With campaigning at its peak, a month before the US elections, automated messages from former President Donald Trump have sparked a viral response with an Indian user receiving an update today.
The tweet, from the former president’s ex (formerly Twitter) handle, was directed at Roshan Rai, who describes himself as an Indian first and a “cricketaholic” in his bio.
It read, “I will send you important election updates for North Carolina. Make sure you are ready to vote for Donald J. Trump by November 5th. Reply #Pause to opt-out”.
I’ll send you important election updates for North Carolina. Make sure you visit Donald J. Ready to vote for Trump.
answer #to stop choose.
-Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 3 October 2024
On this, Roshan Rai quipped, “Thank you, but you will never become my President. Kamala Harris will also never become my President. Actually, I am from India.”
Thank you, but you will never be my president.
Kamala Harris will never even be my President.
Actually I am from India?
– Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRaii) 3 October 2024
Mr. Rai’s answer has caught the attention of many internet users. It also shows the unexpected reach of Trump’s automated messaging system beyond US borders, highlighting the impact of Trump’s social media strategy, which has been a hallmark of his political approach since 2015.
The X Exchange questions the appropriateness of such access to an international audience. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research in 2018 indicated that bots played a significant role in influencing votes during the 2016 elections and that Twitter bots may have inflated Donald Trump’s votes by 3.23%.
As Trump gears up for the upcoming election next month after surviving not one, but two assassination attempts, his reliance on social media is drawing both criticism and amusement from users around the world. Earlier this year, in August, Trump had taken to social media to express his approval of pop star Taylor Swift’s fake endorsement of herself using AI-generated images. However, this soon turned into “I hate Taylor Swift” posts on social media after Swift’s actual endorsement of Trump’s rival Kamala Harris.
