The world of politics is constantly changing; however, norms have been shifting for the worse as politicians and policymakers grow increasingly informal in their communication with constituents and journalists. They are relying more heavily on social media to share their party’s agenda. This presents lasting consequences, as information is being guarded in an effort to present unfavorable coverage in a way that is all too close to blatant censorship.
Vanity Fair published a story on the Donald Trump administration’s press strategy, describing the hostility they have shown towards journalists. The article quotes a text message sent by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to a journalist in which she makes a “your mom” joke in response to a genuine question regarding a meeting between Trump and Vladimir Putin.
This is not an isolated experience, as many journalists report similar “trolling” responses from administration officials. All added with a general promotion of distrust for the media from the Trump administration, perpetuated by Trump hims elf and his coining of the phrase “fake news.”
This unprofessionalism in politics is also apparent in modern campaign strategies, which include politicians being guests on podcasts and appearing in TikToks. Some politicians, like Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor-elect, used these platforms in a positive way. He found ways of including his campaign platform within his TikTok appearances and social media posts, focusing his content on the issues. That being said, many politicians are using these platforms to insult their opponents, like when President Trump went on Logan Paul’s podcast, calling former President Joe Biden “the worst president in the history of our country.”
Mamdani found a way to answer questions from TikTokers about his personal life and connect them to his campaign, highlighting his promise to provide New Yorkers with affordable housing and lower grocery costs through his plan to tax the richest 1% of New Yorkers more. Trump barely mentioned his campaign platform and instead discussed pop culture and conspiracies.
Trump uses social media in another negative way when, on the social media platform that he owns — Truth Social — he commonly refers to democrats using terms like “losers.” While animosity between the parties is commonplace in today’s politics, it does nothing to help fix the polarization in the nation, only perpetuated by the normalization of politics being made informal.
He uses this social media platform to pit his supporters against journalists who write unfavorable stories about him, even stories that do so unintentionally, like a Time Magazine article that published a picture of him, which Trump criticized as being “intentionally unflattering.”
The Trump administration’s informality, especially in its relations with journalists, is what has added to the divide in the nation between the two opposing parties. Even factual reporting from media with traditionally liberal views is met with hostility from republican policymakers.
This trend also coincided with the shift of many politicians moving to social media instead of the press to express their campaigns, marking a significant threat to the role of journalism within politics.
The polarization that has plagued so many other aspects of politics is now affecting the access to information and the trust of that information. This is a new and different form of censorship, one in which the Trump administration is preventing access to information because of perceived ideological differences.
The facts and information are being limited, and no matter what political ideology a person has, it is clear the danger this poses as the only ones who truly suffer are the American citizens whose questions are not answered as a result and who are told time and time again by Trump and his administration not to trust the media, leaving them blind to the world around them.
