Power and Accountability: Individuals in positions of power should be held to a professional media standard

When an AI-generated video depicting President Donald Trump in a fighter jet dropping feces on peaceful "No Kings" protesters goes viral on social media, any sane person would assume it was posted by some random podcaster.

It certainly couldn’t be coming from the President of the United States himself. You know, the man who has the nuclear launch codes, who controls the most powerful army in the world and most importantly, who’s supposed to represent the very same Americans who were bullied in the video. 

Wrong.

Yes, on Oct. 18, Trump took it upon himself to post the video on his Truth Social account— a social media platform owned by the Trump Media & Technology Group — bullying “No Kings” protesters. And while everyone is technically able to post such videos due to free speech, it’s a question of should powerful individuals like Trump be using social media in immature ways.

In the past decade, social media has become one of the primary forms of communication, so the actions and words of leaders on platforms like TikTok, X, Truth Social or Facebook now carry unprecedented weight. Especially with the younger generation increasingly using social media as their main news source and being easily influenced.

Those in power should express the same amount of professionalism on their social media accounts as they do in person. Without online competence, they not only embarrass themselves but also the people they represent. 

Trump isn’t the only leader participating in these juvenile activities. California Governor Gavin Newsom has posted videos of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson giving his speeches as a minion from “Despicable Me.” The official White House Instagram account also posted edited videos of Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer wearing sombreros outside the Capitol building.

Whether they’re presidents, CEOs or celebrities, leaders online can inspire, influence or incite the people they represent. Unfortunately, leaders are now forgetting this crucial responsibility and engaging in petty and immature online arguments, which ruin their reputations while fueling division. 

The problem is that this type of online childish behavior has become so normalized that more leaders are stooping down to this level. These leaders are supposed to be the people we look up to. They are meant to be the best of the best, and their job and professionalism don’t just stop when they log into their Instagram accounts. 

You don’t see school principals trolling rival schools on Instagram. That's because it would be entirely unprofessional, and their actions would not only reflect poorly on themselves but also harm their school’s reputation.

A principal doing so would also increase divisions between the two schools. Leaders have the responsibility to be the bigger person, and when leaders post alienating content, they embolden their followers to replicate that behavior. How can the American people be expected to act with integrity and respect diverse opinions when their leaders are picking schoolyard fights on social media?

While social media is constantly changing, professionalism is timeless. It should always be a key quality of people in positions of power, whether they are online or in person. When you look at past presidents, it’s almost impossible to imagine someone like John F. Kennedy trolling Richard Nixon in the newspapers. The responsibility of honorable leadership shouldn’t be regressing.

Now, of course, political cartoons can be found all throughout history, with immature and offensive jokes about important figures, but none of them were ever written by the prominent figures themselves. Leaders should leave the trolling to those who have nothing better to do and instead focus on doing their job and improving our lives.

Politicians and CEOs need to get their act together, or else in 50 years, students in history class will be analyzing an X post about a president endorsing the idea of literal poop falling on Americans who disagree with him. Students will completely miss out on getting to analyze a leader’s powerful actions like they do now with Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address or Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 

Hopefully, the next generation will be able to look at individuals in power, on TV or their social media feed, and see an inspiration, not a bully.