President Donald Trump’s social media addiction is getting worse.
The Truth Social owner and lover posted on his own platform at levels that far exceed his first term, calling into question the role of the influencer-in-chief in a new digital age.
As of June 1, Trump had posted 2,262 times since his inauguration, reported The Washington Post, more than three times the number of posts he made on X (then, Twitter) during his first presidential term. That equals about 17 posts per day.
And on one day in March, he posted 138 times, or about a post every 10 minutes. These “truths” often come at the wee hours of the morning—sometimes even at 3 or 4 a.m.
It’s long been known that Trump has a tech addiction. In March, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins revealed that he “doesn’t really do much in the morning,” but he frequently goes on late-night posting frenzies and has middle-of-the-night meltdowns about everyone from Seth Meyers to Joe Biden.
The president, who claimed on a recent podcast that he is “the biggest of all the influencers,” has said that he wouldn’t have achieved political success without social media.
“When somebody says something about me, I am able to go bing, bing, bing and I take care of it,” he said in 2017. The other way, I would never be get the word out.”
He added: “I doubt I would be here if it weren’t for social media, to be honest with you.”
For years, Trump’s posts have contained factual inaccuracies, personal attacks, and angry tirades.
The president has 10 million followers on Truth Social, which is only a fraction of the 105 million still following him on X. He was kicked off of the platform after the Jan. 6 insurrection but reinstated by his “first buddy” Elon Musk in 2022, who now owns it. Today, he largely opts to use Truth Social instead. His stake in the company is worth more than $2 billion.
Although reporters and the general public have become largely desensitized to Trump’s random rants, the president is still eager to use the site as a personal outlet to spit out whatever is on his mind.
Darren Linvill, a co-director of Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, told The Post that Trump is obsessed with the instant gratification that follows his posting sprees.
“People love positive feedback; it’s a dopamine hit,” said Linvill. “And Trump loves positive feedback more than many.”
Truth Social has largely become an echo chamber for the president, since it largely attracts a MAGA demographic.
“President Trump is the most transparent president in history and is meeting the American people where they are to directly communicate his policies, message, and important announcements,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Post.
Trump alone isn’t issuing these “important announcements.” The president has a dedicated social media team who help him post during the day. Sometimes he’ll even dictate the wording of posts to aide Natalie Harp, who trails him at all times. She’s been deemed the “human printer” for printing and delivering flattering articles about the president straight to him.
Trump’s posts cover the banal, such as talking up tariffs; the promotional, which include positive books and even Kid Rock’s latest restaurants; the political, such as bashing GOP senator Rand Paul for not supporting his massive spending bill; and the utterly bonkers. On Saturday night, Trump shared a conspiracy claiming that former president Biden had been executed in 2020 and replaced by a “soulless mindless” robotic clone.
The message was only one of the hundreds of baseless claims he’s made. Others include assertions about Canada “considering the offer” of becoming the 51st state, a conspiracy theory involving Biden and the “AUTOPEN,” and of course, the “Rigged” 2020 election.
