Biden campaign joins Trump's Truth Social platform
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President Biden speaking in Philadelphia on Oct. 13. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images
President Biden's re-election campaign joined former President Trump's social media platform Truth Social "mostly because we thought it would be very funny," it said.
Why it matters: The move is part of the Biden campaign's evolving effort to build an online presence in preparation for the president's potential rematch with Trump, who is also coordinating an extremely online campaign.
What they're saying: "Well. Let's see how this goes. Converts welcome!" Biden's campaign said in its first post on the platform.
- It followed that with a flurry of clips of other 2024 Republican candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, criticizing Trump.
- Campaign officials also told Fox News that joining the platform was an attempt of "meeting voters where they are," though it stressed that "there's very little 'truth' happening on Truth Social."
Between the lines: A Biden adviser told Axios' Alex Thompson earlier this year that the campaign did not plan on joining Trump's platform.
- Since then, Biden's campaign launched a rapid online response operation on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and Threads to pump out content to reach voters, Politico reports.
- "Dark Brandon" — Biden's Machiavellian alter ego that spun out of an online meme — has also given his campaign a financial boost through Brandon-themed merchandise sales.
The big picture: In recent weeks, the Biden White House has begun responding publicly to Trump's diatribes on the platform.
- After he vowed to use the presidency to investigate NBC News parent company Comcast over its "one-sided and vicious coverage," Biden's administration responded that such an investigation would "violate the constitutional rights of reporters."
- It added that the move would be an outrageous attack on our democracy and the rule of law."
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