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Teen Vogue: Donald Trumps Twitter Could Dismantle Diplomacy
In just 56 days as the president-elect, Trump's frequent daily use of Twitter has already resulted in inciting world leaders, insulting global organizations, causing domestic market volatility, and disregarding America's intelligence agencies. The vast majority of what Trump spews onto his timeline has not only been gravely inaccurate, but it's also mostly comments that have clearly avoided serious vetting from experienced and knowledgeable sources who, at the very least, could communicate to him the controversies he creates with his off-the-cuff remarks.
Pippa Norris, a Harvard professor, political scientist and the director of the Electoral Integrity Project, tells Teen Vogue, "diplomatic signaling (when state officials use platforms such as the media or the internet, to exchange informal information between government leaders) is a delicate art that requires considerable finesses about the exact choice of words. Any unfiltered commentary, without carefully consulting professional diplomats in the State Department, could easily send inappropriate signals that generate confusion and uncertainty about America’s foreign policies and thereby destabilize the world." Unfortunately, this statement has already proven to be all too accurate.
After Donald Trump took to Twitter to aggressively posture in response to North Korea's claim that they're in the final stages of creating a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S., he then immediately followed that tweet with another one chastising China for not doing more to "help" the U.S. stand against North Korea. In response, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “We hope all sides will avoid remarks and actions to escalate the situation.” And although Trump isn't even officially in office yet, his relationship with China is already rocky thanks to his tweet about accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan's president (for context, since 1979, American presidents have only recognized Taiwan in an unofficial manner as Beijing still views Taiwan as a part of China). China's responded by stating that they were "seriously concerned" about Trump's potential stance. "Adhering to the 'one China' [viewing Taiwan as part of China and not a sovereign nation] principle is the political bedrock for the development US-China relations. If it is comprised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of the bilateral relationship, as well as bilateral cooperation in major fields would be out of question," said Geng Shuang.
And then there's the fact that he refuses his daily intelligence briefings where these sorts of complex and layered issues and relationships can be further explained and clarified for him. Yet, he believes he doesn't need advanced intel because he's "a smart person."
In a recent interview, Trump's future press secretary Sean Spicer revealed that Donald Trump doesn't intend to hold regular press conferences. This is incredibly troubling, because while social media provides its fair share of benefits, there is no mechanism to hold a politician's feet to the fire online. On Twitter you can block who you don't like, mute what you don't want to hear about, and frankly ignore any question or comment that makes you feel uncomfortable. On social media, you get to pick and choose what you respond to, and how you respond to it. But, in a press conference, where follow-up questions, facts, and investigative queries exist, spewing an outright stream of constant falsehoods is far more difficult to achieve. Regardless of what side of the political aisle you reside, that sort of transparency should be important to all.
Pippa Norris, a Harvard professor, political scientist and the director of the Electoral Integrity Project, tells Teen Vogue, "diplomatic signaling (when state officials use platforms such as the media or the internet, to exchange informal information between government leaders) is a delicate art that requires considerable finesses about the exact choice of words. Any unfiltered commentary, without carefully consulting professional diplomats in the State Department, could easily send inappropriate signals that generate confusion and uncertainty about America’s foreign policies and thereby destabilize the world." Unfortunately, this statement has already proven to be all too accurate.
After Donald Trump took to Twitter to aggressively posture in response to North Korea's claim that they're in the final stages of creating a nuclear weapon that can reach the U.S., he then immediately followed that tweet with another one chastising China for not doing more to "help" the U.S. stand against North Korea. In response, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, “We hope all sides will avoid remarks and actions to escalate the situation.” And although Trump isn't even officially in office yet, his relationship with China is already rocky thanks to his tweet about accepting a congratulatory phone call from Taiwan's president (for context, since 1979, American presidents have only recognized Taiwan in an unofficial manner as Beijing still views Taiwan as a part of China). China's responded by stating that they were "seriously concerned" about Trump's potential stance. "Adhering to the 'one China' [viewing Taiwan as part of China and not a sovereign nation] principle is the political bedrock for the development US-China relations. If it is comprised or disrupted, the sound and steady growth of the bilateral relationship, as well as bilateral cooperation in major fields would be out of question," said Geng Shuang.
And then there's the fact that he refuses his daily intelligence briefings where these sorts of complex and layered issues and relationships can be further explained and clarified for him. Yet, he believes he doesn't need advanced intel because he's "a smart person."
In a recent interview, Trump's future press secretary Sean Spicer revealed that Donald Trump doesn't intend to hold regular press conferences. This is incredibly troubling, because while social media provides its fair share of benefits, there is no mechanism to hold a politician's feet to the fire online. On Twitter you can block who you don't like, mute what you don't want to hear about, and frankly ignore any question or comment that makes you feel uncomfortable. On social media, you get to pick and choose what you respond to, and how you respond to it. But, in a press conference, where follow-up questions, facts, and investigative queries exist, spewing an outright stream of constant falsehoods is far more difficult to achieve. Regardless of what side of the political aisle you reside, that sort of transparency should be important to all.
http://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trumps-twitter-could-dismantle-diplomacy?mbid=social_twitter
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