By Joe Yamulla || Co-Opinion and Editorials Editor
Despite the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of Donald Trump’s presidency, I can at least be certain that the president will exercise his right to tweet. I’ve been struggling to understand why the President of the United States feels the need to attack others, make bold criticism, or defend himself with 150 characters. I’ve come to realize that Donald Trump is a master of deflection, and his Twitter is his most valuable resource. Donald Trump has successfully manipulated the American people. Instead of giving our complete attention and criticism to the pressing issues we face right now, specifically Puerto Rico, North Korea, and climate change, we’ve been drawing our attention to Donald Trump’s ridiculous stunts on social media. Yes, it’s so tempting to criticize the president’s tweets, especially when he attacks American athletes’ fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. However, it’s vital that Americans see Trump’s tweets for what they really are, an outlet to deflect our attention from the profound issues that need our efforts.
Puerto Rico, who has been overlooked and disregarded by America for decades, is still in shambles. Whether conservative politicians wish to recognize it or not, they are American citizens who lost everything. Much of the island is still without power and necessary resources. I found myself as frustrated as any when Donald Trump attacked NFL players on twitter for their statements made during the National Anthem. However, we can’t let our frustration feed into the Trump administration’s master plan of deflection.
American citizens are living in a unique era. We have a president who is recklessly taunting North Korea on social media; be sure to remember this story for your grandkids. Furthermore each day, we also see the growing consequences of climate change through threatening weather patterns, and the daily threat of losing our health care. We are facing major danger as a nation. Regardless of what the president tweets, Americans need to devote their entire attention to what really matters and no longer feed into Donald Trump’s strategy of deflection through social media.
Senior Joe Yamulla is the Co-Opinion and Editorials Editor. His email is jyamulla@fandm.edu.