Amid Trump Twitter controversies, White House preparing to expand social media team

By Jim Acosta

CNN

President Donald Trump is preparing to expand his social media team, big league.

The White House is expected to hire new staffers this week to work with the President on his posts for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, a senior administration official told CNN.

Up until now, Trump and his social media director Dan Scavino have essentially handled the President’s tweets on their own. Trump typically dictates his often provocative Twitter posts to Scavino who then hits “tweet.”

Scavino, a longtime aide who worked his way up from the job of caddy to general manager at one of Trump’s golf courses, then on to social media director during the campaign, has carried much of the White House digital load himself at all hours of the day and night.

Often sitting right next to the President while he is active on Twitter, Scavino not only posts the tweets on the @realDonaldTrump account, but also @POTUS, @WhiteHouse. Same goes for those platforms on Facebook, the senior administration official said.

Contrast Trump’s skeletal Twitter crew with that of former President Barack Obama whose social media team was led by Jason Goldman, a former Twitter executive who boasted a White House digital staff of 20 employees all creating memes and Vines that churned out the administration’s message.

Or consider Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s digital team, which described itself to CNN way back in 2015 as a “production company.” Yet it was Trump whose use of Twitter connected with voters in ways that most politicians never envisioned.

Still, Trump stirred up controversy last week with a tweet on his personal account that slammed Nordstrom department stores for dumping his daughter Ivanka’s product line. The official White House @POTUS account retweeted the tweet, raising questions about the proper use of an account that is typically reserved for government business.

Scavino can often be seen at the President’s events, snapping photos that are later used across Trump’s array of social media platforms.

The White House is expected to make more high-profile hiring decisions soon as a search is under way for a new communications director. White House press secretary Sean Spicer is currently handling both jobs, roles that are typically carried out by two staffers.