Donald Trump sticks to the script in Reddit AMA

Donald Trump has tossed some fresh red meat to his Reddit faithful in an "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) session with supporters on the social news service. But while users were encouraged to ask him anything, the property mogul’s answers proved characteristically long on bombast and short on specifics.

How will he tackle the influence of money on politics, asked one. “Keeping Crooked Hillary Clinton out of the White House!” Mr Trump replied. What role should Nasa play in making America great again, asked another. “Nasa is wonderful!” The Donald shot back.

The Republican presidential nominee was on his way to a rally in Ohio as he began the AMA on Wednesday evening, and the spotty WiFi on board Trump Force One delayed the session by around 30 minutes. Soon, though, the softball questions were flying thick and fast. “Are you tired of winning?” went one. “I am never tired of winning,” Mr Trump responded.

The AMA was a coup for the pro-Trump subreddit that hosted it, /r/The_Donald, a popular online meeting place for the alleged billionaire’s most fervent, web-savvy supporters. With more than 180,000 subscribers (Hillary Clinton’s has approximately 21,000), it is currently the third-most active subreddit, according to Wired – more popular even than /r/PokemonGo.

But while Mr Trump's question-and-answer session attracted some 22,000 questions and comments, the candidate provided just eight answers during the hour-long AMA.

On specific policy issues, he was conspicuously vague. Asked what he would do for young people, he promised to “create millions of new jobs, reform our education system, and work to free young Americans from the awful burden of debt.”

To a Redditor who said their health costs had “skyrocketed” under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Mr Trump vowed to repeal “disastrous Obamacare” and replace it with his “amazing new plan”, which sounds exactly like dusty old GOP proposals, such as allowing patients to purchase health insurance across state lines.

The presidential hopeful hit familiar notes on his immigration plans and support for the police, and reiterated his call to disillusioned Bernie Sanders supporters, describing his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton as a “puppet” of special interests and insisting he would fix “one of Bernie’s biggest issues, our terrible trade deals that strip our country of its jobs and wealth.”

Distrust of – and disgust for – Ms Clinton proved to be a theme, as it was at last week’s Republican convention in Cleveland, and again at Mr Trump's bizarre Wednesday morning press conference. One Redditor claimed they “firmly believe Hillary will try and steal this election through vote fraud,” which Mr Trump said was “always a serious concern.”

In fact, the rate of voter fraud in US elections is vanishingly small, though Mr Trump’s ardent Reddit fans are unlikely to take a journalist’s word for it. “The dishonest media is rigging our democracy with a radical agenda that divides Americans,” wrote a user from Maryland with the Reddit handle “PM-ME-UR-BEST-PHOTO”.

Mr Trump agreed. “I have been very concerned about media bias and the total dishonesty of the press,” he responded. “I think new media is a great way to get out the truth.”