In 2015, it's not enough for presidential candidates to simply have a Twitter account.
Their campaigns have to promote their policy positions, defend the candidates from verbal attacks, jab a few rivals themselves, make the candidates look like regular folks, and a bunch more.
After a few months of campaigning, some candidates are clearly better at it than others. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is the king of the attack. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton is really, really trying to make her look normal. But no matter who is good at what, almost all of their tweets tend to fit certain formulas, and we've broken them down, below.
The attack
This is Trump's domain. He fires verbal shots when he feels like it, and the attacks read like they're straight from the gut instead of the carefully crafted invectives of just about every other candidate. In other words, he tweets like he talks.
Anyone reading this profile of Marco Rubio would never vote for him. Never made ten cents & is totally controlled! http://t.co/KA0LvfFJfM— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2015
Trump has attacked just about everyone, though most of his Republican rivals direct their attacks at Clinton.
Unlike @HillaryClinton, my energy policies aren't stuck in the 1990s -- I support building the Keystone XL pipeline. http://t.co/HdjaxdlqBb— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 22, 2015
In FL, we put students ahead of the teachers' unions. @HillaryClinton just accepted their endorsement, choosing special interests instead.— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 5, 2015
And, of course, President Obama.
.@POTUS show of disrespect for @Pontifex is a new low for an admin that will go down as most anti-Christian in American history #PopeInUS— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) September 21, 2015
Or sometimes both.
I dare @HillaryClinton & @BarackObama to watch these videos & tell Americans we should fund them w/ taxpayer $$. http://t.co/E0QN2Y9PWE— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) September 17, 2015
The Democrats' favorite target has so far been former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
In this week's Facebook Q&A, Hillary took on Jeb’s claim that Democrats use "free stuff" to appeal to minorities. pic.twitter.com/nx2FrUKl5G— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 4, 2015
Can't @JebBush and the GOP run a campaign without attacking African Americans, Latinos, Muslims or other people?— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 25, 2015
The "I'm a human being"
Like corporations, politicians are people, too. Here are some examples of their humanity.
Dancing!
Had so much fun at @theellenshow today. Tune in on Thursday! https://t.co/GSJXlaWDMM— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 8, 2015
Fun with the kids!
Life lessons w/ Catherine while mini golfing. Sometimes you get a hole-in-one. Sometimes you get stuck under a castle pic.twitter.com/sCp4vo5CcX— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) October 3, 2015
Jokes!
This young man having lunch at Blake's guessed my age was 47. Just a few years off! pic.twitter.com/WkCUDvW3Ci— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) September 30, 2015
Dogs!
My dog Snickers was made famous on @jimmyfallon, but Max was feeling left out. https://t.co/kOFVVoC5g8— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) October 3, 2015
Food!
Stopped by @portilloshotdog in Chicago. No ketchup ✅ Chicago style ✅ -John pic.twitter.com/8loZzUDpAm— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) September 29, 2015
Football!
My #FSU staffers vandalized my office door before I arrived this morning with references to aberrations in #UFvsFSU pic.twitter.com/kDe0Nc8Pwq— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 15, 2015
Policy Position
The most obvious thing a candidate an do on Twitter is tweet about their political positions. Not surprisingly, all of them do it (though some are more articulate than others).
Q: Should there be a pathway to citizenship? Search more of Carly’s answers at http://t.co/sIWIyxiodv. https://t.co/wDuAj0OfLv— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) September 24, 2015
"It’s time for us to say, wait a minute. We’re better than this. Our country is better than this." —Hillary on gun violence— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 5, 2015
It is time to stop letting multi-national corporations rig the system to pad their profits at our expense. http://t.co/ZPwmHOVkdL #StopTPP— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 5, 2015
I came out against the Keystone Pipeline over a year ago. Why? https://t.co/rGwfekP08q— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) September 30, 2015
My tax plan puts money back in the pockets of American families. What would you do with your extra $2,000? https://t.co/n4AcXv7VtN— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 5, 2015
I will rebuild the military, take care of vets and make the world respect the US again! Join me today. Info: http://t.co/oiPQsJt7fh— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2015
And some clarify their positions by juxtaposing them against the positions of others.
Why we can’t tolerate President Obama’s #IranDeal — and what we can do about It: http://t.co/6PPotpXvvb— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 15, 2015
Saddened to see that the Senate has blocked a bill that would have increased protection of innocent life. All life is worth protecting.— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) September 22, 2015
The endorsement
Candidates like when people are on their side, and they they like to talk (or tweet) about it.
Those endorsements often come from politicians.
Proud to have the endorsement of Rep @JohnMoolenaar from the great state of Michigan. We're working every day for a New American Century!— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 24, 2015
I am honored to have the endorsement of so many conservative leaders from key caucus states. Read more here: https://t.co/lnIR8on6UY— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 1, 2015
Proud to have your support, Rep. @LynnJenkins! #Carly2016 https://t.co/3MKU88Vbzr— Carly Fiorina (@CarlyFiorina) September 23, 2015
Grabbing coffee in OKC with the newest member of the team. So honored to have @AGScottPruitt on board! pic.twitter.com/unVSabg96f— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) September 29, 2015
Sometimes, they're from businesspeople.
Carl Icahn said this about me: "I think at this moment in time, he’s the only candidate that speaks out about the country’s problems."— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 29, 2015
And sometimes, they're from Marc Anthony.
Join Hillary and @marcanthony: Text LATINOS to 47246 to be part of Latinos for Hillary! pic.twitter.com/5m2FoZc00g— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 3, 2015
The clarification
With every campaign cycle comes the inevitable slew of cringeworthy and eyebrow-raising things presidential candidates say and do, some of which they actually address after the fact.
Sometimes, they address controversies by framing their response as an apology, as Clinton tried to do here while talking about her use of a private email address to conduct State Department business.
Hillary to @DavidMuir: "I should have used two accounts... I’m sorry about that, I take responsibility.” https://t.co/cDPKnCx9l0— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 9, 2015
But candidates will often defend themselves from what they feel was an unfair attack (here, Trump is also king).
Trump did as much after a man at a Trump rally said Obama was not from the U.S.
Am I morally obligated to defend the president every time somebody says something bad or controversial about him? I don't think so!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2015
Bush did the same thing after an out-of-context quote--"stuff happens"--bounced around social media on Friday in the wake of the most recent mass-shooting in America.
Liberal Dems & some in media distorted my words to advance their agenda in wake of tragedy. It's wrong. Thx to those who set record straight— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) October 2, 2015
Twitter recently put out a 136-page manual telling politicians how they can best make use of their tweets. In those pages are many suggestions--be yourself, relate to people, call out people with the "@" symbol, and more.
Some politicians come off more relatable than others. Trump, for his part, seems more natural than anyone. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has always liked Florida University sports, so it's not like he's making up a love of the school's rivalry with Florida State. Clinton is at least trying--letting Jimmy Fallon tug on her hair, dancing with Ellen DeGeneres, etc.
Those tweets appear straight from the literal handbook, and candidates have taken Twitter's suggestion to call people out by calling out their opponents.
Whether they've read the book or not, they all definitely have a formula.