President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had his fireside chats on the radio. President Ronald Reagan appeared often before a national TV audience. In 2019, President Trump makes himself heard on his @realDonaldTrump Twitter account.
We at Cheddar decided to take a look at a few of the president's most popular pronouncements on the platform this year.
'Get home ASAP A$AP!'
In the midst of a global uproar over the detention of rapper A$AP Rocky in Sweden, President Trump inserted himself into the discussion and called for his release. Swedish authorities detained Rocky over an assault charge. Once the Harlem rapper was allowed to return to the states, President Trump rolled out the red carpet with a pun, tweeting "A$AP Rocky released from prison and on his way home to the United States from Sweden. It was a Rocky Week, get home ASAP A$AP!"
As it stands, this tweet is President Trump's most liked and most retweeted in 2019.
Trump the heavyweight
Did you ever think you would be talking about a shirtless photo of the President of the United States? President Trump tweeted — with no caption — a photo of his face superimposed on a picture of Sylvester Stallone as fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. This one came at the end of November, after the first round of damaging House Intelligence impeachment hearings. Without using words, it seemed to declare 'I am a heavyweight.' Additionally, the tweet followed news reports that President Trump had a health scare after a surprise trip to a DC hospital.
The boxer tweet is President Trump's fourth most retweeted and third most liked in 2019.
Every dog has its day
One military dog made it onto the president's Twitter feed after a high-stakes raid in Syria. President Trump tweeted "We have declassified a picture of the wonderful dog (name not declassified) that did such a GREAT JOB in capturing and killing the Leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi!" The picture came after a revealing presidential address that described how the U.S. military took down the ISIS leader in Syria. The pictured K9 helped track down and chase Al-Baghdadi but was injured on the mission. After making a full recovery, the dog's name was ultimately declassified and revealed to be Conan.
President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President Mike Pence all honored Conan at a White House Rose Garden event in November.
The tweet showing Conan earned President Trump his fifth-most retweets and his fourth-most likes.
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President Biden has announced an additional $800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, including artillery, armored personnel carriers, and helicopters. It comes as Russian forces appear to be preparing for a new, aggressive offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine. Paul McLeary, defense reporter for Politico, joined Cheddar to discuss this new round of aid and what it means for the U.S. commitment to arming the embattled country.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 18, 2022, with Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian city of Lviv killing seven, mass shootings in South Carolina and Pittsburgh, Lucky Charms cereal under official investigation by the FDA, and more.
Activism is growing around the country in response to school boards banning books from shelves that focus on sexuality, gender, identity, or race. Jen Cousins, co-founder of The Florida Freedom to Read Project, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine intensifies, President Biden has announced a ban on importing Russian oil, gas, and energy. To discuss how this ban will impact the war and Americans, Amir Handjani, non-resident fellow at Quincy Institute, joins Cheddar News.
Thousands of protesters around the world are expressing their solidarity with Ukraine against Russia's invasion.
Jason Beardsley, national executive director of the Association of the U.S. Navy and national security expert, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
As gas prices surge amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, other nations could potentially transition faster to using clean energy than previously expected. Philip K. Verleger, a senior fellow at the Niskanen Center, joined Cheddar News to explain how this could be a possibility in the near future. "Part of the reason I think we have this invasion and the tantrum that's being thrown by Russia, terrible tantrum, is because the Russians were trying to slow down the transition," he said. "Ironically they speeded it up."
Following the invasion of Ukraine, a multitude of Western companies have paused doing business with Russia. PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Starbucks are the most recent companies to temporarily cease operations in Russia. Dean of Miami Herbert Business School at the University of Miami, John Quelch, joined Cheddar News to discuss what message this sends to Russia and the Russian consumer. “I would not underestimate the collective strength of all of these multinational companies, essentially coming together to make their collective statement in support of the political statements that have come out of Washington," he said.
The war in Ukraine continues to reveal heartbreaking gut-wrenching stories. The war in itself is not only devastating but also expensive. Experts estimate that Russia is draining nearly $20 million dollars each day to continue occupying and invading Ukraine. All this could force the country to turn to cryptocurrencies. It's a major turn for the country that briefly considered outlined digital assets entirely, but it could also have serious implications for cryptos. Managing Director at Quantum Fintech Group, Harry Yeh, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
