy act, and I feel like its fake, he isn't like that in real life. He just does I guess to fit in, but he doesn't he makes it worse on himself. I also don't agree with what he says, he is already the president, his social status is high.