Essay: Should Trump’s tweets be silenced?

2-10-2017
Did you See the Latest Executive Tweet?
My Aunt does not have social media, she says that if you want to tell her that you are dead or pregnant, you have to do it the old-fashioned way: in person. She is highly offended by the extent to which people “in this day and age” put all their business on social media, even failing to inform family about very personal announcements via any other medium. However, the election of President Trump has brought to light a far greater issue, in that Trump not only over extends his own exposure via social media, but also over exposes the country via ill-prepared, and ill-advised messages disseminated to the world through tweets.
For some time, experts and layman alike have questioned the wisdom of a national leader who so frequently and publicly expresses himself in 140 characters or less. This was first seen throughout his campaign for the presidency, at which time the tweets took the form of attack against his opponent, in combination with advancing his own rhetoric. However, since his election, he has made important announcements and even introduced new policy expressly via twitter. While former Press Secretary Sean Spicer called this use of Twitter positive, because it provides Trump a “direct pipeline to the American People,” others have called it an uncensored and unofficial fount from which his megalomania can flow.
Perhaps the greatest issue, however, is how the American people, and more significantly those whose role it is to enforce American policy are supposed to view, and respond to these Tweets. One of the most notable instances of this issue was in Trump’s announcement that Transgender individuals would not longer be allowed to serve, in any capacity, in the American military. This was announced first via Tweet in July. However, there was not yet any framework for such a policy, leaving the announcement, at the least abrupt. It blindsided the secretary of defense, who not only did not know it was occurring, and further, had no idea how such a proclamation should be inforced. In the aftermath of the tweet, military leadersn and transgender service members alike were left in limbo, unsure how to proceed while the matter was further discussed. Official policy was not put in place until August, at which time the issue was finally partially resolved. In fact, it is still not clear how current transgender members of the armed forces should be managed, post-policy. The Pentagon currently has until March, 2018, to come up with an implementation plan for addressing these complexities.
This incident raised the question, should a Presidential leader be allowed to announce new policies, laws, or executive orders in such an informal, and unprecedented manner. Are the nation’s leaders, including military leaders and other governmental members to take their orders via Tweet from now on? In world of hacking, internet insecurity, and other similar issues, what kinds of very dangerous presidents are set by such an action.
Even more drastic is Trumps proclivity for issuing threats via social media. Recently, in response to the ongoing tension between The United States and North Korea, Trump has appeared to Taunt North Korean leadership via tweet. The president’s remarks were more than presidential, ultimately they were undignified, unprofessional, demeaning, and designed to stir greater diplomatic troubles. To call another international leader “Rocket Man” for example, not only was unhelpful in working to deescalate the potential nuclear threat that Kim Jong Un poses to the United States, but further, demonstrates just how out of touch he is with the role he is supposed to be playing both nationally, and internationally.
This poses a real threat when what has been said, in this informal social media setting, is volatile in nature. While if I threaten my rival, via social media, it can only be considered assult, when these threats are made by, and against, national leaders, the situation could escalate rapidly. After all, Trump is not your average citizen, rather as president, he is the leader of the Armed Forces, and the free world. As such, when he Tweets things like the statement regarding Kim Jong Un that he “won’t be around much longer” it can be considered not only a threat, but more a “declaration of war.” As a result, via an unofficial, unsanctioned, and unapproved Tweet, made by a single individual, via an information social media website, two nations stand on the brink of using devastating weapons against innocent citizens, uninvolved in the self-involved war of words being conducted between two grossly narcissistic national leaders.
No matter how correct Trump and his policy may be, his use of Twitter as a major expression of his political standings, and as a platform for introducing policy lack the formalism, and decorum that is required of a man in his position. It is critical for remarks to be aligned with the best interests of the nation, and to be diplomatically correct. Trump’s Tweets must be silenced, before they place our nation at real risk of harm.