Difference between revisions of "Blogs and Twitter"

Revision as of 18:25, 16 October 2019

Trump University Blog

• 2005: Before he was active on Twitter, Trump used to post his opinions about politics and current events on a blog maintained by Trump University’s website. “It is impossible to read Donald Trump's blog without hearing his voice and picturing him typing away in his Turnbull & Asser pajamas, sleep still in his eyes. Otherwise, ‘The Trump Blog’ seems a lot like most other blogs. Which is to say, lightweight and highly egocentric. The Trump Blog is featured on the Web site for Trump University (trumpuniversity.com), which is basically a series of seminars on how to get rich. Mr. Trump and ‘his circle of experts’ run the blog, though The Donald himself ducks in only occasionally. […]On those occasions when he's not talking about himself, Mr. Trump takes on political and economic issues. He doesn't go too deep, though. After all, he's a busy man.” (New York Times, September 3, 2005)
• 2005: Contemporary reviews of Trump's blog did not rate its content highly. “Wanna read something unintentionally funny? Check out Palm Beach king Donald Trump's new blog on his Trump University Web site. Choice lines: ‘The glamour and grandeur of my buildings and my life are no mere trappings. Beauty and elegance ... is a product of style, and it comes from deep inside.’ Oh, brother!” (Palm Beach Post, August 14, 2005)
• Trump’s blog on the Trump University website had a lightly moderated comments section. “Blogs have gone corporate, raising doubts about the credibility of a fast-growing Internet innovation once used primarily for private thoughts. Business honchos from Donald Trump to General Motors executive Bob Lutz are among those embracing the new online journals, to the dismay of some blogging purists skeptical about the authenticity of such from-the-top viewpoints. […] Both Trump and Lutz say they allow critical postings on their blogs. The comments ‘have to be really extreme’ to be edited out of Trump's Web journal, said Michael Sexton, president of Trump University, who works with the real estate magnate. Business blogs perform better as soapboxes than as sales or corporate communication tools, because of the doubts they engender, Sexton said. ‘People are increasingly skeptical about what they read on the Internet.’” (Chicago Tribune, February 12, 2006)
• Some of Trump’s earliest blog posts focused on corruption by business figures, which he denounced. “Donald Trump entered the blogosphere last week. The reality show star and real estate mogul is blogging on the Web site of his new online university. He has shared his thoughts about corporate corruption and his disgust for former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski. George Ross from The Apprentice and other cronies are expected to also blog.” (Crain’s New York Business, August 15, 2005)
• December, 2005: Trump used his blog on Trump University’s website to congratulate Elton John for his marriage to David Furnish, but then snarked about not having been invited to the wedding. “All sorts of celebrities have their own Web site, and their own forum for spouting wisdom […] DONALDTRUMP.TRUMPUNIVERSITY.COM The latest: ‘There's a lot to celebrate this holiday season. Elton John married his longtime partner David Furnish on December 21.... I'm very happy for them. If two people dig each other, they dig each other. Good luck, Elton. Good luck, David. Have a great life. (But because I wasn't invited, do I still have to send them a toaster?)’” (Chicago Tribune, December 28, 2005)
• 2006: Donald Trump used his blog to berate Brad Pitt for taking a public stance in support of gay marriage. “Donald Trump used his Trump University blog to weigh in on Brad Pitt's recent statement that he wouldn't marry Angelina Jolie until ‘everybody gets a chance to wed,’ the New York Post reports. ‘Obviously, Brad is trying to be a social activist and make a point ... or at least that's what he wants people to think,’ Trump writes. ‘Maybe he's just come up with an excellent way to stay a bachelor.’” (Chicago Tribune, October 4, 2006)

Trump on Twitter

History of Plagiarism

• Trump submitted an op-ed to a newspaper in Guam that was plagiarized from an earlier article submitted by Ben Carson to a newspaper in the Mariana Islands. “During the Republican primary, Trump wrote an op-ed for a newspaper in Guam that bore a striking resemblance to one that former GOP rival Ben Carson submitted to a paper in the Mariana Islands just 12 days earlier. Daily Caller reporter Alex Pappas, who was first to note the apparent plagiarism, tweeted a side-by-side comparison of the two articles.” (Washington Post, July 19, 2016)
• Trump Institute instructional materials were plagiarized from a real estate manual. “Last month, the New York Times reported that 20 pages of a Trump Institute instructional book were essentially duplicated from a real estate manual published 11 years earlier.” (Washington Post, July 19, 2016)
• Trump once contrasted himself to Joe Biden, claiming that unlike Biden he had never plagiarized. “On the campaign trail, Trump once touted his record of not plagiarizing material. Last summer, when Vice President Joe Biden was considering a presidential bid, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he liked his chances against the veteran Democrat. ‘I think I'd match up great,’ Trump said. ‘I'm a job producer. I've had a great record. I haven't been involved in plagiarism. I think I would match up very well against him.’ When he ran for president in 1988, Biden admitted to committing plagiarism in law school and to lifting speech material from the British politician Neil Kinnock without attribution.” (Washington Post, July 19, 2016)
• Trump once contrasted himself to Joe Biden, claiming that unlike Biden he had never plagiarized. “On the campaign trail, Trump once touted his record of not plagiarizing material. Last summer, when Vice President Joe Biden was considering a presidential bid, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he liked his chances against the veteran Democrat. ‘I think I'd match up great,’ Trump said. ‘I'm a job producer. I've had a great record. I haven't been involved in plagiarism. I think I would match up very well against him.’ When he ran for president in 1988, Biden admitted to committing plagiarism in law school and to lifting speech material from the British politician Neil Kinnock without attribution.” (Washington Post, July 19, 2016) Roger Stone

Other Social Media

• 2006: Somebody set up a fake MySpace page purporting to be Donald Trump’s. “The conventional wisdom is that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But in the digital age, that's often not the case for high-profile professionals being targeted on MySpace.com. The social-networking site is filled with dozens of user pages that purport to be profile pages created by business luminaries Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart and Donald Trump. Many of the phony pages appear legitimate: They have flattering photos and list seemingly correct personal details, such as income, astrology signs and marital status. But bits of misinformation -- and even malicious tidbits -- are often tucked in. […] But for most of the well-known executives such as Trump and Buffett, the alleged profiles are fake.” (USA Today, September 25, 2006)