Political Communication 2020 Campaign Analysis Blog: Online Campaign Communication

Friday, October 2, 2020

Online Campaign Communication – Tuesday, October 6th (Blog #6)

How are the campaigns and their supporters using websites and social media to target voters and how does it differ from previous campaigns? Do you think their messaging strategies have been effective thus far and what, if any, changes would you recommend? Finally, how important is online campaign communication in the 2020 campaign? Along with referring to the class readings, use examples from at least one social media account (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) and the website of the candidate you’re assigned to for the Election Eve Project to support your response.

53 comments:

UnknownOctober 4, 2020 at 4:41 PM
Lille Gaeta
Over the years, social media has proved to be “an increasingly important and essential outlet for campaigns (Denton et. Al. 336). This election is no exception. Social media has arguably become more important in this election than previous elections due to the pandemic. Biden and his team have taken full advantage of social media and online campaigning in general.
Biden has been incredibly active on Twitter throughout his campaign. Lately, Biden’s tweets have been very unifying, most likely in an effort to attract voters from the other party or to get the votes from the in-between voters. For example, Biden tweeted on Oct. 2: “I’m running as a Democrat, but I will be an American president. Whether you voted for me or against me, I will represent you.” (@JoeBiden). Biden has had trouble with his image in the past, so sending out a tweet like this is uplifting and demonstrates to voters that he will fight for everyone in America. Biden’s website targets the group of voters that are voting for him based on the fact that he is not Donald Trump. At the bottom of the site, there’s an option to donate, reading: “Together we can make Donald Trump a one term President. Donate today” (Joebiden.org). This serves as a call to action and gets Biden’s voters fired up to go to the polls in a month. Biden also has supporters on social media platforms, but the account I find most interesting is @settleforbiden, the bio reading: “Okay, fine. Biden 2020. We’re a youth-led group of ex-Sanders/Warren supporters working to make Trump a one-term president…” (@settleforbiden). This is another tactic to target the group of voters only voting for Biden because he’s not Trump. In previous years, candidates have relied on field work for campaign success, “but this year, instead of marching through neighborhoods with clipboards, Democratic staffers, Biden campaign volunteers and activists across the party are texting, messaging, and commenting at their neighbors’ virtual doorsteps” (Alter).
I think thus far, the Biden campaign has been fairly effective, but I think there’s always more than can be done. The campaign has been active across several social media platforms, but Biden is at a disadvantage due to the lesser number of followers compared to Trump. Biden has 3 million followers on Facebook and 9 million on Twitter, while Trump has 30 million on Facebook and 85 million on Twitter (Heilweil). Making up that difference in followers would be virtually impossible at this point in the campaign, so the Biden campaign needs to compensate for that, and has been through avenues like Instagram lives and Twitter conversations. Biden’s team has also been utilizing social media influencers, which help to target all different subsets of voters. With the final month of campaigning, I would urge the Biden campaign to keep up their messaging strategies, and not slack just because Trump is in the hospital. They cannot get too comfortable just because Trump is at a somewhat disadvantage.
Overall, there has never been another presidential election that needed to rely on online campaign communication. The ability to conduct in-person campaigning is long gone, and for Biden establishing is online presence is crucial to a victory next month.
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AnonymousOctober 4, 2020 at 11:50 PM
Shannon Flaherty
The campaigns are very different from previous campaigns but a lot of that can be contributed to the pandemic we’re living through. Campaigns have addressed that we live in a “multi-screen world” and candidates need to be invested in social media more than television. Campaigns have moved from being all about the candidate to being centered around the citizens and catering to their likes and dislikes (Denton). Biden is utilizing influencer culture in order to draw in fan-base voters and new audiences. Biden’s team even is going as far as hiring a firm to assist with influencer outreach. Some influencers that Biden has gotten include Elle Walker, who has a YouTube channel “WhatsUpMoms” in order to appeal to that voting demographic that is subscribed to her (3 million subscribers). Also, Biden previously spoke with Jerry Harris who quickly gained fame from the Netflix show “Cheer”, unfortunately this backfired when Harris was arrested for child pornography. Biden also faced backlash after an interview with Bethany Mota, a YouTube influencer, when people claimed he was using celebrities to impress young people rather than deal with serious issues. The Biden campaign also has been honing in on trends, such as Animal Crossing. Over the course of the pandemic, the video game gained massive popularity with those stuck at home. Biden’s team debuted campaign signs within the game for supporters to put in their virtual lawns (Heilweil). Clever as the Biden team is on social media, they are still behind Trump in terms of utilizing (and pouring money into) YouTube. Trump’s team has spent $65 million on YouTube, and $30 million of that being just since July- whereas Biden has only spent $33 during the entire campaign. This could be very beneficial for Trump because of the way the YouTube algorithm works in suggesting pages that are updated regularly with new content. Trump dominated the YouTube homepage throughout the democratic convention. This is a striking contrast to the 2016 campaign, where Trump spent less than $10 million on YouTube- which only proves how fast the social media preferences can change over the course of just 2 years (Thompson).
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UnknownOctober 5, 2020 at 11:55 AM
Erin Fennell

President Trump has always relied on social media and the internet, most popularly Twitter, to get his messages and ideals out into society. However, this election, Trump is utilizing YouTube as a primary way of reaching voters. An article by Alex Thompson explains Trump's use of the platform, saying
“Trump's YouTube channel, however, is a voluminous and unique
collection of news, campaign ads and original web shows.
Negative ads like "Don't let them ruin America" are paired
with live streamed series such as "Black Voices for Trump:
Real Talk Online!" and "The Right View." The campaign uploads
and then tests hundreds of short videos of the president
speaking, while also posting news clips about things like the
jobs report and the recent Serbia-Kosovo deal” (Thompson).
Trump has also decided to redirect his TV advertising dollars into Google’s video platforms. The campaign has spent around $65 million to post content on YouTube and Google video (Thompson). As well as using YouTube and Google to reach audiences, the Trump campaign also has campaign websites and social media accounts. Along with the website, Trump also is very active on Twitter, as many people know. Trump has gotten a lot of attention from his tweets, which can be positive and negative. There is always backlash, but even the negative comments bring attention to him and his messages. Trump has 86.9 million followers (Twitter) and therefore has a great platform to reach voters, if he uses it wisely.

This year's election I would suggest that Trump continue to use YouTube and Google to reach his audience but become more conservative in what he posts on Twitter because perception of message is key to winning an election, and Trump's twitter is not always perceived well by voters. One of Trump's more recent tweets was “Nobody wants Sleepy Joe as a leader, including the Radical Left (which he lost last night!). He disrespected Bernie, effectively calling him a loser! (@realDonaldTrump). This is not the best use of social media for a campaign; it makes him look childish and unfit for presidency. I would suggest he avoid these types of comments and for Trump to focus on his plans as president. The content that he posts on YouTube is informative and reflects his plans as president, and he should continue using this time of content on all of his social media. Trump's campaign website is also well done. It reflects a lot of the content he posts on his YouTube. It is organized well and keeps voters aware of the latest news in his campaign. I think it is smart to have different coalitions for voters to join to show support, as well as offering ways to get involved (donaldjtrump.com).

Online campaigning is especially important this election, due to the pandemic. There aren't many opportunities to campaign in person, so these candidates must use the internet and media platforms as best they can. With the changes in technology, media and the internet has become a crucial part of campaigning. The textbook quotes, “As with radio, television drastically transformed the form and content of political discourse and campaigns. Television became a major player in American politics in 1952 with the broadcast of the party conventions and the first political ads (Denton et al 335). The internet is a vital part of our everyday life, and for most people, it is where they get all of their information on politics. Having an unsuccessful online campaign strategy could very easily ruin a candidate's chances of winning. Politics change as society and technology changes and as the book mentions, election strategies must also change with it.
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Summer PerrattiOctober 5, 2020 at 4:55 PM
Summer (Part 1)
As our society adopted means of rapid online communication, our political leaders sought out ways to utilize the Internet and social media to efficiently interact with their constituencies. In addition to communicating with the public through traditional media outlets like radio and television, the emergence of online platforms has now only expanded the ways in which politicians and their campaigns can reach voter demographics. While Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign “was the first to extensively use the Internet,” it was not until the 2000 presidential campaign that staff were dedicated specifically to handle digital media. “Campaigns began to recognize that they could mobilize strong supporters, raise large amounts of money, and begin to build databases of email addresses to target voters” (Denton et al. 336-337). These same utilizations of online platforms have remained consistent and visible in political campaigns that have followed, only getting more innovative as time progresses. Both Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s campaigns heavily employ social media platforms as a major form of communication in the 2020 election year, sometimes in differing ways. While Biden’s online presence appears to be primarily controlled by campaign staff, President Trump personally uses his Twitter account to communicate with his following. Trump’s nontraditional and personal activity on platforms like Twitter “became his instrument to speak directly to his supporters and largely bypass the traditional press. They had to rely on and report his tweets, thus shaping and influencing his coverage in the media” (Denton et al. 349). This differentiates Trump’s online campaign communication from Biden significantly, as Trump’s unique social media activity generates more discussion and engagement than the scripted, staff-prepared posts from Biden. For example, a Fox 8 article highlighted several tweets posted by Donald Trump following the first 2020 presidential debate, one where he directly stated that Biden will “destroy our Country!” if elected, criticizing his stance on gun control, fracking, and the Supreme Court. Bold statements like these on Trump’s social media plays directly to his most loyal base that thrives off of his candidness, while Biden’s online posts serve as more functional, shareable content. An example of this is a tweet from Biden’s account on October 4 that states: “Before we’re Democrats or Republicans or independents — we’re Americans. We can’t forget that.” The overall theme of unity and bipartisanship is visible throughout Biden’s presence on Twitter, as well as other platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Ultimately, these types of messages are an attempt to secure the Democratic vote, as well as an attempt to invite both Republicans and Independent voters onto his campaign.
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UnknownOctober 5, 2020 at 4:59 PM
Jessica Bischer

In 2020, millions of Americans have decreased their public presence immensely since March because of COVID-19. However, in an election year, this could pose threats to campaign trails and party momentum. Traditional campaigns employed door-to-door donation buckets and on-the-spot voter registration to gain support. In light of strict social distancing and public health guidelines, campaigning has transitioned toward a new digital age. Nominees are in constant contact with the public through a campaign-centered website and multiple social media platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Presidential social media use is not a new concept and was used by candidates as early as 1992 by the Clinton campaign if discussion groups and emails can count as social media (Denton 336). By 2016, 80% of voting Americans used the Internet, and Donald Trump took to Twitter every day to address the public, possibly becoming the most social media savvy president in history (Denton 380). For some, the Internet is a battleground of its own. Before winning swing states like Florida and Arizona, the candidate must win the Internet (Alter). President Trump has demonstrated massive support from online groups in the past four years, obtaining 74 million more followers on Twitter, and it will be a challenge for Joe Biden to rise to the same level (Heilweil).

However, the public cannot underestimate Biden, as he has a team of social media experts on his side. The 'Vote Joe' App is an example of the Biden campaign taking advantage of advanced technology to gain votes during a time where many Americans are staying at home. The app allows users to search their contacts for uncommon voters and sends voting resources (Alter). The 'Vote Joe' app allows every-day people to safely support the Biden campaign from the comfort of their homes. For groups that are not digitally native, JoeBiden.com is easy to navigate and provides all necessary information on the home page. At the click of a button, users can register to vote in their state, donate, sign up for the mailing list, become a volunteer, or learn more about the Biden/Harris mission. It is important to note there is a constant running footer on the page for quick donations, as virtual fundraising is crucial during the pandemic. Another advanced feature on JoeBiden.com is its automatic location recognition, giving accurate voter information about the user's current state. The homepage also includes Biden's daily statements to the public in chronological order to keep voters updated. Finally, JoeBiden.com offers a complete website translated into Spanish, found in the menu, for non-English speaking voters (JoeBiden.com).

The account @JoeBiden, on Twitter, tweets around ten times in a day. The nominee does not craft all of the tweets, as his campaign team automatically generates some content. According to Denton, there are seven reasons why a presidential candidate will use Twitter to create authentic personal communication. A few include direct connections with mass audiences, voiding the media's opportunity to twist words, and rapid responses from a large scale of people (Denton 348). Various tweets from @JoeBiden consist of sources on how and when to vote, hyperlinks to donation pages, promotions for campaign trail events, and discussions of 'The Biden Plan.' The account often retweets supporting figures who are encouraging to vote or support Biden. Some include no pictures or sources and are short phrases, possibly written by the nominee. An example of this was tweeted on October 4 at 3:05 p.m., reading, "Before we're Democrats or Republicans or independents — we're Americans. We can't forget that." (twitter.com/JoeBiden). Another sent out on the evening following the First Presidential Debate at 8:12 p.m. reads, "Last night reinforced why I got into this race: We are in a battle for the soul of this nation — and it’s a battle we must win." (twitter.com/JoeBiden).
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UnknownOctober 5, 2020 at 5:33 PM
Matt Gallo
The rise of social media and the internet has caused a plethora of changes throughout the entire globe, and American politics is no different. Targeting voters has been more accessible than ever due to our rapid increase in technology. It was reported that Trump and the Republican National Committee has spent over $65 million on YouTube and Google. (Thompson). Although that number seems extremely high, with how efficient those two companies are at targeting ads and using algorithms to choose who sees which ads, I believe it is money well spent. I am sure that massive amount of money has produced a bunch of new voters especially given the fact that they have spent around $30 million since July. On the other hand Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee have also spent $33 million on YouTube and Google. (Thompson) I am not sure how much the difference of nearly double of that will do for Trump, but it will be interesting to see how things end up. One thing that stood out in the textbook was when the authors wrote, “Over a decade ago, Bruce Gronbeck recognized that we were transitioning from candidate-centered campaigns to citizen-centered campaigns” (Denton). This 2020 election is a lot different from previous ones because of this fact; citizens have much more power than we have seen in the past. These candidates are trying to cater their voters by supporting what they want to see. Some tactics we have seen in the past are more centralized on what the candidates have wanted to put in place, rather than what we see today with the American citizens being catered too much more.
Obviously, Trump has been much more active on social media, mainly through Twitter. He has been tweeting frequently since he has been in office, a lot of the time speaking upon the changes and policies he wants to put in place. In a world where the demand of information is very high, him informing the public what he is doing through social media is fascinating. Biden has also had to start using his platform to attempt to go toe-to-toe with Trump. More of his tweets are very inclusive and more positive messages. It is quite comical to see the difference between the two candidates. Trump tweeted on October 5, “IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!” (Twitter).
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Sam MesbahOctober 5, 2020 at 7:02 PM
Samantha Mesbah
Blog #6- Online Campaign Communication

As stated in Political Campaign Communication, “As society and technology change, so do the ways politicians campaign and govern.” (Denton et al 335) Social media plays a major role in an Americans day to day life, as this is a platform used to not only communicate with others but also as a main source for obtaining information. The textbook also states, “During the 2016 campaign, 65 percent of voters sought news of the campaign from digital sources.” (Denton et al 380) Our current election cycle is taking place during a unique time in history. With the novel coronavirus taking over the world for months, people are using the internet even more to obtain news and interact with other people. Both candidate’s staffs have been working efficiently on all social media platforms to engage voters in all different groups and places.
The 2016 election was not the first election where social media played a role, but it was the first election where there was a dominant impact of social media campaigning on the outcome of the election. According to Politico, “In 2016, Donald Trump’s campaign cracked the code on Facebook as a campaign tool — gaining an advantage over Hillary Clinton that was little noticed at the time but helped propel him to victory.” (Thompson) Trump's campaign in 2016 was able to connect with many voters on different social media platforms. Trump’s activity on his Twitter profile, is his way of directly addressing the public on a different policy, ideas, current events, and direct attacks on his opponent. On September 24th, 2020, Trump tweeted, “Sleepy Joe Biden just closed down his campaign for the day (Again). Wants to rest! He is a very LOW ENERGY INDIVIDUAL, and our Country cannot make it in these exciting, but complex and competitive times, with a Low Energy President !!!” (@realDonaldTrump) A tweet such as this one is publicized to show those scrolling through twitter, that Trump has reason to believe Biden would make a weak president. While information such as closing down a campaign for a day, might not be the top headline on CNN or Fox, a simple tweet such as this had received 42.1K retweet and 167.1K favorites. He was able to directly engage with over 200,000 people by one simple tweet.
When visiting Trump’s website, his home page mentions numerous times the idea of “Making and Keeping America Great.” His about page states, “We will make America strong again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And we will Make America Great Again!" (donaldjtrump.com/about) President Trump is using his successful tactic from 2016 in this upcoming election once again. He uses the simple phrase of making our country great to appeal to voters. This rather simple concept gives voters something to believe in and can tie together all his policies and strategies under one general idea.
An article from TIME states, “But the Democrats have a lot of catching up to do. In recent years, the party has lagged behind the GOP’s investment in digital infrastructure and advertising. Republicans have mastered the Facebook algorithm and become experts at making right-wing grievances go viral.” (Alter) While Joe Biden has a presence on social media and is working hard to connect with people from different media platforms, it is clear the Republican party has successfully developed this strategy and has a better connection with voters from a social media standpoint.
Ultimately, I think both candidates are doing a solid job of expressing their platform on social media outlets. Both candidates have been able to address their stance on certain issues via online programming and will continue to do so till election day. While Biden may not be as strong as communicating on digital means, his team is working hard to expand and develop these platforms.
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Mariam ShawishOctober 5, 2020 at 8:08 PM
Mariam Shawish (1/2)

Social media has shaped everything in the last few years, campaigns included. It has become an outlet for people to stay connected with each other as well as with anyone in the world. Political campaigns are no different, social media has allowed for candidates to stay connected with their constituents, essentially allowing them to speak directly to their voters. Social media has also become an outlet for people to gather their news. According to Denton, “it is also important to recognize the importance of social media in terms of gathering political information and as a source of news” (Denton 339).
President Trump has always had a prominent presence on social media. Ever since taking office, he has been very active on Twitter specifically. Trump is known to tweet out things that are not very presidential, yet this is how he appeals to his base. Trump uses twitter for everything, from tweeting about his policies to attacking the Democratic party and everything in between. For example, this morning he tweeted fifteen different tweets referring to different topics he stands for. This includes tweets like “SAVE OUR SECOND AMENDMENT. VOTE!”, “PRO LIFE! VOTE!”, “LAW & ORDER. VOTE!” (@realDonaldTrump). He also tweeted “IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!” (@realDonaldTrump). These tweets are examples of how President Trump uses social media to stay connected with the rest of the world. Each one of President Trump’s tweets reaches hundreds of thousands of people, which can help the campaign reach key voter blocs on a very large scale. Compared to President Obama, who initially started the @POTUS twitter account, President Trump uses the platform abundantly more. President Obama was the first to take advantage of social media while campaigning, he “became one of the first candidates to use social media advertising in his campaign. That year, 2008, candidates spent a total of $22.25 million on online political ads. Since then, online political advertising on has exploded—in 2016, candidates spent $1.4 billion on them” (“Political Advertising”). Although recently started, campaigns have been using social media as a platform to be able to target voting blocs and promote their campaigns.
President Trump’s twitter presence both helps and hinders his campaign. He is known for tweeting out unprofessional and unpresidential things that always end up as screenshots on CNN’s night shows. His tweets tend to always get him into some trouble, yet he does it because he is appeasing to his base, the people who will vote for him. I believe that so far, his tweeting, although has helped him, should be monitored more than it is now. I also would recommend for the campaign to promote his website through their twitter more because it is very informative. On the top he has a whole section labeled “Promises Kept”, which takes you to a whole new website that outlines all his administration did in the last four years (https://www.donaldjtrump.com/).
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Mariam ShawishOctober 5, 2020 at 8:08 PM
Mariam Shawish (2/2)

Overall, the use of social media has been pivotal to campaigns, especially this year. With a global pandemic going on, campaigning is not the same, making it harder for candidates to connect to their constituents. Using social media has been a great way to keep people connected and allow for different ways to campaign, since we can’t have in-person events and rally’s like we used to. Social media has also played a large role in keeping people educated and caught up on the news.

Works Cited
Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign
Communication: Principles and Practice, 9 th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
“Donald J. Trump for President.” Home, www.donaldjtrump.com/.
“Political Advertising on Social Media Platforms.” American Bar Association, www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/voting-in-2020/political-advertising-on-social-media-platforms/.
Twitter, Twitter, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump.

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Claire FaulknerOctober 5, 2020 at 9:14 PM
Over the past decade, the Internet and social media have become increasingly significant factors of presidential campaigns. They are no longer optional tools that candidates can choose to utilize, but integral components of elections. “You could think of the Internet as a battleground state in its own right. It has its own regions and cultures, its own communities and constituents, its own gatekeepers and power players” (Alter). Today, campaign teams must strategize on how to navigate this battleground and effectively use the numerous platforms available to them in order to attain their goals. With COVID-19 preventing the use of many traditional campaign strategies, online communication is more important than ever.

Websites have become a common form of online campaign communication. Today, campaign teams create professionally designed websites that make information about candidates easily accessible to the public. Trump and Biden’s websites include their plans, backgrounds, event details, coalitions, resources for volunteering, voting information, and online donation portals. The first place to learn about candidates is on their respective websites. But voters want to learn about more than policies – they also want to get a sense of personality. Biden’s website included a very personal and relatable back story section, but candidates more regularly share their personality on social media platforms. Here, campaign teams can display who their candidate is as a person, interact with voters, give daily updates, disseminate information, and most importantly, connect with voting blocs. However, there can also be some dangers to using social media for politics. “Where political actors can tailor and target messages directly to receivers, the content is not moderated for accuracy or tempered by review as is often the case with more traditional media” (Denton et al). Therefore, false messages can be spread rapidly and have significant consequences, as seen in previous elections.

Much has changed since the introduction of online campaign communication into presidential elections. Before the presence of the Internet and social media, the only way for presidential candidates to speak directly to voters was to meet them face-to-face or to hold press conferences. Otherwise, their messages would be filtered through the media. Now, the Internet allows candidates to directly address people from around the country, at any given moment, without the influence of the press. Both candidates have taken advantage of this ability.

For Biden, developing a prominent presence on social media has been an uphill battle, since “Trump…has been focusing on digital for four years; Biden has been at it for about four months” (Atler). “Trump has more than 30 million followers on Facebook and 85 million on Twitter, while Biden has just under 3 million on Facebook and just over 9 million on Twitter” (Heilweil). However, Biden’s smaller number of followers hasn’t been an issue for him, because he has been using the audiences of other public figures. With COVID regulations preventing him from holding rallies and events, he has instead been holding Instagram live talks with popular influencers. “Some of the best support, Biden campaign strategists [say], might come from influencers who speak to comparatively smaller but targeted audiences, like persuadable voters from a particular community or people living in a specific swing state” (Heilweil). The only thing I think Biden should change about these collaborations is the quality of the attention he gives influencers. He only talked with YouTuber Bethany Mota long enough to answer one question. Spending this little time could come across as disingenuous. The internet is a powerful tool for candidates, but both Biden and Trump need to be careful with their online actions, especially in the final weeks of this election.
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Brianna MejiaOctober 5, 2020 at 9:15 PM
Brianna Mejia (1/2)

In today’s society, the best and most effective ways to reach large audiences is through social media. It is even more essential today as we move to a virtual world where we cannot contact voters in person. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that candidates use social media in their campaigns, as they are now diverting some TV commercial money more towards social media efforts. They are becoming more in depth by using difference voices, tones, and features for the different apps as well as investing in new apps they had never used before.

According to the article "Trump Deploys YouTube as His Secret Weapon in 2020" by Alex Thompson, the Trump campaign is moving towards more untraditional forms of media such as YouTube which is in turn helping the campaign be its own media publisher. Trump has also been able to conquer the Facebook ad world and is dominating on this platform. Trump seems to do a lot of his own social media advertising, making it very apparent that he is the one tweeting things coming from his twitter accounts. His large following makes him like an influencer himself. For example, after the debate Trump took to twitter to do his own advertising. According to the article by 9News, Trump tweeted things such as “Nobody wants Sleepy Joe as a leader, including the Radical Left (which he lost last night!). He disrespected Bernie, effectively calling him a loser!” and “Joe wants to shut down this Country. I want to keep it OPEN!”. These simple tweets are effective in showing Trump’s stance on issues while also gathering support online.

Biden, on the other hand is taking a very different approach. According to the article "Inside the Democrats' Plan to Win Back the Internet", Biden has launched multiple apps that help volunteers target prospective voters. These apps include “Vote Joe” and “Mobilize” (for events). The Biden campaign seems to be better at targeting younger voters and is seen more on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram doing live events and promoting the hashtag #settleforbiden. This is also evident by the fact that he has been active on the app Cameo and has created features for Animal Crossing, a game used by a younger generation of voters. As the article "Inside the Biden Campaign’s Surprising Influencer Strategy" mentions, Biden is also dominating in the influencer industry. He is using micro and macro influencers to help connect him to important voting blocks. Biden’s website is created in a way that is very appealing to younger demographics. It is very straightforward, as many of the menu options include “joe’s vision” “joe’s story” etc. and include “buttons” like you would see on social media. I think that this type of organization is helpful and makes the website easier to navigate.
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AnonymousOctober 5, 2020 at 11:12 PM
Nicholas Ciampanelli

In the 2020 Presidential election, candidates and their voting bases are consistently leveraging the internet to project their platforms and distaste for the other nominee/party – this use of the internet is promoted due to its historical influence in elections following the 2008 Election. This year was a turning point in the importance of social media because it resulted in the success of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and the failures of Senator John McCain and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The election’s victors often had a complex, data-driven understanding of internet users, allowing them to engage in granular microtargeting of their audiences – this included collecting data to determine messaging from everything to the policies on their frontpage to the color of a donation button. However, the election’s losers failed to establish a strong online presence in this virtual battleground. In addition to the internet’s influence, online campaign communication is increasingly important in 2020 because of physical communication barriers in the ongoing pandemic. This unanticipated barrier requires most campaign communication to occur virtually and provides additional opportunities for campaigns to collect data and conduct more intensive and granular data analysis when microtargeting in an increasingly high-traffic cyber environment. Knowing this, the Biden campaign is abandoning the social media practices employed by the previous Democratic Nominee – Hillary Clinton.

In the 2016 election, Twitter was a primary source of online political communication. According to Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices by Robert Denton, Judith Trent, and Robert Friedenberg, “the primary function of Twitter is ‘authentic personal communication’” with a wider audience, solely aiming to write “a speech in 280 characters” (348). Clinton failed to remain “authentic” on Twitter because her staff developed a significant amount of her responses to Trump’s digs on the platform; her most notable response stated “Delete your account.” This simple (yet inadequate) tweet was known to have been developed by her campaign team because, according to “Clinton, Trump battle on Twitter: ‘Delete your account’” by Eugene Scott, “the message was not signed ‘-H,’ which is how Clinton usually signs tweets she authored.” This impersonal online behavior contrasted that of Trump, who solely controlled his Twitter account, allowing him to remain more “authentic” with the electorate.

Due to these online pitfalls of the Clinton campaign, Biden’s staff are not attempting to combat Trump’s firm grip upon political communication in the virtual battleground. Conversely, the Biden campaign is leveraging those with pre-established influence in the virtual domain: influencers. According to “Inside the Democrats’ Plan to Win Back the Internet” by Charlotte Alter, Biden’s strategy aims to direct political messaging through influencers who’s sphere of influence are talking about and “are already fired up about” certain issues. Recently, “Biden’s team has organized Instagram Live sessions with influencers,” such as Cardi B and major TV personalities, such as “Keke Palmer and Jerry Harris” (Alter). This messaging strategy is effective for the Biden team because it connects his message with a variety of voting blocs (i.e. black, millennial, and women voters). Although this is successful for his campaign, I would recommend the Biden campaign has influencers continuously promote calls to action to their respective audiences. This extra step ensures that these voting networks are better mobilized to support Biden and ensure he can tally up their vote at the polls.
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Jailynn CaraballoOctober 5, 2020 at 11:15 PM
Jailynn Caraballo

I personally do think that both Biden and Trump have been doing a good job with their messaging strategies. I know that Trump has a newsletter that comes out via email every couple of days. It keeps his voters informed on where they are spending campaign funds, where he is currently in the United States and what he is up to. I also know that Biden has an automated text messaging system where he keeps his voters updated on his vision for the United States and any upcoming events. I think online campaign communications in 2020 is everything. In a world where in person communication has been cut down to a minimum, it makes sense that people would look more than ever to social media for their political updates.

I noticed that both Trump and Biden have websites. On both of their websites the largest item on their homepage is a button that directs you to another page that allows you to make a donation to their campaign. I did not know that that was something done by presidential candidates, let alone something that was allowed. On Biden’s official website it says “It’s a hard time to ask for money, and I understand you may not be able to give. But if you can, we could use your support. My fundraising team tells me if just 10% of the people who read this chip in, we will hit our donation goal for the day. So please, chip in today to help us get there” (JoeBiden.com, 2020 January 4). I think his website is set up in a way to optimize the amount and frequency of donations. This is something I didn’t know much about until I found their websites. “Digital optimizations, or Web 2.0 as it was known in 2008, are often considered the reason Barack Obama won his first term…Obama’s election team changed everything. Their relentless pursuit of how to use digital tools to target, recruit and reach voters raised $656,357,572 dollars in individual contributions. The most ever by any candidate” (Digital Media Solutions, 2019 April 19). The internet might be a great place for each candidate to stay engaged with their voters, but it’s also a useful tool to keep their campaigns well-funded. This article explains how well Obama was able to do with donations during his run for presidency, he paved the way for Biden and Trump to do the same.

With a wide range of voters getting their political information from social media there is a concern of misinformation spreading online. “Facebook on Thursday moved to clamp down on any confusion about the November election on its service, rolling out a sweeping set of changes to try to limit voter misinformation and prevent interference from President Trump and other politicians” (New York Times, 2020 September 3). As someone who is constantly active on social media, I do see it as a very scary possibility. This has also happened before; someone will post something claiming to come from some sort of non-profit or company and the message spreads like wildfire. All the way until others on the platform view the misinformation as fact. President trump tweeted a few hours ago saying, “FIGHT THE CORRUPT FAKE NEWS MEDIA. VOTE” (Donald J. Trump Twitter, 2020 October 5). This buys in to the idea that media is all fake and that something ultimately needs to be done.
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Johnny MarquardtOctober 5, 2020 at 11:50 PM
pt.1
In today’s age, social media is used by nearly everyone in America. With a platform so huge ranging in different social media platforms, it is important for candidates to use this towards their advantage. According the book it states, “Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they occasionally get news on social media, nearly 50 percent often and sometimes” (Denton 339). Loren Merchan said it best when she had exclaimed that,” we live in a multi-screen world” (Denton 339). During a pandemic like Covid, in person meets are much more scarce compared to meetings online, getting the word out on social media is important now as ever. So, what are the candidates preparing on social media to win the election? Well for starters Trump has been notorious so have a, active Twitter account, never afraid to let people know how he feels on a subject, regardless of other’s feelings. Since his brush with Covid, Trump has constantly updating his voters on Twitter about his journey and says in a video on 10/5, “Don’t let it (Covid) dominate you. Don’t be afraid of it” (Trump). He then reassures everyone that he feels great and brags about America’s medical equipment. Though obviously getting covid was not planned, this shows his voters that if he can survive Covid, anyone can. But now he is launching a whole new plan, YouTube. From most candidates over the years you would see them through ads when watching YouTube videos, but now Trump is changing the game with his own YouTube channel to promote his 2020 run for presidency. According to the article it states, “Trump's YouTube channel, however, is a voluminous and unique collection of news, campaign ads and original web shows… The campaign uploads and then tests hundreds of short videos of the president speaking, while also posting news clips about things like the jobs report and the recent Serbia-Kosovo deal” (Thompson.) Article compares the amount of money both candidates have spent on marketing through YouTube and it states that, “The campaign and its joint fund with the Republican National Committee have spent over $65 million on YouTube and Google — about $30 million of it since July. Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee joint committee, by comparison, have spent about $33 million” (Thompson). This is just another untapped market Trump had been able gain advantage on, like his previous campaign in 2016 with Facebook (Thompson).
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Johnny MarquardtOctober 5, 2020 at 11:51 PM
pt. 2
Biden on the other hand, has changed the game by crating his own app for the campaign, called Vote Joe. According to the article, “In late July, the Biden campaign unveiled an app, Vote Joe, that allows volunteers to cross-reference their phone contacts with the voter file so they can target infrequent voters. Sign-ups on Mobilize, an events and volunteer-recruitment platform used by many Democratic campaigns, have increased 87% from April to July, and most of those sign-ups are now for digital events” (Alter). Biden is accepting the new digital platform with open arms, for he wants to show his supporters how much he cares about social distancing and the safety of his voters matters to him. When going on Biden’s main website, your name and email and number are added to their data banks. The website gives you a list of current issues in America, and each one has a given solution for Biden’s campaign. His goal is to have every question unanswered (if he isn’t cut off LOL). During Covid using Social media is a major key in gaining votes in the final weeks before it is time to finally vote. I think that both candidates have solid methods of using social media to their advantage, as well as both trying new methods such as YouTube channels and apps. I personally don’t have any ideas of change; I think both teams are being smart in their own ways.

Alter, Charlotte. “How Joe Biden, Democrats Plan to Win Back Internet in 2020.” Time, Time, 6 Aug. 2020, time.com/5876600/joe-biden-internet-2020-election/.

Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

“Supporter Issue Survey.” Biden Victory Fund | Why Are You Voting for Joe?, go.joebiden.com/page/s/bvf2020-generalacq-survey-gs-sept2020?source=omvf_gs_20200902generalacq_EA_001%7CGoogleSearch%7CGeneralAcq%7CEA%7C.

Thompson, Alex. “Trump Deploys YouTube as His Secret Weapon in 2020.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 6 Sept. 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/09/06/trumpyoutube-election-comeback-408576.

Trump, Donald. “Donald Trump's Twitter.” Twitter, Twitter, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor.
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Camryn NewcombOctober 6, 2020 at 12:29 AM
Newcomb – Blog 6
1992 was the first time that the internet was put to use in elections, when the Clinton campaign used “email, discussion groups, and listserv distribution of information” (Denton 337). By 2004, the use of the internet was imperative to any campaign, from local to state to national. In my opinion, the 2016 presidential election was a major turning point for candidates taking to social media to discuss their campaigns. I credit the use and importance of social media to Donald Trump who took to Twitter and Facebook to directly talk to voters without the “fake news” misconstruing his words. Why use social media? “Sixty-eight percent of Americans say they occasionally get news on social media, nearly 50 percent often and sometimes” and “36 percent of news consumers on social media think it helps them better understand current events” (Denton 339).
Now, looking at this election, both candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, are exhausting social media with updates on their campaigns and commentary as it offers “minute by minute” coverage of the campaign” (Denton 363). Back in 2016, Trump’s main platform was Facebook and Twitter. Those are still very much active. He has accumulated eighty-seven million Twitter followers and over thirty-one million Facebook followers. Besides for just posting interviews, news articles, and campaign ads, he also posts casual updates. For example, now having COVID-19, he tweeted today, 6/5, that he “will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!! The Fake News only shows the Fake Polls” regarding approval ratings and post-debate analysis on who had won (@realDonaldTrump). Now, for his second term campaign, Trump is trying to utilize YouTube by posting videos to his 1.24 million subscribers. While spending less money on television ads, “the campaign and its joint fund with the Republican National Committee have spent over $65 million on YouTube and Google” (Thompson). Videos are posted multiple times a day, and they include voters support videos, administration members and Trump himself in news appearances, videos of Trump candidly speaking directly to the voters, etc. You can find all social media accounts for Trump linked on his official website.
Joe Biden has less of a social media following and presence than Trump. He uses Twitter, where he has 10.5 million followers, and Facebook, where he has 3.1 million followers, to mainly post advertisements, ask for campaign contributions, or highlights from the news. Recently, he has been posting a lot of debate highlights and videos from a town hall. Biden is said to have spent about thirty-three million dollars on YouTube and Google throughout his campaign (Thompson). His presence on YouTube would not necessarily reflect that large amount of money that he has spent. Biden has 248,000 subscribers, so he is not reaching to wide audience that Trump is. Similar to his other social media platforms, he posts advertisements and highlights of his speeches. What Biden has done a good job at is working with social media influencers to have them interview him. These influencers will then post to their large followings and they are “often streamed on Instagram Live, but they also pop up on Facebook and YouTube” (Heilweil). This is a way for Biden to pick influencers who will help him reach a specific target audience, specifically the Gen-Z and millennial voters.
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Jaime PietrosimoneOctober 6, 2020 at 8:20 AM
The year was 2004. “Yeah!” by Usher was playing on the radio and sophomore year at Quinnipiac University was in full swing. Between classes, people would gather and the words “did you hear about this new site called Facebook?” was on everyone’s lips. When the site was first created, it was initially reserved for Harvard students, but quickly spread to other colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, allowing for easy accessibility and connectivity to peers. Fast forward to 2020, Facebook and other social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Reddit and Snapchat, are a staple in people’s daily routine, providing instantaneous information and entertainment on various topics, most prevalently politics. During these unprecedented times due to the pandemic, Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden are taking their campaigns from the streets to the screens to target voters each with their own respective strategies and challenges.

There is no shortage of information when it comes to the Internet, social media and politics. “Social media has changed the game, allowing incumbents and newcomers alike to speak directly to constituents on everything from policy to what they had for dinner.” (Yildirim, 2020) which is vastly different that how politicians communicated in the past. Joe Biden, a Democratic alumnus who’s 47 years of experience in campaigns includes handshakes and in person rallies, is competing with Internet juggernaut Donald Trump whose online personality is just as unapologetic and unfiltered as he is in real life. Biden, who struggled with his Internet presence earlier in the campaign due to being quarantined, is beginning to strengthen his digital strategies with celebrity endorsements and interviews. Musicians such as Cardi B and movie stars such as Tina Fey, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Eva Longoria have all publicly supported Biden on his Instagram feed. Biden’s campaign has been effective in portraying his image and message “through feel-good videos designed to highlight the candidate’s warmth. They tend to be positive, wholesome, and practical, sharing graphics on his economic plans and videos from fundraisers” (Alter, 2020) in hopes of restoring the soul of not only the internet, but the nation as well. Even Biden’s media response to Trump being diagnosed with Covid-19, the same virus Trump has admittingly down played to avoid panic, remained consistent with this theme of unifying the nation by posting “this cannot be a partisan moment, it must be an American moment, we have to come together as a nation” showing poise and grace in an opportune moment.
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Harriet RiceOctober 6, 2020 at 9:09 AM
As we find ourselves in a global pandemic during the 2020 election social media has become as important as ever for both candidates. Limited gatherings and placed restrictions have driven individuals to become active on social media platforms to receive information and stay connected with friends/family. Shifting from huge rallies to smaller intimate meetings have been crucial for Biden during his campaign. Therefore, social media is crucial for Biden to still reach big audiences with his messages. Biden supporters and activists are texting, messaging, and commenting at their neighbors’ virtual doorsteps (Alter). Biden’s campaign revealed the app, “Vote Joe” (Alter). This app allows volunteers to cross-reference their phone contacts with the voter file so they can target infrequent voters (Alter). Along with this, field organizers are being trained in online canvassing and creating hashtags such as #SettleForBiden. This hashtag has been active on TikTok and has more than 50 million views (Alter). I believe this a good tactic as many young voters are very engaged in TikTok and now getting a lot of information from that platform.
Biden is very new to social media in comparison to Trump that has had much more experience. Looking at Biden’s Twitter you can see him actively tweeting every day, his following is strong (10.5 million) and retweets from other political figures such as Hilary Clinton. Looking at his tweets you can tell he is trying his best to address people personally as he uses words such as
“folks” and “American people”, and “we”. This was also evident in the first debate. I think this is a great tactic because it makes people feel seen and heard which is great. After all, “social media allows candidates to speak directly, without filters to voters” (Denton 380).
These tactics and active use of social media usage will replace his handshakes and rallies.
With the recent news of Trump’s positive COVID-19 test Joe even tweeted out saying “Jill and I Jill send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.” (@JoeBiden)
I think this was a great move as it shows his compassion and support for all despite the upcoming election. The link to Biden’s website is easily accessible in his Twitter bio which is a great strategy. The website is very organized and has pictures on the front page of Kamala Harris and Biden in masks which was all over his Twitter as well. This reinforces his seriousness during this time. I also think the website does a great job of capturing Biden personally as well as his vision. There are separate tabs for both which I think is a great tool as this allows individuals to find exactly what they are looking for. Kamala’s story is also listed.
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Matthew BruinOctober 6, 2020 at 9:20 AM
Matthew Bruin
PART ONE

Mass communications for politics has clearly became a more common political campaign strategy in the 20th and 21st century’s, giving leaders and politicians easy access to a large population of voters just by the click of a button. For example, with great technological advancements seemingly happening every day, people, especially politicians are quickly able have a voice and share their views in ways that have “never been witnessed in history” (Denton 352.) Additionally, mass communications such as the use of television and social media platforms are types of communication technologies that have “expanded the availability and reach of information, introduced new voices into the public sphere and empowered citizens, and allowed political outsiders to more easily fundraise and engage,” (Denton 354). In saying all of this, due to technological developments in the 20th and 21st century, communication to the “masses” has never been easier, and with this convenance, “politicians are quick to adapt and use the technology to their advantage,”(Denton 352). In other words, mass communications has directly impacted the United States’ political campaign process which has clearly forced the electoral processes in the United States to adapt and change while significantly impacting the ultimate landscape of American Politics.

On a different note however, mass communications in the form of online campaigning in the 2020 election has never been more important and never seen this widespread before. For example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place as a result, campaigning online has become the “new normal” and has been an integral campaign strategy thus far. From tele-rallies, all the way to socially distances events, campaigning in 2020 has severely changed. For example, it is said that in 2020, “candidates are robbed of the typical ways for connecting with supports and changing the hearts and minds of the voting public,” (Stromer-Galley). Due to this absence all together, candidates have geared their campaigns to focus heavily on the digital communication experience utilizing three areas. These areas include “social media, campaign-specific mobile apps and paid advertising on social media,” (Stromer-Galley). By using all three of these techniques, although previously utilized during other election years too, candidates during this election cycle have been able to maintain political campaigning while reaming socially distanced which has been absolutely necessary due to COVID-19.

In other words, after news broke that President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 along with First Lady, Melania Trump, it was clear that the Trump campaign was going to be juristically changing as the election fast approaches. For example, with less than thirty days left until the election, and with an expected two-week quarantine from President Trump, many in-person campaign events including rallies or general fundraising events that Trump had planned are now canceled. Due to these cancelations, it is clear that mass communications and the use of social media is going to be integral for the remainder of the 2020 election for Trump, considering in-person rallies and meeting with people face to face is what Trump prefers. In saying this, I also believe that in the upcoming weeks epically during the President’s quarantine, the Trump campaign needs to remain a strong presence on social media in which Trump should continuously send out short promotional videos while also holding virtual rallies to replace any canceled events. Additionally, I would also recommend promoting patriotic advertisements in the coming weeks where Trump should instead focus on promoting a united message that can appeal to ALL Americans.
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Matthew BruinOctober 6, 2020 at 9:21 AM
Matthew Bruin
PART TWO

Putting these changes and these suggestions aside however, it is also important to acknowledge Trump’s communications strategy thus far in the election too. For example, this year it has been said that President Trump has been utilizing YouTube and Google a lot more in 2020 than in 2016, claiming that Trump’s campaign has seen YouTube to be “a potential soft spot in the Democrats effort,” in which Trump’s campaign is trying to utilize (Thompson). This evidence is clearly supported when looking at Trump’s spending compared to the Biden campaign. For example, it says that “the (Trump) campaign and its joint fund with the Republican National Committees have spent over $65 million on YouTube and Google, about $30 million of it since July,” whereas Bide has spent about “$33 million on YouTube and Google during the entire campaign,” (Thompson). With this being said, it is clear that the Trump campaign trying to focus on dominating YouTube in an effort to reach a large number of voters. By targeting YouTube, Trump has clear and smart motivations especially considering the fact that YouTube is the “most popular online platform in the country,” with 9 out of 10 Americas aged 18 to 29 using it (Thompson). On another note, when looking at Trump’s campaign website, and Biden’s alike, both candidates are using their website to promote their agenda, sell merchandise for campaign funding, while providing site viewers with links as to how to vote and where to register. Both websites also throw donation pleas in your face whenever they have a chance ultimately making it seem as if you as the viewer is going to determine the election.

On another note, Trump has also had a massive presence on Twitter during both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. This presence has been unlike anything comparable to his opponent Joe Biden. For example, Trump has 87 million followers, and almost 57 thousand tweets. Joe Biden on the other hand, only has over 10 million followers and only 6 thousand tweets. Trump also averages 33 new Tweets per day, where Biden averages just 10 (Social Tracker). Aside from these numbers showing Trump’s intensive use of Twitter as a whole, there is a reason behind Trump’s avid use of the social media platform. For example, Trump’s use of twitter has been said to act as his way of “appealing to different audiences, defending criticism against Trump and his campaign, deflecting controversies, and attacking opponents,” (Science X). In saying this, it is clear that the President uses Twitter as one of his top ways of communicating with Americans and the world. However, even though Trump has much more Twitter posts and followers compared to Biden, these statistics, regardless of the impact they have, by looking into his Twitter account it helps reveal Trump’s style and his personality in politics compared to Biden or even Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Additionally, on Monday, October 5th, the President Tweeted almost thirty times in an effort that listed his accomplishments over the past four years while encouraging Americans to vote. On that same day, Trump also fired back at critiques that judged his “surprise” appearance outside the Walter Reid National Military Medical Center while being actively positive with COVID-19. In the Tweet Trump said, “It is reported that the Media is upset because I got into a secure vehicle to say thank you to the many fans and supporters who were standing outside of the hospital for many hours, and even days, to pay their respect to their President. If I didn’t do it, Media would say RUDE!!!” (Trump, Donald). This Tweet as pointed out above gives a good representation of how Trump uses his Twitter account. This Tweet not only shows Trump defending himself publicly, but it shows Trump calling out the media like he has famously done throughout his presidency so far.
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Matthew BruinOctober 6, 2020 at 9:22 AM
Matthew Bruin
PART THREE

In the end, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, communications during the 2020 presidential election have proved to be more important and necessary than ever before. Especially after Trump tested positive with COVID-19, I would recommend that the Trump campaign needs to utilize mass communications now more than ever, while promoting a strong, unifying, and patriotic message! Lastly, regardless of my recommendations I think that with such a large presence on YouTube and social media so far from Trump, I think that the Trump campaign has definitely made an impact through mass communications, however I do think he should hammer it home even more in the last month.

Work Cited

Denton, Robert E., Judith S. Trent, and Robert V. Friedenberg. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practice, 9th ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

“Donald J. Trump for President.” Home, www.donaldjtrump.com/.

“Donald J. Trump Twitter Stats and Analytics (@Realdonaldtrump).” SocialTracker, www.socialtracker.io/twitter/realdonaldtrump/.

“Joe Biden Twitter Stats and Analytics (@Joebiden).” SocialTracker, www.socialtracker.io/twitter/joebiden/.

Science X. “Trump's Twitter Communication Style Shifted over Time Based on Varying Communication Goals.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 25 Sept. 2019, phys.org/news/2019-09-trump-twitter-style-shifted-based.html.

Stromer-Galley Professor of Information Studies, Jennifer. “Amid Pandemic, Campaigning Turns to the Internet.” The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2020, theconversation.com/amid-pandemic-campaigning-turns-to-the-internet-137745.

Thompson, Alex. “Trump Deploys YouTube as His Secret Weapon in 2020.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 6 Sept. 2020, www.politico.com/news/2020/09/06/trumpyoutube-election-comeback-408576.

Trump, Donald J. “It Is Reported That the Media Is Upset Because I Got into a Secure Vehicle to Say Thank You to the Many Fans and Supporters Who Were Standing Outside of the Hospital for Many Hours, and Even Days, to Pay Their Respect to Their President. If I Didn't Do It, Media Would Say RUDE!!!” Twitter, Twitter, 5 Oct. 2020, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313183801732890624?s=20.
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UnknownOctober 6, 2020 at 10:18 AM
Tim Powers Part 1
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the way presidential campaigns normally operate had to be overhauled to match social distancing and safety guidelines. The Biden and Trump campaign have had to use social media, zoom and other virtual dorms of campaigning to reach potential voters.

The Trump campaign mainly uses Trump’s personal social media accounts as its online communication, Twitter in particular. Trump is constantly using Twitter to tweet his own personal thoughts about politics and his opponent. In addition, he retweets numerous articles that talk about his accomplishments. In one tweet, Trump went after Biden and Barack Obama, “Just landed in Minnesota. Hasn’t been won by a Republican since 1972, and we saved Minneapolis. Also opened the massive and beautiful Iron Range, which Obama and Sleepy Joe closed. Thousands of jobs started back. They will close again. How can we lose?” (Trump). Trump uses online communications to go after his opponent and give him a degrading nickname, while also talking about job creation and the economy. It is in this way, that his words feel personal and direct. In addition to Trump, Biden has also been using Twitter as online communications. The day after the election, Biden posted a video of Trump arguing with both Biden and Chris Wallace at the debate with a crying emoji over Trump’s face and crying audio. In addition, Biden has tweeted numerous statements that emphasize the importance of this election, “Before we’re Democrats or Republicans or independents – we’re Americans. We can’t forget that” (Biden). By saying something like this, Biden is emphasizing that we are all one. He is trying to unite the country despite the political divide and social divide from COVID-19.

Trump was largely helped in 2016 by going digital through Twitter. Doing a digital strategy is normal for Trump; it isn’t for Biden, “Trump, in other words, has been focusing on digital for four years; Biden has been at it for about four months. The investment shows: Trump has 11 times as many Twitter followers as Biden and eight times as many interactions on Facebook” (Alter). Trump has been able to use social media and online communication to his advantage in the past election, this is new territory for Biden. Biden, most likely, would have been out in the field on the campaign trail getting directly in touch with people if the pandemic hadn’t happened.

I feel that Trump’s online communication messaging has largely been successful thus far, considering he did win the 2016 election. However, it is difficult to gage how successful it is in 2020. He is down in the polls, but he was also down in the polls in 2016. In addition, the recent discovery that Trump has COVID-19 has really thrown the Trump campaign a loop. I would suggest the Trump campaign using online campaigning to get the message out that Trump will be good, if that’s the case. In regard to the Biden campaign, it seems they have been largely successful as well. However, I feel like Biden and Kamala could be doing some more online interviews on Twitter and Instagram, in particular, to go after younger voters.
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UnknownOctober 6, 2020 at 11:19 AM
Xavier Cullen
Social media is taking over political campaigning and now, more than ever, social media companies such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many more have a lot of power to influence the vote of the upcoming presidential election. Coming into the 2020 presidential election, the two candidates are aiming to use social media and the power it holds in very different ways. Former Vice President Joe Biden is trying to imitate President Barack Obama’s use of social media in 2008 and 2012, both of which revolutionized the way campaigns went about using the internet to attract voters.

Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post, said that “Were it not for the internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee”. Their online push to reach out to younger voters and get more contributions led to over 650 million dollars in donations (Digital Marketing News). Biden is trying to follow in his footsteps, and has unveiled a $280-million dollar spending plan, which includes $60-million on digital advertisements, in 15 different states that will try to target swing voters in Republican states like Texas and Georgia as well as targeting hispanics and African-Americans (Huffington Post). This push to appeal to swing voters has been very effective, as Biden is now leading by 16 points in polling (CNN). I think Biden should continue on this path of appealing swing voters who want stability in the office and should continue targeting younger voters by advertising on social media and other websites.

President Donald Trump has a much more chaotic approach to social media. Oftentimes the president will go on Twitter rants complaining about his job and the people he has to work with, alongside telling blatant lies that some have gotten taken down for breaking company guidelines (CBS News). I don’t think this strategy is working at all. A whopping 63% of Americans polled said that they believed the president tweets too frequently, and 38% say they don’t believe anything he says on Twitter. This creates such a negative image for Trump that could very well tank his presidency. Politics is all about image, and if you are painting yourself as a keyboard warrior that enacts foreign policy in a 280-word limit, then your image will drop considerably. Trump needs to change right now. In June, during the Black Lives Matter protests, he once tweeted 200 times in just one day. He needs to show he is 100% committed to his job and needs to log off Twitter. In 2016, Trump capitalized off of the no-filter communication between a candidate and his voters that social media brings, and his Twitter account grew widespread popularity and generated $3.4 million in free media coverage because of his tweets. But not all coverage is good coverage, and the current coverage Trump is getting is horrible for his chances at re-election.

Trump’s website is a lot more polished and professional than his Twitter account, however. It prominently shows where you can sign up to vote, donate, and request a lawn sign. His policies are a lot more clear and calmly said than his rants in interviews and on social media. A large symbol of the Trump presidency is his Make America Great Again hat, which you can easily buy on his store. This adds to his image and turns his campaign into a brand, almost like it’s a business. He is a businessman, after all. Overall, Trump needs to focus on this side of his campaign instead of the hot mess that is his Twitter feed. If Trump redefines himself as professional but not establishment, then he can get a lot of swing voters over to his side.
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UnknownOctober 6, 2020 at 11:19 AM
Sources:

Cavill, Sarah, and More Content by Sarah Cavill. “Digital Fundraising: How Obama Mapped A Course For Future Candidates.” DMS Insights, 16 Feb. 2020, insights.digitalmediasolutions.com/articles/digital-fundraising-political-campaigns.

Donald J. Trump for President. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., www.donaldjtrump.com/.

Jarvis, Jacob. “Trump Tweets ‘Too Frequently’ and 38 Percent of Americans Don't Believe Any of His Posts: Poll.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 4 June 2020, www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-tweets-too-much-poll-1508589.

Marans, Daniel, and Kevin Robillard. “Joe Biden Campaign To Spend $280 Million On Ads In 15 States.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 5 Aug. 2020, www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-biden-tv-advertising-campaign_n_5f2a3f74c5b68fbfc8894fc6.

Perrett, Connor. “Trump Broke His All-Time Tweeting Record amid Nationwide Protests, Sending More Tweets in a Single Day than He Did during His Impeachment Trial.” Insider, Insider, 6 June 2020, www.insider.com/trump-breaks-record-most-tweets-in-a-single-day-2020-6.

“Political Campaign Communication in the 2016 Presidential Election.” Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices, by Robert E. Denton et al., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020, pp. 379–382.

Quinn, Melissa. “Twitter Removes Tweet Shared by Trump with False Coronavirus Statistics.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 11 Sept. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-removes-trump-tweet-false-coronavirus-statistics/.
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McKayla Norris pt 1October 6, 2020 at 11:30 AM
Given the circumstances with the coronavirus, the use of social media is more important for campaign success than ever. The candidates have definitely upped their game on their website and social media accounts through becoming more active and aware of different up and coming social media trends. According to Denton, “social media platforms allow candidates to bypass traditional media as well as issues or themes they may desire to ignore”(Denton, 2020). President Trump and Vice President Biden are forced to put aside the in-person handshakes and hugs and move towards a virtual approach.

Right from the start, President Trump has a bit of an advantage over Vice President Biden because of the actual number of people who are actively engaging with their accounts. Specifically on Facebook, Trump has “more than 30 million followers” while Biden has “just under 3 million”(Heilweil, 2020). Similarly, President Trump holds a whopping “85 million on Twitter” while Biden has “just over 9 million”(Heilweil, 2020). Given these numbers, the content being pushed onto the feeds for the followers has been vital to gaining attention from people outside of their following. Biden has been implementing more social media appearances with influencers on things such as Instagram and Facebook live. According to an article titled “Inside the Biden Campaign’s Surprising Influencer Strategy”, the strategy behind using influencers and their accounts is to “speak with an audience that could be uniquely useful to his campaign”(Heilweil, 2020). Along with this, VP Joe Biden’s campaign team created and released an app called “Vote Joe” that is used to “target infrequent voters”(Alter, 2020). This strategy has allowed Biden to hit swing voters and also mobilize his online events. Aside from this, the hashtag #settleforbiden, though it does not seem very effective, has been incredibly effective for the Biden campaign in terms of warning “disaffected young voters against voting third party”(Alter, 2020). Biden's presence on Twitter is fairly strong considering the amount of times that tweets are posted per day. His main strategy on Twitter is to use it as a platform where his campaign connects emotionally with the American people. For example, Biden’s tweet “The future is yours. I’m counting on you” and “As president, I'll do what I've always done in the past: bring people together” (@JoeBiden, 2020). These tweets show an apparent effort to appeal emotionally and empower the people who are viewing his social media. Upon arrival to the website of Vice President Biden, the first thing available to users is an easily navigable page for immediate donations to the campaign. This is an effective strategy used by Biden’s campaign team to give users an easy way to contribute to the campaign. With this, there's a “Joe’s Vision” section that is extremely effective in terms of directing web surfers to each and every specific topic that Vice President Biden finds to be important to his campaign.
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McKayla Norris pt 2October 6, 2020 at 11:30 AM
I believe that messaging strategies have been both effective and ineffective in different ways. Biden had a lot of work to do as he has only been in-tune with social media for a short amount of time. In order to be effective, I believe that Biden needs to grow his following to have a closer match up with President Trump. If I could recommend any changes to Vice President Biden, it would be to work on other forms of media such as advertising efforts. According to TIME, people believe that “organizers (neeed) to help him turn those poll numbers into votes” because “the party has lagged behind the GOP’s investment in digital infrastructure and advertising”(Alter, 2020). Doing this will help Biden keep up with President Trump on each level in order to secure the important voting blocs and make an impact on potential swing voters.

Strategies that the candidates are using now differ from previous elections because social media has only been a relevant platform for very few elections, and the pandemic gives each candidate no choice but to utilize online opportunities. Online campaigning is extremely important in the 2020 election because the use of online sources and social media has impacted the ways in which people receive their news. In 2004, “52 percent of voters indicated that information obtained from the internet influenced their vote” and with the amount of advancements that have been made in 16 years, the number of voters who rely solely on information from social media and the internet is drastically higher, especially during a global pandemic. With so many people gaining their information from online, it is highly important for the candidates to reach each voter and doing things online and through social media allows for a more personalized approach.

Works Cited
Heilweil, R. (2020, September 22). Inside the Biden campaign's surprising influencer strategy. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://www.vox.com/recode/21429755/influencers-joe-biden-democrats-pacs-social-media-facebook-instagram-campaign

Alter, C. (2020, August 06). How Joe Biden, Democrats Plan to Win Back the Internet in 2020. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://time.com/5876600/joe-biden-internet-2020-election/

Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. (2020, September 29). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://joebiden.com/

Biden, J. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://twitter.com/JoeBiden

Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. 9th
ed., Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
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Ryan MillerOctober 6, 2020 at 11:50 AM
Ryan Miller pt 1

One of the biggest critiques of Joe Biden’s campaign thus far is that it does not have a platform other than ‘to defeat Donald Trump.’ That is a stark comparison to Trump whose agenda is plastered in Americans’ faces daily, mostly through Twitter. What Biden must capitalize on, especially on his website, is to lay out his thoughts and policies in a clear, concise manner, something he has failed to do in public appearances and primary debates for about a year now.

When viewing Biden’s website, one of the biggest takeaways I had was that it is very Joe-centric. I was surprised to see this because since Super Tuesday, Biden has largely benefited from the momentum of the campaigns of some of his competitors. In fact, the only prominent figure whose face is featured on the homepage beyond Kamala Harris or Biden himself is Michelle Obama, fitting considering her strong moment during the convention (for a second election in a row).

I also noticed, beyond the actual policies, that Biden’s website hammers home its message of inclusivity especially with cartoon designs of white, people of color, LGBT, and Latino voters who carry agendas about climate change and closing the pay gaps.

To be quite honest, once I clicked on Biden’s vision, I was overwhelmed by the 48 boxes of different topics that Biden lays out his beliefs on. I had no idea where to begin or what to click on. This brings me back to Trump, who has truly mastered the attention-grabbing ability of Twitter, especially with such a short amount of characters in an era where we have a shorter attention span than ever.

When Trump tweets something, such as “SPACE FORCE. VOTE!” as he did yesterday, he taps into so many things with just three words. There are members of the armed forces, or supporters of them, who associate the newly minted branch of military with serving the country and hold a mention of it in high regard. There are the avid Trump supporters who simply see it as another achievement rattled off and are excited about their favorite candidate. Then, there are also fervent anti-Trump voters who, somewhat unaware, boost his thoughts even more by their outraged reactions or their attempts to draw comparisons to the somewhat satirical Netflix series of the same name.
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Ja'Vielle FoyOctober 6, 2020 at 12:01 PM
The rise of social media has taken over not only the lives of every-day constituents but the lives of the presidential candidates and active government officials alike. We saw this most prevalently during the 2016 election during President Trump's campaign, and we see it even more prominently now, as he runs for re-election. Former VP Joe Biden has in turn had to amplify his social media presence to match those of his opponent, and reach the younger voting groups which are a key voter block in this election.
In an excerpt from the Denton text, Jason Gainous and Kevin Wagner make accurate points about the effects social media has on campaigns, “First, consumers of information select content that agrees with their beliefs, attitudes, and values, thus avoiding conflicting information or ideas. Second, there are so many outlets and sources of information that special interests and political parties can shape and direct the content as they wish” (Denton et. al. 340). This affirms the notion that President Trump has been directly targeting his primary supporters and others by tweeting things such as “IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!” (@realdonaldtrump). The messaging in this tweet suggests that a vote for Biden, and the democrats in general, would mean higher taxes, instilling a sense of fear into the minds of voters. This style of campaigning is not new for the president, as fear-mongering and gaslighting were a huge part of his election campaign in 2016. However, in contrast, on the president’s official campaign website, the first sentiment you feel on the page is unity. The landing page states “Together, we are rebuilding our nation” (Donald J. Trump for President). Contrastingly, Former VP Biden is not constantly tweeting statements that are salacious or malicious but focusing on the more wholesome and important contents of his campaign. “The economy. Climate change. Health care. Civil rights. Racial justice. The U.S. Supreme Court. Our democracy. They’re all on the line. Vote” (@JoeBiden). But my candidate, the Former Vice President’s campaign web page, upon entry, there is no unifying message or even anti- Donald Trump messaging until the very bottom where there is a pop-up site that states “Together we can make Donald Trump a one-term President. Donate today:” (Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website) The site does not give the campaign much personality, and makes it look like one big donation site, which can be a turn off for some users, voters and non-voters alike.
Both candidates are effective in their communication to their parties and the voters that would never stop supporting them individually, but each candidate lacks the messaging needed to reach across the aisle. Because of both candidates being so firm, or at least appearing firm in their beliefs, undecided voters and those who could be swayed to one side or the next, are not even given the grace of middle ground. Without clear messaging, and rich online campaigning, this campaign can be anyones. A large number of young voters do get their information and important news from the internet, therefore putting a candidate who fails to reach this demographic, at risk of losing the race entirely.
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Christyna StaggOctober 6, 2020 at 12:01 PM
Christyna Stagg (1/2)

Both President Trump and Biden have been using social media a lot since the first debate. Both candidates have had targeted posts towards each other. Since there is limited time until the election, Biden’s team have suggested that using social media, Biden should try to find new audiences anywhere they can (Heilweil). Biden is doing this by using online influencers. One of these influencers includes Tana Mongeau. Tana is known as an American Internet personality with highly inappropriate “storytime” videos and similar comedy videos on YouTube. An example of one of these inappropriate antics is when she tweeted “if u send me proof u voted for Biden, I’ll send you a nude for free” (Twitter). Along with this tweet, she also posted her Only Fans link and used the hashtag “#bootyforbiden” (Twitter). Even though this seems highly inappropriate to be posting on the internet, this is an extremely typical act for Tana. By doing this, Biden is getting introduced to Tana’s audience and Tana’s fans might be more supportive of voting for Biden because she is voting for him. This is one way in which Biden’s campaign has differed from previous campaigns because past campaigns have not used this type of exposure by using influencers to obtain new audiences for their campaigns. Biden’s website has also made it extremely clear that he wants to vote out President Trump by one of the main line’s on his website being “It’s time to get ready to vote Trump out of office” (Biden). Another one of Biden’s main lines on his website is “Battle for the Soul of the Nation” (Biden). Biden’s website also asks and encourage his supporters to donate to his campaign with stating “28 days left, Every dollar counts” (Biden). This does not differ from previous campaigns because usually every campaign in the past asks for money because campaigns are extremely expensive.

Biden has been using social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to increase his social media presence on social media, especially during a pandemic when the candidates cannot have in-person campaigning because it is a public health hazard due to Covid (Heilweil). Biden’s director of surrogate strategy for his campaign, Adrienne Elrod stated “We are forced to do everything virtual” (Heilweil). She further on states “We are forced to do more [Instagram] Lives. We’re forced to do more Twitter conversations. We’re forced to go to Occupy Democrats” (Heilweil). One of Biden’s many tweets include “Now that President Trump is busy tweeting campaign messages, I would ask him to do this: Listen to the scientists. Support masks. Support mask mandates nationwide.” and ‘Masks matter. They save lives.” (Twitter). Biden tweeted both of these tweets within the past few days. Compared to Trump, Biden has a much smaller following on social media than Trump. President Trump has 30 million followers on Facebook and 85 million on Twitter. On the other hand, Biden only has 3 million followers on Facebook and just over 9 million on Twitter (Heilweil). By using influencers, Biden is trying to gain more social media followers. Even though using social media influencers like Tana might not be best for Biden’s reputation, it definitely is getting him more followers.
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Christyna StaggOctober 6, 2020 at 12:02 PM
Christyna Stagg (2/2)

Online campaign communications are extremely important in the 2020 campaign because due to Covid, online campaigning is the main way for the candidates to be able to reach specific audiences and collect more supporters through social media. The internet, especially social media, offers numerous tools and opportunities for campaigns to reach specific audiences (Denton 244). Using the internet for online campaign communications is an extremely useful tool because the candidates are able to utilize and use social media successfully for the best result in the campaign and they are also able to use paided ads on social media platforms, like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook (Stromer- Galley). Candidates have used online campaign communications in the past but with the 2020 election, online campaign communications is vital for the winning candidate.

Work Cited:
Denton, Robert E., et al. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.

Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. (2020, September 29). Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://joebiden.com/

Stromer-Galley Professor of Information Studies, J. (2020, August 13). Amid pandemic, campaigning turns to the internet. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://theconversation.com/amid-pandemic-campaigning-turns-to-the-internet-137745

Heilweil, Rebecca. "Inside the Biden Campaign’s Surprising Influencer Strategy," Vox 22 Sept. 2020.

Mongeau, T. (n.d.). Tana Mongeau's Twitter @tanamongeau. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://twitter.com/tanamongeau?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Biden, J. (n.d.). Joe Biden's Twitter @JoeBiden. Retrieved October 06, 2020, from https://twitter.com/JoeBiden
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Ja'Vielle FoyOctober 6, 2020 at 12:03 PM
Foy 2/2
Biden, Joe. “The Economy.Climate Change.Health Care.Civil Rights.Racial Justice.The U.S. Supreme Court.Our Democracy.They're All on the Line. Vote. Https://T.co/eoxT07d7QB.” Twitter, Twitter, 5 Oct. 2020, twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1312907856161705985?s=20.

Donald J. Trump for President. www.donaldjtrump.com/.

Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website, 29 Sept. 2020, joebiden.com/.

Trump, Donald J. “IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!” Twitter, Twitter, 5 Oct. 2020, twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1313063990797504512?s=20.
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Hannah TeboOctober 6, 2020 at 12:46 PM
As social media platforms have become more popular, there has been a widespread use among politicians and political candidates in their use as well. According to Denton, “For the first time during the midterm elections of 2006, the internet ranked among the top sources of campaign information. Thirty-one percent of Americans went online for candidate and campaign information”(338).

In the 2008 election, the internet was starting to become a part of every day life and according to Denton, the Obama campaign spent $25 million on new media. Denton writes, “The Obama campaign had ten times more online staff than the McCain campaign. In fact, Obama added online communications as a separate and equal element of his campaign team and strategy. Obama’s digital campaign staffed around 750, compared to 87 for Romney. In addition, the Obama campaign posted four times more content than Romney and utilized twice as many social media platforms”(338). The Obama campaign also understood the relevance of personalizing emails to their voting blocs to get more support and more donations. According to Sarah Cavill, In 2008, the Obama campaign sent 7,000 customized emails, with five to 20 targeted messages per month. By implementing A/B testing of subject lines, topics, text, imagery and link placement, the campaign was able to personalize their outreach. This tailored outreach frequently included Millennials, one of the campaign’s target markets, who typically prefer a less overt sales pitch and gravitate toward strong storytelling. Essentially A/B testing resulted in the creation and implementation of the successful Obama brand. (Effective targeting by the campaign also avoided (most) email fatigue.)”(Cavill). This was really the start of targeting voting blocs with an online presence.

As more platforms became more popular, presidential candidates and politicians realized that social media was a way to reach millions of people and in the 2016 election, stir up conversation about social media posts. Arguably now, social media and an online presence is one of the most important aspects for a candidate. Rallies aren’t as easy due to COVID, people, especially young people, rarely watch cable therefore ads don’t reach as many people and the debates were nothing more than the candidates talking over each other. More than ever, this campaign is focused on who has the upper hand in their merch, social media posts and aesthetic of overall website.

Focusing on everything Trump, we can see a slightly more aggressive approach to social media and an online presence. Off the bat, when I went onto his website, the pop up is bragging about how the campaign reached a 900% match and in all capital letters was yelling at the website onlooker to donate. There wasn’t a clear “X” to get out of the pop-up ad which made it seem like you couldn’t enter the site unless you donated. At the very top of the website, by the navigation bar, there is an option to shop, contribute and then a drop-down menu. On the home page, there are a few links to other pages, but the one area that caught my eye was a video titled, “Promises Made, Promises Kept.” I clicked on it and it was Trump discussing an apprenticeship bill he signed that appeared to help working class Americans. As I continued to watch it and hear the people in the video talk, I noticed they were making an interesting coin and at the end of the video it shows a coin with Trump’s face on it. Now I believe in helping the working class and this video, at the beginning appeared to resonate with the working class, but I personally thought it was egocentric to talk about making a bill for Americans to work in trades and have the entire video these Americans making a coin with Trump’s face on it.

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