Story highlights Julian Zelizer: Trump's tweets should be treated as political acts -- not mere distractions

Particularly since the President is using his tweets as a rhetorical means to divide, insult and spread false information, writes Zelizer

Julian Zelizer is a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and the author of "The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society." He's also the co-host of the "Politics & Polls" podcast. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

(CNN) From the start of his administration, President Donald Trump has used presidential tweets as a wrecking ball that divides, insults and spreads false information -- confusing the nation in ways that potentially benefit his administration.

And this weekend was no exception. With residents of Puerto Rico struggling to survive a humanitarian disaster, the President sent out a barrage of hate-filled tweets, invoking racial stereotypes and fueling division in the body politic.

It would be a grave mistake to ask, as the media often does, whether this is another "distraction" from the serious issues confronting the Oval Office, an effort to shift public attention away from the President's more serious problems like the collapse of health care legislation or the growing tension with North Korea.

But presidential tweets are in fact serious business, and they should be considered political acts of the first degree. Since the founding of the Republic, and even more so in the age of radio, television and now the Internet, presidential rhetoric is one of the most powerful tools that the commander-in-chief has at his disposal. The bully pulpit, a concept which Trump takes literally, allows the president to pit social groups against one another or to unite them, to convey critical information to help in times of trouble or to spread false information that skews public conversations, and to assist allies or delegitimize opponents.

In other words, presidential rhetoric, including tweets, are incredibly significant, and every 140-character missive should be treated as a deliberate political move.

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