When President Donald Trump wishes to communicate with the nation, his primary megaphone is no longer a traditional press conference or major network interview. Instead, he turns to Truth Social, the social media platform he owns, creating a direct but narrowly-broadcast channel to the American people.
The 3% Audience: A Presidential Communication Blackout?
A stark reality underpins this modern presidential strategy: just 3% of American adults actively use Truth Social. This figure, revealed in a late November Pew Research Center study, suggests that the overwhelming majority of the public may be missing critical, unfiltered information about his administration. Trump uses the platform to announce significant policies covering the economy, immigration, and potential travel bans, declarations that are essential for understanding his governmental direction.
Perhaps more concerning, this limited reach may be shielding the 79-year-old president from broader scrutiny regarding his mental acuity and day-to-day conduct. With so few eyewitnesses to his digital activity, questions about his focus and stability are not reaching a national audience through his own words.
Erratic Posts and Revealing Confusion
The behaviour exhibited on Truth Social is frequently erratic and revealing. In one telling incident in early December, the president posted a staggering 158 times within a mere three-hour window, prompting concerns about how he allocates his time and his increasingly unusual online habits.
His posts range from policy pronouncements to incoherent rants and the sharing of racially charged material. On 1 December, he endorsed a post describing Somali Americans as "inbred savages," a racist framing he later repeated in public. This incident largely escaped immediate media scrutiny, highlighting how platform isolation can temporarily obscure controversial views.
Competence has also been called into question. On a Saturday evening, Trump announced on Truth Social that the suspect in a Brown University shooting was in custody. Nineteen minutes later, he was forced to issue a correction, admitting the information was false. This mix of inaccuracy is compounded by odd behaviour, such as reposting random, context-free videos and AI-generated content without clarification.
AI Confusion and the "Med Bed" Mystery
A particularly revealing episode occurred in late September. Trump, the oldest person ever inaugurated as president, reposted an AI-generated fake video promoting "med bed hospitals"—a right-wing conspiracy theory about miraculous, withheld medical technology. The video featured an AI deepfake of Trump himself appearing to endorse the idea.
This action raised serious questions: Did the president believe he had actually given a speech about "med beds"? Did he think his administration was preparing to distribute "med bed cards"? Trump deleted the post, but not before it was picked up by mainstream media, serving as a rare instance where his Truth Social confusion broke through to a wider audience.
According to Emmitt Riley III, associate professor of politics at the University of the South, some output is "amplified by mainstream media, and recirculated across various other platforms." Major incidents, like a rant about filmmaker Rob Reiner published a day after Reiner's death, do gain traction. However, Riley notes that Americans now have "a front-row seat to the decline of Trump," citing videos of him appearing to fall asleep during meetings.
As the Republican party, inextricably tied to Trump's whims, prepares for crucial elections, a central question remains. Will his supporters acknowledge the behaviour and cognitive signs displayed on his chosen platform, or will the limited reach of Truth Social allow them to look the other way? The president's digital pulpit, while financially lucrative for his net worth, is proving to be a curiously insular window into the highest office in the United States.
