Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP
One of the myriad things I was relishing, as Trump exited the stage, was the merciful end of presidential tweeting.
For starters, it is below the dignity of the office. Secondly, presidential tweets are irrevocably associated with Trump, and thus with tawdry propaganda and lies.
America, as President Biden keeps reminding us, is better than that. And more to the point, Biden is better than that. Before Trump, presidents from Washington through Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Obama found compelling ways to communicate with the citizenry without Twitter.
But, I am sorry to report, Joe Biden has claimed the @POTUS account and is offering us pithy words via Twitter such as “With unity we can do great things” and “We will get this virus under control.”
Really? How about “A penny saved is a penny earned.” I suppose it beats Trump’s tweets. But, folks, isn’t the medium forever tarnished?
By tweeting, Biden continues the dumbing down of normalcy. He should end the presidential use of Twitter. In fact, it would be good for democracy if we were all less reliant on Twitter. (I’m going to get in big trouble here, since I am supposed to be tweeting out this post, along with all my writing.)
But the entire genre is afflicted with narcissism and self-promotion. Serious dialog can’t be reduced to short, snarky, banged-out comments. Twitter is not haiku. Also, the people who operate and profit from Twitter deserve a retribution for having indulged Trump for so long.
While we are at it, it would not be a bad idea to retire POTUS. The term began as an abbreviation used by telegraphers, and in the 1960s it became cool. FLOTUS sounds less like the classy Jill Biden and more like something associated with gastric reflux. And don’t get me started on SCOTUS.
Joe Biden is restoring dignity to the presidency, in large and consequential ways. The small, symbolic stuff matters, too. Let’s bury presidential tweets with Trump.