Today, Trump posted a surprising and seemingly random Tweet about former Clinton campaign manager, John Podesta. Podesta was at the center of a scandal when thousands of his emails were released by WikiLeaks from a supposed Russian hack on the DNC.

Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and the CIA. Disgraceful! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2017

The Tweet seems absurd; the idea that all the leaders of the world are getting together to discuss the scandal of a failed campaign manager is just as unlikely as it is hilarious. But all that doesn’t really matter nearly as much as the reaction to the Tweet does. John Podesta was trending today on Twitter, with people discussing the Tweet and Podesta’s scandal. What Trump managed to do with the Tweet shows just how much influence his use of the social media site wields. Whether you believe Trump or not, everybody has started talking about John Podesta. Trump is able to shift the focus of an entire American people in under 140 characters, something that would have taken an entire press release or even a speech in the past.

As my fellow journalist wrote, this is the modern reality that we live in, one which helped get President Trump elected. The ability for one politician to get everybody talking without the help of an entire staff carefully wording a prewritten speech is very new, a little bit scary, and extremely powerful. Politics is just beginning to adjust to this new world of technology, and if President Trump has shown us one thing, it’s how to leverage that fact.

Everybody will forget about this Tweet in a day from now because there are much more important things to focus on. But for just a tiny bit of time, Podesta is at the center of attention. Twitter is filled with different reactions, with some users blasting Trump while others reminding us of the horrible things Podesta tried to do, whose secrets were exposed with the WikiLeaks reveal. But what matters most is not the subject of Donald Trump’s words, but rather the sentiment that this is modern day politics, and if used wisely, people can wield a lot of power with 140 characters and a blue button.

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