Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    President Donald Trump, Unreliable Narrator

    Why can't we stop reading Trump's Twitter feed? The same reason we can't put down The Catcher In The Rye or Pale Fire.
    by Danielle Kurtzleben Jun 19, 2017 7 minutes
    Unlike most presidents, who keep the public at arm's-length, President Trump appears to let us into his head with his constant tweeting. / SAUL LOEB / Getty Images

    President Trump did it again on Twitter late last week.

    "I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt," he tweeted Friday morning.

    Once again, a Trump tweet set off a media frenzy, this time making everyone wonder whether he was indeed confirming that he was under investigation for obstruction of justice. (The White House later said the tweet was not confirmation that Trump has been informed that he is under investigation.)

    This isn't the first time that Trump has made trouble for himself in his tweets (see: the tweet that a judge recently cited in once again blocking Trump's travel ban). But his tweets are more than a potential legal liability, and they're even more than fodder for the occasional breaking news alert — his Twitter feed is groundbreaking in that he seems to be letting us inside his head. And in doing so, he is the first president to narrate his presidency in real time.

    But he is not just any kind of storyteller. He peppers those tweets with things that most politicians strain to hide: factual

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR4 min read
    Last-minute Candidate José Raúl Mulino Wins Panama's Presidential Election
    José Raúl Mulino was set to become the new leader of the Central American nation as authorities unofficially called the race Sunday night after his three nearest rivals conceded.
    NPR3 min read
    Floods In Southern Brazil Kill At Least 75 People Over 7 Days
    Massive floods in Brazil's southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days, and another 103 were reported missing, local authorities said Sunday.
    NPR5 min readIndustries
    China Makes Cheap Electric Vehicles. Why Can't American Shoppers Buy Them?
    American drivers want cheap EVs. Chinese automakers are building them. But you can't buy them in the U.S., thanks to tariffs in the name of U.S. jobs and national security. Two car shoppers weigh in.

    Related Books & Audiobooks