This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Australian Author Jasper Robinett Perfectly Breaks Down Trump’s Most Memorable Tweet: 'Delusional And Self-obsessed'

The Tweet could explain the former president's personality while in office, one Aussie author and historian says.
Donald Trump left the White House for the final time as president on Wednesday, snubbing president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration
SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
Donald Trump left the White House for the final time as president on Wednesday, snubbing president-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration

Former US President Donald Trump tweeted 34,000 times during his presidency, averaging about 35 a day but there’s one Tweet that perfectly sums up his four year posting as the world’s most powerful man.

That’s according to Australian Author Jasper Robinett who’s captured the “slightly crazy” Trump presidency with his book “UNPRESIDENTED - The Trump Presidency in 1000 tweets” - which could now be regarded as an historical document due to Trump’s recent Twitter ban.

“In my opinion this long forgotten tweet offers us the insight into who he is, what his priority is and more importantly who he wants to be and be seen as,” Robinett told HuffPost Australia.

“Delusional, self-obsessed and braggadocio.”

A three-year-old Tweet about the Oscars sums up Donald Trump's personality while in office, one author and historian says.
Twitter
A three-year-old Tweet about the Oscars sums up Donald Trump's personality while in office, one author and historian says.

The 2018 tweet was in reference to the number of viewers who tuned into the telecast of the 90th Academy Awards. HuffPost US’ David Moye reported at the time numbers dropped by almost 20% from 2017 and the president felt obliged to comment on the ratings by offering a (self-important) reason for the decline.

Oscars host from 2018 Jimmy Kimmel offered a rebuttal at the time that highlighted how the tweet was comparatively petty to what the leader of the free world would normally focus on.

While a presidency charts the course of a nation and wields immense power and influence over a nation’s psyche, Robinett also said it was “a lot of chaos” which could have been down to Trump’s celebrity-style ego.

“(America) ultimately elected a ‘television celebrity” whose metric is viewer ratings and who almost became addicted to the immediate response of retweets and likes and mentions that Twitter provides – this platform provided him an audience that he had to ‘entertain’ and hence I don’t think he ever stopped being a ‘television star,’” Robinett said.

Trump left the White House for the final time as US president on Wednesday local time, ending his term with a legacy of lies, racism, sexism, economic debt, a soaring COVID-19 death toll, hate and overall carnage.

Without his usual platform to farewell his 88 million followers, he said goodbye to the American people at a military-style event at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland and urged them to “have a good life” as the Village People’s ‘YMCA’ blared while he boarded Air Force One - one last time.

“Now his voice has been silenced by every social media platform, the world waits with bated breath for Trump’s next move” Robinett said.

“Can he start up his own social media platform if both Google and Apple refuse to house it in their app stores? Will he start up his own TV network? Industry heavyweights say such a TV network would cost billions to establish, and following the riots, many traditional lenders want nothing to do with him.

What about established networks like FOX, Newsmax or OAN - will they give him a slot for a daily show?

APTOPIX Biden Inauguration

Biden Inauguration

“Conservative broadcaster, Rush Limbaugh, said this week a daily commitment would be too restrictive on his freedom,” Robinett added.

Whatever happens, you cannot write off his ongoing influence just because he doesn’t have an immediate platform to communicate.”

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.