The topic of this research paper is the role of digital media in the rise of populists. The focus is on the official social media platforms of two populists - US President Donald Trump (USA) and Parliamentary Representative of the Living Wall Ivan Pernar (Croatia), and also the role of digital media in representing their posts as news. The first task of this research was to determine the number of posts that five news sites had published and whose topic was a social media post from Trump or from Pernar. The second part of the research involves a qualitative analysis that seeks to determine whether these news sites take over posts on one of four themes: (1) the post criticizes politicians/parties/government / other countries / the media; (2) the post criticizes the 'general situation in the country' and / or attacks a 'offender' for it; (3) the post shows the politician as a part of the 'ordinary people'; and (4) a politician self-proclaimes himself as a "victim" of someone else (a political opponent, of the media, or the society). This research has shown that social media posts of two populists include these topics, sometimes also in combination (for example, they show criticism of media, but also claim that the politician is a "victim of constant media attacks"). One of the main differences in the social media posts of Trump and Pernar is that Trump mostly attacks others, while Pernar largely identifies himself with 'ordinary people'.