$15 billion- enough to buy 12 Big Macs for every single person living in the United States, 27 years of the continuation of Planned Parenthood, 7,500 miles of new infrastructure, or almost 84 million tickets to see Hamilton. However, according to Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and as constantly repeated through his personal twitter account, this money would be used to build a wall fortifying the southern border of the United States with Mexico - an action that, void of evidence, will apparently be paid for by the very entity from which he is trying to secure United States’ citizens from.
It cannot be denied, the United States’ 2016 presidential election was like no other in history, and this was felt worldwide. Unlike previous elections, however, it was a campaign fought not only through rallies, speeches and debates, but more and more on internet forums, via status updates and through social media sites. The impact of social media was loud and clear - United States’ presidential candidates utilized Twitter and other social media platforms as a means of mobilizing the masses and spreading very distinctive political messages. This usage of social media as a platform not only allowed candidates to have direct access to their followers, but simultaneously provided a channel by which they could have an unfiltered approach to communication - effectively meaning they could say whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
Almost indubitably, the pinnacle of this fast evolving online strategy was newly elected President Donald Trump’s twitter usage and now, even post election, it is proving to not only be a talking point of the world, but a serious means to cause significant change in the current sociopolitical environment. His tendency to update his Twitter on a daily basis, posting messages that serve as indicators of a possible shift in policy from the former and current United States administration, have been proven to have real world effects, and this is more than ever real for the United States immediate southern neighbour, Mexico. (see here for a more in depth story on how Trump escalated tensions through twitter use within the first week of his presidency, and here for an easily accessible library of all his tweets).
Donald Trump has successfully been able to base his campaign on the various issues within Mexico that have impacted the United States, specifically with immigration and the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Much of his policy regarding Mexico has been boiled down to a simple, Twitter driven statement - Build that wall - and this has been seen in the real world through all kinds of different forums, from United States college students spring-breaking in Cancún chanting similar sentiments, to small manufacturing companies and self-started entrepreneurs on Amazon and Etsy selling shirts and sweatshirts bearing the President’s words.
It would be an understatement, therefore, to say that Donald Trump has affected generations all across the board through his social media endeavours. With almost 39 million followers on Twitter to date, his tweets have the ability to cause undeniable change that affect everyone across the globe, from diplomats working at the United Nations, to blue-collared workers residing in historically Democratic areas within the United States.
One major topic that has always been on the national stage is immigration. Regardless of party affiliation or political opinion it has always been a question asked within America, and this has only been further emphasized with President Trump. As taken from his Twitter, he believes “When Mexico is sending its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re racists.” While this quote demonstrates his view on Mexican immigration but also the Mexican people as radical, it also promotes an unproven statement as the truth. As the President of the United States, Donald Trump is the spokesperson for our nation; consequently, his Twitter feed is speaking for it - a notion that, when combined with untruthful and unregulated statements, has the power to cause unwarranted political discourse and tension. While in the past, the media has played a large role in politics through television or radio, with planned, ‘objective’ and unofficial statements, politicians now may tweet freely without consulting advisors, and in doing so shape and change foreign policy in a textbox of one hundred and forty characters or less.
An unexpected result from President Trump’s constant Twitter activity is that he utilized the media to vocalize his thoughts to the public without a third party. This has inspired other leaders and political leaders to do the same, and it has never been seen on a scale this large. Many other world leaders are following Trump’s example of using Twitter to voice opinions on new policy or react to other politician’s statements.
(Nieto Tweet: “I repeat what I said personally to Mr. Trump: México will never pay for a wall”)
Donald Trump is the president of the United States, and when these informal statements are put on Twitter, formal actions are taken. In addition to immigration, another topic heavily discussed is trade, with the spotlight focused on the United States international trade treaties with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA has influenced the USA’s economy since 1994, in an effort to create jobs and contribute to the United States’ economy, originally passed in the senate by the majority of 34 Republicans and 27 minority Democratic votes, but is now in trouble, with no evidence of any type of replacement deal - a result that would not only have dire effects on Mexico, but also on us in the United States. With President Trump looking to resolve the treaty, and being excessively vocal about his position particularly on twitter, the political stability of the United States - Mexico relationship, and additionally the economic stability of both nations, are put into question, and real life consequences have already occurred.
In short, when President Trump tweets negative connotations about about foreign trade and immigration it creates tension in the real world international political arena, especially, as of late, between the United States - Mexico relations. As not only one of our closest neighbors, but also one of our largest trading partners and close allies, this unwarranted political discourse created has cause issues among not only leaders of nations however, and is mightily due our attention because of one simple fact - it could easily expand from an issue of international relations, and come to have personal affects on us.
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