Trump says he's not tired of winning in unhelpful Reddit AMA
When Donald Trump announced he would be hosting an "Ask Me Anything" session on the social forum Reddit, it appeared to be a magnificent opportunity for transparency and clarification. This, coming from a man who will famously host "press conferences" and then not take a single question from the press. Now you can ask him anything! Okay, here we go.
But over the course of Trump's hour-long Q-and-A session, he only answered 12 questions, most with sparse and vague answers. Replying to "What role should NASA play in helping to Make America Great Again?" for example, Trump simply said, "Honestly I think NASA is wonderful! America has always led the world in space exploration."
Well, alright. But when "hard" questions were asked, like when journalist Olivia Nuzzi wondered why Trump won't release his tax returns "if he's rich and doesn't have ties to the Russians," the moderators immediately deleted them. What's more, as The Atlantic points out, "Trump broke tradition with his AMA. He didn't host it with the popular /r/IAmA subreddit, where most celebrities set up shop. Instead, he joined /r/The_Donald, a subreddit devoted to his candidacy that is populated by redditors who are fiercely loyal to him." The moderators posted a warning to outsiders that read "WE'RE R/THE_DONALD. OUR PLACE, OUR RULES."
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Apparently that meant answering questions like, "Hello Mr. Trump. Are you getting tired of winning?" Trump wrote back "I am never tired of winning, and as your president I will win for you, the American people. I'm with you!"
Over the years, Reddit AMAs have allowed the average person to directly interrogate the likes of Barack Obama, Gordon Ramsay, Steve Wozniak, Patrick Stewart, and Bill Gates. The sessions represent the internet ideals of accessibility and communication. But "tellingly, [Trump's] AMA thread was subject to heavy downvoting, a Reddit sign of disapproval, indicating other voices were not getting through," The Atlantic writes.
Maybe this session wasn't much different than ignoring a room full of raised hands.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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