Trump has been frenetically posting on social media during the government shutdown. This online activity is being echoed across his administration, and so far has focused more on tweaking Democrats than negotiating.
On Thursday morning, as thousands of federal employees stayed home and faced potential layoffs because of the government shutdown, President Donald Trump got right to work on social media.
He started by sharing praise from supporters. Then he falsely claimed that “DEMOCRATS WANT TO GIVE YOUR HEALTHCARE MONEY TO ILLEGAL ALIENS.” And then he announced that he would meet with his top budget adviser to figure out where to make permanent cuts to federal programs that “are a political SCAM.”
All that was before 8 a.m., just one flurry in a blizzard of online commentary from the president as the government shutdown entered a second day. Like so many other times when he’s faced complex crises with no easy solutions, Trump seems determined to post his way through it.
The stream of invective and trolling has been remarkable even for a 79-year-old president who is as chronically online as any member of Gen Z. His style is mirrored by the rest of his administration, which so far seems more interested in mocking and pummeling Democrats than negotiating with them.
Government websites feature pop-up messages blaming “the Radical Left” for the shutdown, an unusually political message for ostensibly nonpartisan agencies. When reporters email the White House press office, they receive an automated reply blaming slow answers on “staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown.”
Trump’s White House is accustomed to take-no-prisoners political messaging, continuing its aggressive style from last year’s campaign that critics describe as callous and vindictive.
