Earlier today, when Stephen Green got access to Donald Trump’s new social media platform, I was excited. Not so much because I was happy for him, but because I knew I wasn’t far behind him on the waitlist, and therefore, I’d soon be getting access myself.
Which I finally did this afternoon. Woohoo!
I went through the recommended steps for finalizing my account setup, which included following a minimum of two users.
As Stephen previously reported, it’s a solid-looking platform, easy to navigate, and even has a private message feature, though that is currently not yet active.
Related: Trump’s Truth Social Finally Is Up and Running, But What’s There to Do?
I followed Stephen, of course, though he has yet to follow me back (hint, hint). And, of course, I followed Donald Trump.
That’s pretty much the point of Truth Social, isn’t it? In addition to being a free-speech alternative to Twitter, it would be the place to read the “mean tweets” that America traded in exchange for high gas prices, historic inflation, a border crisis, a labor shortage, and potentially a nuclear World War III.
So, of course, after following as many VIPs as I could find, I went to Trump’s account — and was taken aback.
He’s only posted one “truth.”
“Get Ready! Your favorite President will see you soon!” he posted two weeks ago.
And that’s it. Since then, nada.
It’s not like Trump is lacking in things to say. Since I’m on his media list, I know he regularly sends out statements. Some are long and some are short, and many could easily be posted within Truth Social’s 500-word limit for “truths.”
Having just been at CPAC, I can tell you that people are as excited about Truth Social as they are about GETTR, the other Twitter-ish platform created by Jason Miller, a former Donald Trump aide. The big difference was that GETTR was all over CPAC — they were an event sponsor — while “I’m still on the waitlist for Truth Social” was perhaps the most commonly uttered phrase all week.
GETTR had a booth at CPAC, and I got to talk to a few people on the GETTR team. They got me verified (thanks again), which was awesome, and they’re a great, dedicated crew. GETTR was launched on July 4 last year and has grown significantly since then. But despite that tremendous organic growth, Truth Social arguably had an advantage because it not only promised to be a free-speech alternative to Twitter (like GETTR is), but it also had substantial financial backing and, most important, would be the social media home of Donald Trump.
So, why isn’t Trump posting there regularly? Yes, Truth Social is still technically not fully operational, but it’s rather sad seeing Trump’s profile sitting there with one pathetic post. I’ve only been on the platform for an hour and a half, and I’ve made more posts than Trump.
Sorry, but that is sad. This is Trump’s domain, which he (technically) created, and he should be all over it by now. If Trump is not active on Truth Social yet, I have to admit I’m less inclined to spend time on there, because I’ve been busy trying to build up a following on GETTR.
Obviously, I know that long term, Trump will be on Truth Social, doing his thing, and it’ll be great. I’ll be dividing my social media time between Truth Social and GETTR, as I fully expect to be banned by Twitter eventually. But, given the hiccups Truth Social has experienced since its launch, the best way it can make up for the slow start is for Trump to be active. So, why isn’t he?
