Greeson: Tweeter in chief again misses mark on social media

Jay Greeson
Jay Greeson

It arrived with the subtlety of a migraine, like the unannounced appearance of your brother-in-law on the porch with a suitcase. And with the unapologetic tone of, well, a Donald Trump tweet.

Yes, another week, another social media storm, thanks to the Commander of Beef.

On Friday Trump blasted: "Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!"

The Mike he referred to is Michael Jordan, and to make smart/dumb accusations on a platform filled with misspellings, misgivings and mistakes, well, pick your poison.

A pro-Trump friend wisely suggested that he blasts away at adversaries on Twitter because of his ongoing war with mainstream media and alleges that it widely undercovers the strides the country is making under his tenure.

I agree that the good things being accomplished under Trump have been underreported. The improved relations with North Korea and the released bodies from there counts. He has held true to his base with promises to end the never-complete, always confusing and seldom-effective Obamacare. His Supreme Court nominees are pretty stellar.

In those terms, his platform of choice being Twitter makes sense. It's quick. It's universal. Its major shortcoming is the inability to make sarcasm clear, but Trump doesn't need that anyway.

Plus, Twitter eliminates what Trump says is the middle man - the media - and allows him to communicate directly with his base. It also saves him some awkward moments because he is not anywhere close to the speaker that Obama was or even as good as W was.

But, here's our question: Do the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. not have a better plan? No one has a better idea than trying to be an eighth-grade bully who only continues to advance the narrative of distraction and discord?

Have a Twitter vision.

If the same interview happens - and yes, criticizing Trump has become a possible Olympic sport in the 2022 Winter Games - between LeBron and that CNN dude, and you feel obligated to acknowledge it, be more clever and original.

Forget the political science notion that Trump waited until LeBron left Ohio, a very in-play swing state in 2020, to drop insults. Be better than that.

Maybe something like: "Just saw LeBron on CNN. Apparently he's not a fan. Guess they could have discussed a lot of things - from more on the promising I Promise School in Akron to the record-low minority unemployment - but wanted to discuss me. That's OK. #ILikeMike."

Is it so hard to be active on social media without being radioactive? And at what point does the senior staff at la Casa Blanca not view Trump's smartphone the way a neighborhood bar views a Friday-night regular's car keys? When the clock strikes 10:30, it's time to take them away.

And that's the thing. While LeBron has been more outspoken than Jordan - who famously said when asked why he was not more political in his playing days, "Republicans buy sneakers too," - we all recognize Trump's M.O.

He's very Godfatherian. If you take your shot at the Don, the Don is going to shoot back.

But for a pro-Trump camp that wants LeBron and his other multi-platform, multi-millionaire athlete cohorts to just shut up and dribble, questioning James' intelligence - especially after he opened the I Promise School last week - comes off as petty and weak. And wrong - LeBron is a lot of things, but stupid is not one of them - and it's certainly far from presidential in this view.

The I Promise School, for those who do not know, is a James-funded project that is supervised by the Akron City School system and is open to 240 at-risk and economically challenged third- and fourth-graders. The school plan includes unbelievable innovations and opportunities, from free meals and take-home pantry items to GED help, job placement for parents and limited free transportation.

Plus, James worked with the University of Akron to offer this to every student who finishes the I Promise School, stays on track and graduates: College tuition paid for.

It's genius and generous - and decidedly not stupid. In fact, we hope that school systems across the country can get that kind of help from the stupidly rich among us.

This in the end, though, is less about James and more about Trump, who we'd have to believe has better things to spend his time on while running the free world.

Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.

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