If we seem data-driven, well, we’re just following the lead of our president. We, after all, aren’t the only ones obsessed with numbers. From those pesky 3 million “illegal” votes – President Donald’s Trump’s word – to the size of the inauguration crowd, it’s all about those digits.
And since Trump is similarly infatuated with Twitter, the looming marker of his first 100 days in office seems like an appropriate time to quantify his posts.
How many times since Inauguration Day has @realDonaldTrump posted about “fake news,” or mentioned Obamacare, or declared something “sad!”? Who gets name-checked the most, Melania or Ivanka Trump … or could it be Chuck Schumer?
Because math is fundamental, here, the Tweeter-in-Chief’s posts by the numbers.
Obamacare: Many of Trump’s posts regarding former President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act skew toward the macabre, with talk of disaster, implosion and a “death spiral.” Total: 18
Wall: One of Trump’s major campaign promises was to Build that Wall – and have Mexico pay for it. Since Inauguration Day, there has been plenty of discussion about a) Mexico actually not wanting to foot the bill and b) the astronomical price tag, which a Reuters report in early February put at $21.6 billion. Per @realDonaldTrump, as recently as April 25, that wall – err, WALL – “will get built.” Total: 9
Fake news: Trump entered this phrase into circulation prior to taking office, famously labeling CNN a fake news outlet while denying journalist Jim Acosta a question during a presser. Since Jan. 20, he has used the term 20 times; add the more recent “fake media,” which he started using on April 17, and the tally rises by 5. Total: 25
Failing @NYTimes: The award for the news outlet most name-checked by the president goes to … The New York Times. Sure, there’s that adjective he likes, but, hey, at least he includes the Twitter handle. Total: 14
Terrible: Even casual followers of Trump’s feed know that he loves his adjectives. On the negative end, “terrible” garnered nine mentions. “Horrible” did horribly, with just four mentions, but “bad” was so good with mentions in 17 posts.
Great: But he’s not just a negative Nelly: Our president loves his superlatives. “Great” appears in 73 posts, including on April 26, “great great,” as in a “great great honor to welcome & recognize the National Teacher of the Year.”
Make America Great Again: Of course, that’s his tagline. Count both Make America Great Again and its acronym, and you get a grand total of 18.
Love: But, he’s not necessarily feeling the love. Total: 3
Melania: The first lady has been mentioned by name six times by her presidential husband. Add FLOTUS to the mix, and the equation increases by one. Total: 7
Ivanka: Take the above total, subtract one, then divide by two. Add one for an @IvankaTrump. Total: 4
Schumer: As in, Senator Chuck. Remember him, and his “fake tears”? Trump did, on Jan. 30 and 31. Total: 3
Election: Much has been written about how Trump can’t move on from the election, partly because … he can’t stop tweeting about it. On March 2, he called out Democrats: “They lost the election, and now they have lost their grip on reality.” Some tweets don’t have to do with the Nov. 8 presidential election, however, including a post about the French election. So, this total gets an asterisk next to it. Total: 20
Democrats: Note that seven of these mentions were made on April 27. Total: 22
Republicans: 8
Win!: With that exclamation mark, four total. And please don’t ask us to count every time he’s used what we will unscientifically call his favorite punctuation.
