Words Matter

Abstract

Twitter is regarded today as an essential communication platform of U.S. diplomacy. Of all diplomatic tweets, those published by U.S. presidents carry the greatest weight and hold great potential to influence perceptions of the country. In this study, we conduct cross-presidential comparative analyses on an original dataset of over 2,000 tweets published by the first two presidents of the Twitter era. In particular, we test the commonly held notion that the substance and tone of Barack Obama's communication reflected positively on America's image abroad, with the potential to expand soft power—a vital foreign policy asset—while Donald Trump's communication reflected negatively on America's image, potentially eroding the nation's image and its soft power. Findings demonstrate that what and how presidents communicate on Twitter may produce profound and disparate impacts on America's image abroad and on U.S. soft power.

Note From the Editor

“…In our leading article this fall, Collins and DeWitt (2023) show with considerable vigor that words clearly matter in their excellent examination of how the tweets of Presidents Obama and Trump have affected U.S. foreign policy and now form a central strand of its soft power. Importantly, and as our corrigendum notes, this article was intended for publication in the summer 2023 issue of WAJ .…”

Note From the Editor

“…Adding to the journal's contributions on diplomacy, political communication, and social media (see Huda 2018; McBeth, Lybecker, and Sargent 2022), in our opening article this time Collins and De Witt (2023) show that words clearly matter in their excellent examination of how the tweets of Presidents Obama and Trump have affected U.S. foreign policy and now form a central strand of America's soft power.…”