If the election were decided by social media, Donald Trump would easily win. He has 7.96 million Facebook likes and 8.56 million Twitter followers. “Trump Is Reaching Students With Social Media, But Will They Vote For Him?” Carter Coudriet asks for Forbes.
Trump has a commanding presence on social media, which is used by 90 percent of young adults, and he was also the fourth most-searched person in 2015, according to Google trends.
The dominance over social media has not only gotten Trump attention, Coudriet points out, but could help the GOP overall. The GOP struggled with young voters in previous presidential elections, but now they have “the outspoken and oft-controversial Trump” as their presumptive nominee, and he “has taken over the Twittersphere.”
Coudriet spoke with Ryan Fournier, the founder and national chair of Students for Trump. “He tells it as it is, and he takes that to social media as well, and that’s one of his strengths,” Fournier said.
Social media has helped Trump in other ways. “If you look at some of the things that have been shot at him in social media… he’s been able to turn it around,” Fournier continued.
Trump’s name has been out there at universities, with #TheChalkening incidents and student groups supporting Trump on campus. Fournier says they’re in 35 to 40 states and the website boasts of 280 chapters.
The group grew from a Twitter account run by Fournier to more than 5,000 volunteers and 13,000 pledged votes. Fournier credits the internet and is using social media as a way to correct some misconceptions about Trump.
“One of the jobs we do is make sure the correct information gets out to young voters,” he said. “They think he’s the anti-Christ, they think he’s racist, and we get them to think that maybe he can do good.”
Fournier isn’t the only one who has risen to attention with Students for Trump. The Los Angeles Times profiled Jake Lopez, the California Director of Students for Trump, which earned a Facebook shout-out from the candidate.
Coudriet also spoke with Professor Mitchell McKinney at the University of Missouri. Trump is gaining considerable media attention, but that includes supporters and non-supporters alike.
“We have little evidence yet that likes and social media traffic and followers necessarily translate into actual support,” McKinney said.
The real effect of social media activity cannot be determined yet because sample sizes are only available from the 2008 and 2012 elections, which is too small.
McKinney also pointed out that Trump does well with a demographic that doesn’t vote, young males. Young voters have the lowest turnout in general, but young men vote even less than young women.
Fournier and his team have their work cut out for them, but with the benefits social media has provided Trump so far, and Hillary Clinton’s skill at alienating young voters, a victory is still within the realm of possibility.
