Well into the 2016 Presidential Primary, the media and its many producers quickly learned that Donald Trump could bring in ratings.
The candidate, who went from the boardroom to the podium, needed the corporate media to take him as a serious candidate and convey his message to the public.
As the Trump Train rambled down the tracks of political history at full throttle, a shift occurred.
Thanks to his frenetic base of supporters and social media, specifically Twitter, Donald Trump no longer needed the media . . . they needed him.
The billionaire-turned-president controls the news cycle in 140 character bursts from his twitter feed.
Since becoming President Elect, the power of Trump’s twitter feed is more evident than ever.
Arguably, Trump’s twitter feed is the single most influential real estate on the Internet.
Fox, CNN, MSNBC, etc., all display graphics from Trump’s twitter account throughout the day . . . dozens of times per day.
The result of Trump’s tweets go beyond the news cycle and even influence foreign affairs as China recently scolded the incoming Commander-in-Chief for his excessive use of the social media tool.
Investors would also be wise to closely monitor Donald J. Trump’s ever-flowing twitter account as it creates strong waves in market numbers.
Earlier in the week, Ford Motors saw an eight point gain after Trump’s praise of their move to abandon plans for a plant in Mexico.
At the same time, GM was scolded by Trump and the company’s stock price fell by .7% in premarket trading.
In the writing of this column, Trump took at hit at Toyota and immediately dropped the automaker’s stock price down $.76 or .62%.
Expect this to be the new norm in both media and governance. America’s new president will communicate directly to the people, while the corporate media will play catch up on each tweet.
Trump’s only limitation will be the speed of his thumbs as they fumble around his smart phone.
New Year . . . new world.
