Trump’s Truth Social posts give him a megaphone and Dems an opening

Trump’s Truth Social posts give him a megaphone and Dems an opening | The Hill Skip to content Greg Nash

Truth Social has become an integral part of former President Trump’s ability to communicate with his supporters, giving him an advantage because of the media’s coverage of his steady drumbeat of political missives.

Trump’s posts put his rivals on their heels, as was the case during the Republican primaries, when he trounced all of his opponents. 

But there are questions about whether posts on the platform he launched command the same kind of megaphone he enjoyed on Twitter, before the social media site banned him.

And at the same time, Democrats see Trump’s off-the-cuff posts — which can be riddled with untruths and spelling mistakes — as helpful to their cause. 

“In a lot of ways, he shoots himself in the foot,” acknowledged one Republican strategist, who supports Trump. “He hasn’t learned that sometimes silence is the best response. But that’s not his style. He wants everyone to know he’s right, the media covers it and [the Trump campaign] see that as translating to votes. 

“I don’t know if it does,” the strategist added. 

Trump has a much larger audience on X, formerly known as Twitter, compared to Truth Social. He boasts 87 million followers on the former, while he has just shy of 7 million followers on Truth Social.

In November 2022, the former president said he had no interest in returning to X after it was sold to Elon Musk, who lifted the ban imposed on the former president after the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump has only posted one time on X since regaining tweeting privileges. He shared an image of his mug shot from Fulton County, Ga., with a link to his campaign website. He had already posted the mug shot on Truth Social prior to sharing it on X.

The former president has otherwise talked up the success of Truth Social, telling reporters earlier this week after a court hearing that the website was “hot as a pistol.”

But some Republican strategists say that’s not enough. 

“I think he needs to get back on X,” said Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton. “His following there is significant, and he had incredible engagement. 

“He needs to be in multiples places at the