Announcing Presidential Candidacies on Twitter Is Lame

Both sides do it. Go outside, people!

On Tuesday morning, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley announced her candidacy for President of the United States. She did it the way everyone announces their candidicies anymore: She did it with a Twitter video.

This is entirely common anymore. Most candidates, almost all candidates, appreciate the ability to control their message entirely, to bypass journalists or their fellow citizens, to say exactly what they want to say exactly how they want to say it, on the platform that gives them that total control. A pre-packaged video avoids verbal slips, or tough questions, or anything skeptical at all. It’s wholly what you want it to be.

It’s not just young — or “young” — people like Haley who announce on Twitter or on their YouTube page. You know who else did it? The guy who is currently the President.