Mandates are tricky and elusive. They’re often claimed; seldom delivered. So, when one appears on the horizon, the wise leader must quickly seize it — or risk losing it forever.
President-elect Donald Trump won his first mandate on Election Day, capturing a majority of Americans and an impressive 86 more electoral votes than his opponent. Obviously, the voters chose Trump for a reason. But not everyone voted for Trump for the same reason, so it beckons the question: A mandate to do… what?
Some Trump voters were pro-life absolutists. Others were motivated by foreign policy. Many more voted with their pocketbooks and/or wallets. All of these (and more) might still be somewhere on Trump’s agenda, but not all of ‘em can sit atop his priority list.
It’s like Highlander: There can be only one.
This creates an inherent conflict — especially in a lurid, backstabbing, Machiavellian cesspool like D.C., where every pig wants first at the trough. If Trump doesn’t define his mandate himself, there’s a very long list of GOPportunists (new word I invented: GOP+ Opportunist = GOPportunist) who’ll elbow their way to the front and define it for him.
However, there’s an undeniable, irrefutable mandate for a national course-correction. When 72% of Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country, simply changing directions is a move in the right direction. As long as it’s a deviation from the status quo, Trump’s mandate has a great deal of latitude.
He just needs to set it, sell it, and execute it.
But every now and then, a gift drops into your lap — like manna from Heaven. You’re just minding your own business, doing your own thing, and BOOM! A new mandate appears.
We should’ve seen it coming: Last weekend was the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It’s when millions of Americans are on the open roads, spending time with their loved ones, and focusing on family. It’s a time of joy and love (and the Dallas Cowboys covering the point spread) — when we reconnect with our friends and family, creating moments of magic that will last a lifetime.
Which makes it a GREAT window to drop nasty PR!
Usually in PR, you’re trying to drum up publicity. The more coverage, the better. But other times, you’re actually trying to do the opposite: You job is to release bad news, but to do so in a way that minimizes how many people will see and hear it.
Whenever there’s an unpopular story to share, timing its release date around Thanksgiving, Christmas, or the July 4th weekend is a time-honored trick in the PR trade.
It wasn’t accidental that Joe Biden announced his full, unconditional pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, late on Sunday evening of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend!
Joe Biden might’ve lost his marbles, but his PR team still knows which way is up. If he wasn’t going to wait until the morning of January 20th to save his son, this was always going to be the date.
But in doing so, he’s inadvertently given Donald Trump a second mandate: Reform the Justice Department ASAP!
Don’t focus on Hunter being an addict or a criminal. Don’t focus on the Biden family corruption either. Instead, think about the substance of what President Biden actually said in his statement to the American people:
…I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.
It is clear that Hunter was treated differently.
The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.
No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong.
Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice — and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. [emphasis added]
Holy smokes! Our Justice Department is so corrupt — so morally depraved and easily manipulated — that not even the president’s son can have a fair trial anymore!
After all, this was Joe Biden’s Justice Department! If his own kid can’t even get a fair trial from his Dad’s Justice Department, the rest of us don’t have a prayer! By the president’s own admission, “raw politics” has infected our judicial system. That’s terrible! Someone’s gotta do something about it.
The new guy, perhaps?
(I did find it odd that Biden called it a “miscarriage of justice,” since he favors late-term abortions, but I digress.)
The incoming Trump administration must jump all over this: Hey, it’s one of the few areas in Washington where there’s (now) bipartisan consensus! Reform the Justice Department ASAP.
Thanks, Joe. You’re the gift that keeps on giving!
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