Tweeter-in-Chief Donald J. Trump: How Social Media Can Be the Downfall of Your Brand

Abstract

Trump’s frustration with mainstream “fake news” media led him to focus his communications on social media and Twitter in particular. An analysis of his tweets shows that they can be interpreted as major stages of the classic “hero’s journey.” At the end of his presidency, Trump refused to return and failed to become a master of the political and his earlier business world. The effect on the Trump brand was devastating. At its height, attaching the Trump brand to a property would add up to 20% over the price of similar properties. By 2018, in contrast, Trump-branded properties and products were selling at up to a 38% discount relative to the market and lost even more ground after the second impeachment trial. A turn for the Trump brand seems unlikely. If it does resurrect itself, it will be buoyed by a very different target market of typical Trump voters.