⭐ Start off 2025 with a powerful boost to your portfolio: January’s freshest AI-picked stocksUnlock stocks

Trump naysayers push #NeverTrump on Twitter before Super Tuesday

Published 02/29/2016, 03:19 PM
Updated 02/29/2016, 03:30 PM
© Reuters. A supporter holds up a magazine that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signed for her during a campaign event in Radford
TWTR
-

By Gina Cherelus and Melissa Fares

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The use of the #NeverTrump hashtag grew on Twitter (N:TWTR) on Monday as detractors of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump fretted over his momentum on the eve of Super Tuesday election contests.

On Twitter, the top influencer, or person who received the most engagement on their #NeverTrump tweets, was Trump rival Marco Rubio, according to online research firm Hashtagify.me.

The senator from Florida and real estate billionaire Trump are engaged in an increasingly personal battle of insults on social media before voters in more than a dozen states select their party's nominee to run for the White House in November.

Rubio began using the tag on Friday, tweeting: "Donald Trump is a con artist - and he cannot be our nominee. #NeverTrump." The tweet received more than 8,000 "likes" and 5,100 retweets.

He repeated the tag in three more tweets over the weekend, with each one getting several thousand likes or retweets.

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign did not immediately return calls for comment.

Another major influencer on the tag was conservative commentator Glenn Beck (@glennbeck), even though he has used it just once, on Sunday. Beck supports U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in the campaign.

Still, Beck's post - "Praying for this great country. Praying for a true constitutionalist! God bless (an emblem for the American flag). #NeverTrump #CruzCrew" - proved influential, getting retweeted nearly 1,000 times and liked nearly 2,000 times.

Traffic on the hashtag was dominated by users who identify as conservative or Republican, most expressing vexation with the front-runner.

Many tweets focused on Trump's CNN interview on Sunday, when he declined to repudiate an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trump later said he did not hear the question properly because of a defective ear piece.

Whitney Westerfield (@KyWhitney), a Republican state senator from Kentucky, tweeted on Monday, "Wow. Trump blaming his failure to repudiate the hatred & extremism of the KKK on a #BadEarpiece. #NeverTrump."

"No, the white supremacist/David Duke/KKK question isn't hard. Reject their support & denounce their hate. Again & again & again. #nevertrump," said Stephen Hayes (@stephenhayes), a writer for the Weekly Standard, a weekly conservative magazine.

Trump supporters have countered with their own hashtag: #AlwaysTrump.

"We must continue to fight on social media, the Peoples Revolution, the strongest tool right now! #TRUMP2016 #AlwaysTrump," wrote Trump supporter Linda Alexander (@noopdoggy).

© Reuters. A supporter holds up a magazine that U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signed for her during a campaign event in Radford

Still, the #NeverTrump hashtag was winning the trending battle, seeing roughly twice the traffic as #AlwaysTrump on Monday, according to social media analytics firm Zoomph.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2025 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.