National Affairs: Has the political selfie run its course?

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 27, 2019.

Selfies: friend or foe of democracy?

Though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau likely has much in common with the candidates vying to lead the U.S. Democratic party, a divergence of thought emerged last week on the subject of selfies: those ubiquitous self-taken photos that clutter social media feeds.

On whether they’re a good or bad thing, Trudeau and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren appear to be somewhat at odds. No doubt surprisingly to those who have dubbed Canada’s prime minister the king of selfies, this difference of opinion has Warren on the “for” side and Trudeau expressing some reservations.

Warren put her pro-selfie stand firmly and repeatedly on the table during (the Dec. 19) Democratic debate in Los Angeles. Posing for selfies, Warren argued, is how she stays in touch with the voters in America.

“You know, I made the decision when I decided to run not to do business as usual,” said Warren. “And now I’m proud to have been in 100,000 selfies. That’s 100,000 hugs and handshakes and stories, stories from people who are struggling with student loan debt, stories from people who can’t pay their medical bills, stories from people who can’t find child care.”

Warren, who is running as an avowed anti-elitist, presented selfies as the polar opposite of campaigning at ritzy fundraisers with wealthy donors – a practice that ignited some sparks among the senator and the six other candidates in debate with her last week.

“Most of the people on this stage run a traditional campaign. And that means going back and forth from coast to coast to rich people and people who can put up 5,000 bucks or more in order to have a picture taken, in order to have a conversation, and in order maybe to be considered to be an ambassador,” Warren said.

“Those selfies cost nobody anything.”

Trudeau, had he been on that same stage, might have lodged a dissenting opinion on selfies as a voter contact tool. Coincidentally, in a long, personal radio chat with his friend and Montreal radio host Terry DiMonte on Thursday, the prime minister talked about how selfies can actually create a communication barrier between politicians and citizens.

He described the usual scene when he walks into a building or event and people are waiting to see him – smartphones in hand.

“I’ll walk over to say hi to them and they’ve all got their hands on their phone, trying to take a picture of me,” he said. “And maybe they’re not used to taking pictures on the phone, they’re trying to figure out the menus and stuff.”

Meanwhile, as they sort out the mechanics of taking the photo, these would-be selfie-takers have the prime minister standing in front of them, Trudeau points out.

“It’s like, no, I’m here, I want to shake your hand and say hi and how are you doing, and you’re busy trying to take a picture,” Trudeau said, “And then, as soon as you take it, you look down and try to post it as quickly as you can and I’m like, I’m here and I want to interact with you!”

Trudeau’s opponents have been describing him as a leader of selfies over substance for years – an accusation that sometimes makes him bristle. Back in 2016, not long after he became prime minister, I interviewed Trudeau in his Parliament Hill office.

At one point, pointing to his phone, he asked me to guess how many selfies he had on it.

I guessed 40,000. The answer was zero.

“I never take any pictures on my phone,” Trudeau said, going on to explain how selfies of today are like the autographs that his father, Pierre Trudeau, was always being asked to sign. They’re not something that politicians ask of citizens, but vice versa.

So I asked Trudeau, realistically, how much could he learn about someone in a selfie encounter? Or in an autograph signing, for that matter?

“If now taking a selfie is a way of validating that they’re connected to this country we have, then I take that very, very seriously,” Trudeau said. (That’s roughly the same point Elizabeth Warren was making in the Democrat debate.)

But obviously Trudeau’s view of selfies is evolving. The prime minister who has deliberately adopted a lower profile since this fall’s election is now saying that he’d like to do a little more handshaking and a little less posing for pictures. Trudeau told DiMonte that hes increasingly suggesting to people – especially when he’s with his family or enjoying other kinds of downtime – that they put the phone away and settle for a handshake instead.

“This job and this role puts up lots of barriers,” Trudeau said. “When there’s that barrier of a phone screen instead of a real human interaction,” he added, he chooses interaction.

There’s a tip, then, for those who may run into politicians during their travels this holiday season.

If it’s Elizabeth Warren, take out your phone. If it’s Trudeau, maybe not.

Susan Delacourt (@susandelacourt) is a national affairs writer for Torstar Syndication Services.