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Twitter Is President Trump’s Version of FDR’s 'Fireside Chats
Townhall.com ^ | October 20, 2019 | John Pence

Posted on 10/20/2019 4:54:21 AM PDT by Kaslin

Social media, and Twitter in particular, is President Trump’s version of a “fireside chat” — the tool he uses to speak directly to the American people. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously used his fireside chats to buoy the nation’s spirits during the Great Depression and World War II — but he also used the weekly radio address to make the case for his policy proposals, allowing him to circumvent a polarized news media and reduce the complexities of government into language that all Americans could understand.

Just as FDR found a way to maximize the political utility of radio — still a relatively new technology at the time — with his fireside chats, President Trump uses social media to communicate with Americans in a new and engaging way. After FDR demonstrated the political value of radio, future presidents felt obliged to copy his example, turning the format into a firmly-entrenched tradition.

President Trump is making the exact same kind of transformational impact with his use of Twitter, but rather than trying to emulate his successful approach, as FDR’s critics did, some Democrats want social media companies to censor the President of the United States by shutting down his accounts. Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat in desperate need of a boost for her flagging presidential candidacy, unequivocally stated during the most recent Democratic debate in Ohio that President Trump’s Twitter account “should be taken down.”

The senator’s authoritarian position is a direct affront to our Constitution and the values this country was founded upon. Our founders enshrined the freedom of speech and expression as the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights in order to emphasize that all of our other freedoms depend on the right to speak one’s mind. Sadly, the Democrats seem to hate this Republican president more than they love this Republic.

It’s not just Trump supporters who should be worried. If the Democrats think it’s acceptable to censor the social media accounts of the President of the United States, then why would they have any reservations about censoring you, too?

In 2020, we will have a choice between a Democratic Party that is willing to sacrifice our Constitutional freedoms for its own short-term political gain and a Republican Party led by the most transparent and patriotic president in history. One need look no further than the Trump rallies attended that consistently draw thousands upon thousands of supporters to see how effectively this president is engaging with voters by speaking to them directly through social media. President Trump is pioneering a 21st century version of FDR’s fireside chats, bringing politics to the people in a way that has never been done before. His opponents don’t think the American people should be allowed to listen.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: censorship; presidenttrump; trumpmedia; twitter

1 posted on 10/20/2019 4:54:21 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

And we shouldn’t be surprised if Twitter shuts down his account around June of 2020.


2 posted on 10/20/2019 5:08:09 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam ("I've read the back of The Book, and we win.")
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To: Kaslin
I'd wager everything I own that sometime between now and next July Twitter bans the President.
3 posted on 10/20/2019 5:16:36 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: MayflowerMadam

Great minds think alike.Didn’t even notice your post when I clicked “post”.


4 posted on 10/20/2019 5:17:43 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: Gay State Conservative

If that happens Twitter will go into the history archives.


5 posted on 10/20/2019 5:22:59 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
If that happens Twitter will go into the history archives.

That's certainly what *should* happen...but it won't.You need to understand that 97% of the world's population think that the President is Satan's evil twin.

6 posted on 10/20/2019 5:27:13 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (A joke: Brennan,Comey and Lynch walk into a Barr...)
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To: Kaslin

The difference is that the MSM is by-passed, as opposed to their slavish support of FDR.


7 posted on 10/20/2019 5:30:36 AM PDT by Redleg Duke (We live on a tax farm as free-range humans!)
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To: Kaslin
Yes, I have also made this connection.

The difference is FDR used the then recently created FCC to force the radio networks to support his administration.

8 posted on 10/20/2019 5:42:43 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: Kaslin
Twitter Is President Trump’s Version of FDR’s 'Fireside Chats

Took the journalist class a long time to admit it. President Trump is playing social media like a virtuoso violinist.

9 posted on 10/20/2019 5:43:08 AM PDT by DakotaGator (Weep for the lost Republic! And keep your powder dry!!)
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To: Gay State Conservative
97% of the world's population think that the President is Satan's evil twin.

Not even close.

There are a lot of President Trump fans in the world.

I found quite a few in Australia, though they were careful about letting it be known.

10 posted on 10/20/2019 5:44:31 AM PDT by marktwain (President Trump and his supporters are the Resistance. His opponents are the Reactionaries.)
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To: Kaslin

Nevertheless, I do wish he had given a speech explaining his views of the Kurds and the strategic conundrum from which he is trying to extricate the US. Besides appointing Jeff Sessions as AG, the precipitous way he handled the US’s Kurdish realignment is his worst decision so far, in my opinion (don’t ask me what his third error has been, because I don’t know of one).


11 posted on 10/20/2019 5:46:15 AM PDT by Piranha (Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have - Saul Alinsky)
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To: Redleg Duke

FDR only gave thirty Fireside Chats during his twelve years in office.

The MSM & most big city newspapers were in his hip pocket. The chats gave extra oomph to whatever legislation he was pushing at the time.

PDJT’s tweets (”Sooooooo unPresidential!” his critics wail) bypass every conceivable barrier to his speaking directly to the people. If Twitter shuts down his account, they will only be making his point. He’s probably already told Twitter execs to go ahead, make my day.


12 posted on 10/20/2019 8:10:56 AM PDT by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam.")
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To: Kaslin

I am on the YouGov survey panel. Every so often, one would ask if it was appropriate for the President to use Twitter. Almost word for word, I have been telling ‘em “Twitter Is President Trump’s Version of FDR’s ‘Fireside Chats’ “.

They keep asking the same question, expecting a different answer, I guess.


13 posted on 10/20/2019 12:24:34 PM PDT by Oatka
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To: Kaslin

How difficult woukd it be, to launch an alternative to Twitter? Trump’s 60 million + followers would provide a ready-made subscriber base.


14 posted on 10/20/2019 12:38:33 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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