The World and War according to Truth Social: New Forms of Political Communication
All conventions on the norms and practices governing political communication, particularly around presidential communications, have been shattered by US President Donald J Trump. The Israel-US War on Iran provides a recent example.
In the first 48 hours of the War on Iran, the US administration gave mixed messages over its rationale and aims, justifying the bombing of Iran, such as around the promise of regime change. This is not just my view or a partisan view, as it has become a theme of much news coverage.
One of the factors contributing to these mixed messages might well be the dramatic changes the Trump administration has made in political communication, putting the President in a more central and forward role in communicating directly to the public, often using his own family’s Truth Social, and bypass the traditional press, more than past presidents.[1]
I’ve written about the ways in which the Internet and social media enable a power shift, giving networked individuals the opportunity to use new media in ways that enhance their informational and communicative power (Dutton 2023). I call these empowered individuals a ‘Fifth Estate’, comparable to an independent press of an earlier era as a Fourth Estate. Of course, institutions and any networked individual can exploit the features of new media to enhance their communicative power. Donald Trump has done so in a dramatic fashion, for better or worse.
Let’s look at communication about why the US launched its war on Iran at day after hearings with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton regarding the Epstein scandal being heard round the world. Earlier in January of 2026, Trump promised to take revenge on any harm done to protestors across Iran who were demonstrating against the regime. Tens of thousands were killed in the streets. Was this the motivation?
Over the first days of the war, many justifications were offered. On 28 February, from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, an 8-minute video was posted on his Truth Social account about the US beginning ‘major combat operations in Iran’ – sort of a special military operation, in the words used by Putin in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. [It was prerecorded so he could go behind the curtain to attend an important dinner at this resort.]
His initial justification was the continued development of Iran’s nuclear program, the development of ballistic missiles that could threaten the US, and the best opportunity ever for the people of Iran to take over the government (regime change).[2] While in Mar-a-ago, more explanations were offered creating a range of media stories over the President’s ‘struggles to explain why he launched another war’.[3] It was not only on social media that Trump sought to explain his actions, but also on camera with media and journalists, such as a new explanation offered to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, who quoted Trump saying: “I got him before he got me. They tried twice. Well, I got him first.” Was it an intentional assassination?
Interestingly, once Trump was flown back to Washington DC and arrived at the Whitehouse, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, sought to provide a definitive explanation for the war, and Trump also spoke but read from a teleprompter, presumably so he would stick to the administration’s script to provide a definitive explanation. Efforts to manage political communication in the Trump Whitehouse must be an exasperating full-time job to put in mildly.
I could and maybe will develop this case more fully over time, but my major point is that the new media in the hands of a President can be used to enhance their informational and communicative power, but there are clear downsides, particularly around any efforts to carefully think through and manage political communications. There are advantages to collaboration on decisions and messages, but speed seems to have been prioritized in many cases by Trump’s ‘always-online’ administration.
I recognize that Donald Trump is still a largely unique case in the ways he has used Truth Social and other media. He has a Whitehouse Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who has been incredibly effective in answering questions, advocating Trump’s views and explaining his actions, but she has become so prominent that Trump might well be trying to take a more direct role himself. [He does not like to share credit.] Moreover, he organizes the visits of dignitaries, plane trips, and more of his activities, even golf games, to provide opportunities for him to speak directly to a press gallery, which he also tries to cultivate and cull to insure it is supportive.
Some time ago, I agreed to write a short book on political communication, but I am increasingly sensing that Donald Trump might be requiring me and others to completely rethink some of the accepted tenets of this art. Hopefully I can encourage more discussion of this topic.
References
William H. Dutton (2023), The Fifth Estate: The Power Shift of the Digital Age. New York: Oxford University Press.
Notes
[1] The American Presidency Project, an authoritative archive of presidential documents, formally archives Trump’s Truth Social posts, treating them as official presidential communications.
[2] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/read-trumps-full-statement-on-iran-attack
[3] https://www.ft.com/content/fd31c6ad-39f0-4fae-851c-fadf44f006eb
