Flemington, NJ, February 7, 2012 – A new social media monitoring study revealed that Facebook and Twitter users view Mitt Romney as less favorable after learning about Donald Trump’s endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate.
The study was conducted by HCD Research during February 2-3 using a social media analysis application. User comments were captured from the time the endorsement was announced on February 2, until February 3 at approximately 9 a.m. EST. All of the comments that were analyzed included a mention of the endorsement.
The charts below illustrate Facebook and Twitter users’ reactions to Trump’s endorsement. On both social sites, a small percentage of users indicated that they viewed the announcement in a positive light. Conversely, nearly 50% of Facebook posts and nearly 30% of Twitter posts indicated that the announcement was viewed as a negative for his campaign.
Positive comments include users’ approval of the endorsement or belief that Trump’s support would benefit Mitt Romney. Negative comments include users’ disapproval or belief that it would hurt Romney overall. More specifically, many users with negative opinions reported that Romney will become further distanced from middle and lower class Americans by linking himself to the wealthy Trump. Neutral comments included objective mentions of the endorsement; users’ discontent with the amount of media attention surrounding the announcement; and users’ opinions regarding Trump in his own context.


Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).
HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.