Donald Trump has ruined Twitter for car folk
Donald Trump has got a lot to answer for. When he’s not grabbing Jaguars, Pumas and the odd Leyland Lynx (think about it), or planning a wall large enough to trump Game of Thrones, he seems hell-bent on ruining Twitter for car folk.
Once upon a time, Twitter was a safe refuge for people with a thing for cars. Fire up Tweetdeck (other platforms are available) and you’d be no more than two tweets away from a photo of a Citroën GS or a link to a classified ad for a Honda Prelude.
Today, you’re forced to scroll through dozens of Trump-related tweets before you can get your automotive fix. Not that the world’s most famous Donald (with apologies to Mr. D. Duck) is entirely to blame. The rot – or rather, rust – set in with Brexit, and Twitter hasn’t been the same since.
Car stuff has become a sideshow; pushed to the outer limits of the Twittersphere. It’s a far cry from the days when the social network felt like a safe haven for those with a penchant for the weird and wonderful. Post a photo of a Datsun Cherry, and folk would react with a virtual slack jaw, as if they’d been shown a centrefold on the school playground.
Today, even the most reliable purveyors of car-related tweetery are Twitter-Trumping, returning to matters of an automotive kind as if through some kind of contractual obligation. Off they go with a Trumpety-Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. It’s like the lyrics to some kind of horrific Disney tune.
When will this flood of Trump end? Four years, if Donald makes it through the standard term of office. Shorter, if he’s given his tin of peaches and told “you’re fired!”
In the meantime, our timelines will be filled with memes, videos and images focused on Trump, taking up valuable space that could have been filled with old Peugeots, forgotten Datsuns and mundane Protons. Heck, even a Shmee video would be preferable to Trump.
“Hi guys…”
Maybe we need a hashtag. One that is free of politics and news of the world’s impending collapse. #answersonapostcard #usualaddress
Image © By That Hartford Guy / Wikipedia
