As far as I can tell, only AOC can beat Donald Trump at this game. She is his equal when it comes to being a twitter assassin.

 

I hope I’m wrong about this but it’s looking bleak for anyone in politics who has not mastered social media.

Total game changer for the 2020 elections. And forget about having your “team” do it for you – that’s lame, a non-starter.

Reminds me of the shift we saw in the ’60’s with the introduction of television. Televised debates played a pivotal role in getting Kennedy elected. TV gave whoever was more photogenic a huge advantage (in Kennedy’s case, Nixon was done in by his sweaty, nervous demeanor).

Seems to me we are at a similar juncture today.

Only now, not only is the visual important, the message has to be crafted to be catchy, memorable and speedily passed along via social media. Fact-checking is less important as we’ve seen with AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) you just have to be comfortable fast-talking your way out of inaccuracies.

The reach is direct, bypassing the media middleman. Have you noticed how frazzled political reporters are looking as they try to keep up with the tweet storms generated by AOC and Trump? Video also plays a key role (AOC dancing was an absolute win for her, and a major miscalculation by conservatives).

Based on this shift to social, here’s what it will take to become a winner in 2020:

• Facile at communicating in punchy, off-the-cuff  “headlines” vs. thoughtful (slower) deliberation or more complex, nuanced perspectives.
• Brash, unapologetic, never deterred by facts or inaccuracies, as long as the sentiment is accurate
• Truthiness vs. truth. The end justifies the means. The Amazon LIC deal, for example, was killed by local politicians deliberately using falsehoods about key aspects of the deal.
• Ideally, photogenic (although Trump defies that rule….) but Beto has it going on. He’s got quite a Kennedy vibe.

 

Bottom Line.

Based on the current field (with new contenders announcing daily) AND assuming the Mueller investigation has wrapped up with no incontrovertible proof of collusion, I believe Donald Trump can win again.

I can’t see any of the Democrats currently running, winning against Trump i.e. Sanders, Warren, Gillebrand, Biden, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobucher, Marianne Williamson and potentially Bill De Blasio, Howard Schultz, Bloomberg and Beto O’Rourke.

The filter we will be using in the future to pick candidates will be based on their “reality TV star” potential – I’m not kidding! The skill set those celebrities and social media influencers exhibit is what we are increasingly voting for when it comes to elections.