As the kids say, whoa, if true.
MSNBC reported Tuesday morning that aides to Donald Trump estimate that the real estate mogul has spent roughly $2 million on his 2016 presidential campaign to date. That’s consistent with a Wall Street Journal report from over the summer that Trump had loaned his campaign $1.8 million and raised another $100,000 for the effort.
That’s stunning. And brilliant.
This is the rarest of occasions: Chris Cillizza is right about something. Trump’s manipulation of media and social media has been brilliant. The fact that he’s constantly on television without having to pay for television time is something that is rather unprecedented for a non-incumbent.
No matter how this campaign turns out, Trump’s use of social media will probably one day be talked about in political science classes. He is using the various platforms in the way they were meant to be used: personally. Rather than tweeting a campaign talking point in a third-person voice from an account that bears the candidate’s name (as most do), he’s talking to people. No matter how unhinged he may be, speaking directly to the voters as himself on social media resonates infinitely more than “Candidate X wants to, RT if you agree.”
The media landscape has changed drastically since the Bush/Rove days and the GOP has been less than nimble in adapting. If establishment types and other candidates can turn off their Trump hate for a moment, maybe they can learn something, like how to run a more financially efficient campaign.
Republicans are still into fiscal responsibility, right?
Anyone?
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