Tweeter-in-Chief

AP US Government and Politics

Who has more Twitter followers: LeBron James, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, or The New York Times?

1. How accurate was your prediction?

2. What most surprised you about this data?

3. What is the big story this data tells?

4. How much has Trump's Twitter following increased over the past 2 years?

5. Do you think anyone in the universe has more Twitter followers than Donald Trump?*

6. Did more people vote for Trump in 2016 or follow Trump on Twitter?**

7. Do you think that Twitter has been overall good or bad for America?

8. What impact does the Trump Twitter account have on US and global politics? 

9. What overall impact does social media have on US politics?

10. Jimmy Carter once said that as president he preferred the power of the bully pulpit to the power of the veto. Do you think he was right to say this?

11. Do you think Trump would agree with Carter?

12. What does Article II of the U.S. Constitution say about the president's power and the use of Twitter?

13. If the Framers rewrote the U.S. Constitution (don't worry, they aren't planning to) do you think they might trade in the mandatory State-of-the-Union Address for mandatory Tweeting?

14. Counterfactual time. Imagine the Trump candidacy or presidency without Twitter. How do things change?

15. The kinds of things that Donald Trump regularly tweets out would doom almost any other politician. Explain how he gets away with his Tweets:

16. Marshall McLuhan, the late-great media thinker wrote that, "the medium is the message." What do you think he meant by that and how does that relate to the Twitter account of @realDonaldTrump?

17. Who do you think is @thefakedonaldtrump ?

18. Facebook and Twitter have banned users for racist and inflammatory comments. Do you believe Twitter should ban @realDonaldTrump ?

19. Barack Obama has even more Twitter followers than Trump. If those two men ran against each other for president (they can't - 22nd Amendment!) who do you think would win?

20. If Abraham Lincoln had a Twitter account what would his handle be?

21. Rewrite the U.S. Constitution as a Tweet:

*Learning Extension

Check out the list of the people with the most Twitter followers and also Article II of the U.S. Constitution below.

Action Extension

Tweet @realDonaldTrump and ask him if he would prefer the power of the veto or the power of Twitter? Share your experience in class or online.

**2016 presidential vote total

Clinton 65,853,516

Trump 62,984,825