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Trump and Twitter: Message to Washington — Let It Be!
Count me as a dissenter on the biggest question facing Washington: Should Donald Trump be allowed (whatever that means) to keep his Twitter account? With one voice, Washington shouts, “No. No. No.” I reply, “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
I spent seven years in the Reagan Administration. My assignments ranged from management review of the government, to urban and international economic policy, to speechwriter for the vice president and then for the president. Unlike any role outside of the White House, my every day as a presidential speechwriter was dominated by one question: How do we keep control of the Washington agenda?
People talk about the power of the presidency… the Bully Pulpit and all that. But those of us in speechwriting (and other communications roles) could never afford to forget that, with the exception of the occasional fleeting moment, we started each day on the defense – and our job was always, always to turn the situation around, putting the president back in charge of the capital’s conversation.
For then as now every day started with the before-dawn arrival on doorsteps and desks of the two most powerful anti-administration voices in town — not the Democrats in Congress, but the New York Times and the Washington Post. Those papers set the day’s agenda for the big television morning shows (at the time just CBS, NBC, and ABC), more often than not attacking the president’s decisions and purposes and, unless countered, for the rest of the news day.
Generally the first effective White House response would be the press secretary’s late morning briefing. “Effective” meant strong enough from a high enough source that journalists felt compelled to acknowledge and quote. Direct presidential comment might come via answering a question on the way to or from an event or in a speech. But while speeches often proved by far the most effective tools for stopping, redirecting, or reversing media tides, the speechwriting process with all its clearances and tied as it was to an established schedule usually required a day or two to work its magic. In other words, the White House could always count on being hours or days behind the message curve.
With his Twitter feed, Donald Trump has changed all that.
This Friday provided a perfect example. In terms of front page column inches, The Times’ biggest story was that four cabinet secretaries designate had given confirmation-hearing answers that seemed to put daylight between them and their boss-to-be, or as the headline said, “Latest to Disagree With Trump: His Nominees.” The Times was making yet another effort in the ongoing campaign to delegitimize and cripple the President-elect before he enters office.
In an earlier era this headline would have dominated “Morning Joe” and all the other shows unanswered. Not now. At 6:49 am, Trump tweeted, “All of my Cabinet nominees are looking good and doing a great job. I want them to be themselves and express their own thought, not mine!” The shows had to carry it, so by the time Washington turned to its papers and turned on its TVs, he had already diminished the “new administration at war with itself” line and introduced a substitute: “self-confident leader encourages healthy debate among advisors.”
Yes, Donald Trump may have his Twitter missteps. At times he may prove too quick on the draw, as arguably he was in responding to Congressman John Lewis’ reprehensible statement that the constitutionally elected President-elect of the United States will not be a “legitimate” president. The civil rights movement of which the congressman was so noble a leader prevailed by affirming the Constitution and the rule of law. That was the whole point of Dr. King’s strategy of non-violence. Now Congressman Lewis appears to be against both.
But as for Mr. Trump, missteps will be the price that the current minute-by-minute news cycle exacts if the incoming President is to keep control of the Washington agenda. The pace of undermining reports will be too fast for all the careful vetting that was once the rule, particularly when much of the major media and elements in the opposition party are pedal to the metal and in overdrive to neuter the Trump presidency before it starts.
Published in General
Maybe Lewis was but now he is in the same situation as John McCain. They live in the past. Jackson and Sharpton have never been other than leeches.
Is this Trump’s plan? I doubt it from earlier statements. Are not the comments from Bob and Skyler above an indication that a discussion of the actual planned changes would be useful. Just controlling the “narrative” and win some twitter fights is not going to ensure good outcomes.
This is true. If employers opt out of the medical insurance business those with pre-existing conditions previously able to be insured as part of an employer group will then be in an individual marketplace that has never offered this coverage. An interstate competitive market should do it. But this may be an obstacle for congressional negotiations even amongst republicans.
He may have been referring to political feasibility. We don’t live in a dictatorship.
That is probably true, but he wouldn’t have been a. childish, b. whiny, or c. near-incoherent. Trump’s tweets are all three. His approval numbers are tanking, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Both his and HRC’s numbers rose when they stayed out of sight and, especially, out of earshot.
If he could find some self control, Trump could make good use of Twitter. But, in the meantime, a moratorium on tweets seems wise.
I wonder the master plan is for Trump to be the guy who stirs the pot, kicks up poop and becomes the lightning rod for shock, horror, hate, offense and outrage, while competent underlings quietly go about the business of getting the work done out of the limelight.
RCP approval poll:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/trump_favorableunfavorable-5493.html
Scroll down a little to see the trend since July. He went from +39 unfavorable to +6. He was at +4 a few days back. So I don’t get that he is tanking. Obama’s are -13 unfavorable (13% more people approve than disapprove). Would you rather have him?
comment deleted by Skyler
You can’t change the constraints of the political reality if you don’t start changing the constraints of the discussion.
I have no idea what Trump will do, what he will encourage, and what he would accept. But so far he has shown that he understands that he has to change the way of reacting to decades of progressive/communist attacks.
I really don’t want to think of what would be going on and how the results would be playing out from the media, Hollywood, democrats, and NT republicans if Trump were operating without Twitter.
Your presence here in Ricochet was a big reason for me to join. Thank you for coming back. Your insights are primo.
John Lewis chose a graceless, classless message and brayed it for public distribution. I agree with DocJay: Give it to them the same way they dish it out.
Trump is taking a page out of the playbook of one of his earliest supporters, and the student is outdoing the teacher.
In 2008, Sarah Palin was eviscerated by the mainstream media, from Katie Couric to SNL. Less than a year later, the barracuda from Alaska did an end-run around them and their controlled messaging with her Facebook post about ObamaCare. No one can forget her pithy take on the inevitable end result of government run medicine: not wanting her parents and precious son to have to go in front of death panels.
“Death panels” is still part of the lexicon of ObamaCare opponents. It was from a freakin’ Facebook post but might have been one of the most important things ever said about that law.
I was not thrilled when Sarah endorsed Trump over Cruz, to say the least. But I now think I understand why she did.
I think this preemption of the media and the ruling elite by Trump using Twitter is about the most surprising development in the public information arena of my lifetime. The politicians and media are having much difficulty and academia seems to have disappeared from the conflict.
Why?
Have you not heard some lawmakers mention replace, that they see some elements of Obamacare as keepers? This is the most mentioned.
Yeah, it makes me ill.
Somehow the effect of repealing ACA should leave or make room in the marketplace for some separation of insurance against unexpected illness and accidents from prepaid care for normal dental work, periodic physical exams, maternity care, birth control, etc. Most of this last category does not need to be covered with insurance, it’s normal maintenance. We already had another post showing the two tiered care levels that have developed in dermatology as it separates treatment for skin diseases from cosmetic procedures. I’m betting on some good ideas to come from the market, better than those from government.
I was repeating some reporting I heard. Thanks for the correction. And, no, I wouldn’t rather have Obama. I dread seeing the inevitable Miss-me-yet? memes featuring his smirk.
That said, I stand by my opinion that Twitter will serve Trump well only if he reins in his impulse to punch back at every slight. It just doesn’t look good to get in petty spats.
Why would that change what you think of his tweets?
I heard that meme about his approval tanking as well…so I looked it up. When you mentioned it I was already well armed. Although, his tweeting is a powerful weapon, I agree that it will lose its affect if overused.