Donald Trump, Russia, and How Twitter Always Reacts

May 16, 2017 12:49 PM EDT

The Trump Administration follows a remarkably consistent pattern when it comes to whatever the brouhaha of the day may be.

Whether it’s a claim of wiretapping at Trump Tower, the firing of FBI Director James Comey or the reported revealing of classified information in an Oval Office meeting with the Russians, the actions and reactions are fairly predictable.

In that light, here’s a ready-made guide to the next Trump brouhaha, in President Trump‘s favorite medium: Twitter.

1. Whoa. Crazy story in that [legacy media outlet] on Trump Administration's approach to [subject].
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

2. Cable news can't stop talking about that crazy story in [legacy media outlet].
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

3. Rough White House press briefing. Spicer says that crazy story is not news but won't explain what's wrong exactly.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

4. Huh. [Newer online news outlet] has confirmed some of that [legacy media outlet] story from earlier and added more details.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

5. White House still sticking with the argument that it's not true, but the only person on TV defending them is Jeffrey Lord.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

6. Some White House aides just [went on TV/gave a brief statement and took no questions/called reporters] on that story.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

7. Good morning! Trump is tweeting up a story about that story from yesterday. He's sticking it to [Congress/Chuck Schumer/Hillary Clinton].
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

8. Whoa. Trump just contradicted what the White House aides said yesterday on a key line of defense on that crazy story.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

9. Pretty good tick-tock on how yesterday went down in [a different legacy media outlet]. Rough day!
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

10. Anonymous Republican senator in [a third media outlet] says off the record that the whole thing is "very troubling."
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

11. Speaker Ryan won't comment on the story, says he's focused on tax reform for the American people.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

12. Mitch McConnell finally breaks silence, says he hopes "everyone will calm down so we can get back to work."
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

13. New poll shows that crazy story hasn't really affected Trump's approval ratings, which remain low but high among Republicans.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

14. Fox News has an interesting segment today on [Hillary Clinton/Benghazi] but so far hasn't mentioned the story.
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

15. Breitbart has a story up now, blaming the whole thing on [Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama/the Deep State].
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

16. Sean Spicer at the press briefing: "The tweet speaks for itself."
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

17. Whoa. Another crazy story in [legacy media outlet] on Trump Administration's approach to [subject].
— Ryan Teague Beckwith (@ryanbeckwith) May 16, 2017

Here’s a Play-by-Play of How Twitter Will React to the Next Trump Controversy

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