Politics

Donald Trump’s Twitter Q&A Inspires Tens of Thousands of Mostly Silly Tweets

#AskTrump draws 25K submissions, Twitter says.

By Caroline Mimbs Nyce and National Journal

Once again, Donald Trump went viral.

On Monday morning, Trump, who boasts over 4 million followers on Twitter, asked fans to submit questions for a Q&A live from Twitter’s New York City office:

The Internet went nuts.

The hashtag #AskTrump quickly exploded with user-submitted questions. In total, users posted around 25,000 tweets using that hashtag, according to Nick Pacilio, a spokesman for Twitter.

But the majority of the tweets weren’t hard-hitting policy questions. Many participants took it as an opportunity to crack their best Trump-hair-related joke, while others vented their personal disapproval of the candidate. A new series of pig jokes emerged, an apparent nod to British Prime Minister David Cameron’s alleged swine encounter.

José Andrés, the chef who called-off a restaurant deal with Trump after Trump’s comments about Mexican immigrants, submitted a question on immigration.

Serious policy questions were few and far-between. But despite the seemingly endless onslaught of silliness, Trump managed to answer a selection of mostly-serious questions.

In total, the Q&A lasted around 30 minutes. During that time, Trump answered 12 questions, covering everything from the student-debt crisis to gun rights. He posted his responses in the form of short videos on his official Twitter handle, @realDonaldTrump.

One user asked Trump whether he would “forgo” the presidential salary if elected.

“As far as the salary is concerned, I won’t take even one dollar,” Trump said. “I am totally giving up my salary if I become president.”

On the lighter side, two of the 12 questions Trump answered had to do with NFL quarterbacks. Trump called Tony Romo a “great guy” and agreed that Joe Flacco is an “elite quarterback.” However, Trump stayed loyal to his New England Patriots, reminding users that he recently scored Tom Brady’s endorsement. “Tom Brady just came out and endorsed me, and Tom Brady had another fantastic game. A total winner.”

Even after the Q&A ended, Twitter users continued to submit hundreds of questions. As of this writing, #AskTrump is still trending in Washington, D.C.