How Should the GOP Communicate Publicly in the Trump Era of Tweets and Rants?
Andrew Blum, Principal, AJB CommunicationsWhat should the GOP PR message be in the age of Trump?When President Donald Trump went on Twitter the other day to charge that the Obama administration had wiretapped his office at Trump Tower, it was the latest PR flap and big media story for the GOP to deal with.Do they as the GOP support Trump no matter what, or at some point, do they jump ship?We are in a very heated political atmosphere and divided country in 2017, and the GOP is publicly straddling the line between all is fine and what the heck do we do if this keeps up? How weird does it have to get before they say or do something huge?Perhaps Trump and his administration may help the GOP decide what their ultimate messaging should be. If the Russia crisis gets worse or more revelations about Trump, his campaign officials and his current advisors and Russia come out, the GOP may have no choice but to say publicly he's wrong and run away from him.It's not just Russia as an issue here for the GOP. There are accusations of "hiding" their replacement plan for Obamacare even from their own members. They are in charge of the government and it looks in disarray – it's just bad optics.And what about Trump in general, when is sticking with him or going independent a smart move? What should the GOP PR plan be going forward?The answer lies in the fact that Trump wants to be considered the "TV President." So, memo to GOP: TV, just like politics and PR, is all about perception. If the country sees that the GOP continues to support Trump and his administration as more goes wrong and wacky, they will be on the wrong end of perception.They need to figure it out before the 2018 elections become a referendum on the GOP and a standard-bearer who says just about anything without proof so he can distract from other issues.Oh, and some other advice: the media – dubbed by Trump, Stephen Bannon and others as the so-called enemy of the people -- will keep plugging away at this same narrative.One thing the GOP should know is you can't stop the media no matter how hard you try. Even former President George W. Bush said recently that he supports a free press. What's your next PR move, GOP?[author]About the Author: Andrew Blum is a PR consultant, media trainer and principal of AJB Communications. He has directed PR for professional services and financial services firms, NGOs, agencies and other clients. In the political realm, he handled PR for former NY Governor George Pataki for six years. As a PR executive, and formerly as a journalist, he has been involved on both sides of the media aisle in some of the most media intensive crises of the past 25 years. Contact him at ajbcomms@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @ajbcomms[/author]
