Here’s how you build a PR/crisis communications plan in 30 seconds: First, figure out where you currently are. Then decide where you’d like to be.
That’s pretty much it.
Your PR/crisis communications plan is the “roadmap” that takes you from Point A to Point B. Nothing more, nothing less.
(The shortest, most efficient path is usually preferable; your mileage may vary, yada yada.)
Of course, all well-researched roadmaps have landmarks — indicators that let you know you’re headed in the right direction. Landmarks are absolutely essential because without them, not only will you get lost, but you won’t even realize how badly lost you are until it’s too late to change directions.
Fun fact: Large companies often rely on a “metrics dashboard” — a cheat code of regularly updated stats that serve as landmarks. When these metrics (such as incoming phone calls, social media engagements, new orders, or whatever) fall off a cliff, that’s the warning sign: Something isn’t right with our roadmap, and we need a course correction.
In the world of politics, election results and poll numbers are the major landmarks. Ignore ‘em at your own peril.
And right now, the GOP’s numbers are all moving in the wrong direction.
Two weeks ago, the Republican Party got walloped on Election Day. More Americans blamed Trump and the GOP for the government shutdown. Poll after poll has shown record-low approval numbers for the White House.
These are the darkest, bleakest days of the second Trump administration. To quote the Bard, “Now is the winter autumn of our discontent.”
Three big issues are stymying MAGA: First is the affordability crisis. Inflation spiraled out of control under President Biden Autopen, and not enough Americans believe it’s improved. They’re still struggling with higher prices, unable to make ends meet.
Second is the Epstein mess. It’s become the weapon-of-choice to attack the president — and unfortunately, a litany of unforced errors by Attorney General Pam Bondi contributed mightily to the weaponization of the so-called “Epstein Files.” Ever since the Dems caved on the government shutdown, the Epstein mess has dominated the headlines.
Chances are excellent that it’ll continue to be an above-the-fold story all the way through the Thanksgiving holiday.
Third and finally is all the MAGAverse infighting. There’s an active attempt to hijack the MAGA movement by redefining what “America First” means, which we discussed yesterday:
To some, [“America First” is] a synonym for neo-isolationism. To others, it’s the exact opposite: It’s aggressively engaging with the world, but doing so on our own terms, prioritizing our national interests.
The public face of Republican-on-Republican warfare is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who’s gone from a MAGA stalwart to groveling on CNN, apologizing for being so gosh-darn mean to the Democrats.
(Hey, when have the Democrats ever apologized for attacking Trump? Oh yeah: They haven’t.)
The MTG rebellion is especially disheartening because it signals to ambitious Republicans in D.C. (which means, of course, ALL Republicans in D.C.) that rebelling against President Trump and openly collaborating with the Democrats is a smart, winning strategy. If you wanna go places, that’s how you do it.
Rep. Greene’s profile has never been higher, and her (jealous) GOP colleagues are certainly taking notes.
In a closely-divided House of Representatives, we can’t have packs of low-level Republicans going rogue, lobbing hand grenades at the White House and then celebrating on CNN. There must be consequences — or MTG’s rebellion won’t be a one-off.
Instead, she’ll be the first of many.
Here’s how President Trump should strike back:
For Marjorie Taylor Greene: Trump should recruit a high-quality primary challenger, document how many times MTG and her office called/texted the White House, and then… do nothing.
In MTG’s district, she first won her congressional seat by 74.7%. (Her predecessor, Rep. Tom Graves, won 76.5%.) In the two elections that followed, her percentage of votes dropped each time, falling to 64.37% by 2024.
Meanwhile, President Trump won 68% of the votes in her district in 2024, which matched the 68% he received in 2020. He’s more popular than MTG and could KO her in the primaries — assuming he recruits the right candidate.
By the way, I don’t believe for a second that MTG hasn’t “called [Trump] at all.” I’m guessing Marjorie — along with her staff — called, texted, and emailed the White House thousands of times.
Trump should publish the number, because MTG is giving “crazy ex-girlfriend” vibes: She looks and sounds like a woman scorned.
Blanketing the White House with THOUSANDS of unwanted messages would reinforce that “crazy ex-girlfriend” image.
But after sharing those stats, I wouldn’t say or do anything else ‘til it’s time for the primaries, because MTG’s ego will do all the dirty work for us: She’s so addicted to media attention that it’s a slam-dunk, can’t-miss, ironclad guarantee that she’ll do something stupid.
She’s not that bright, so give her enough rope to hang herself.
And she’s already in danger of overreaching, accusing the president of being a traitor.
From ABC News (yesterday):
Greene appeared to insinuate on Tuesday that Trump was the "traitor."
"Let me tell you what a traitor is. A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America and Americans like the women standing behind me now," Greene continued.
Yeah. I don’t think that’ll play too well in her home district.
Sometimes, the smartest PR strategy is to sit back and let the trash take itself out.
For the Epstein case: Just release the damn documents already. Trump needs to turn the drip-drip-drip into a stagnant puddle — and FINALLY put this story in the rearview mirror.
And the best way to get this behind us is to make a full, complete pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell part of the political conversation.
Jeffrey Epstein is dead. Tragically, so are many of his victims. Ghislaine Maxwell is the only one left who knows the complete truth — the who, what, where, and (most importantly) why.
Of course, she’s also a hideous, vile predator. We’re talking about a convicted child sex-trafficker. The dregs of humanity — the worst of the worst.
And the only way to get her to talk is to release her from prison.
But maybe, the Democrats (plus Republican “useful idiots” like Reps. Tom Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene) are right: Maybe the public interest in the Epstein case is so persuasive, we ought to free a woman who helped old men rape little girls.
If so, let them say it!
Right now, they’re arguing for transparency and “the victims.” That’s a cost-free advocacy position. They can — and will — keep pounding the war drums.
A choice between transparency-and-victims and secrets-and-villains is a no-brainer.
So let’s redirect the argument and make 'em argue for something else: If they’re really, truly serious about getting to the bottom of this, then Ghislaine Maxwell deserves a pardon. Now that Epstein’s dead (murdered?), she’s all we’ve got.
Make the Democrats argue in favor of pardoning Maxwell!
Because, if that’s the new choice, I guarantee you, the Epstein story will vanish from the news cycle pretty damn fast.
Once all the Epstein files are dumped, Ghislaine Maxwell will be the last riddle remaining.
Put the focus squarely on her — and force the Dems into an unwinnable choice.
For the affordability crisis: Sending poorer Americans a check for $2,000 would certainly help lessen the brunt of inflation, although it’s unclear how the math would work.
Still, mass-mailing $2K checks a few months before the 2026 midterms would obviously be impactful: The majority of the money would probably go straight back into the economy, stimulating growth. (And possibly inflation.)
Unfortunately, too many Americans are blaming Trump’s tariffs for increasing prices and making things less affordable. They don’t see tariffs as the solution to the affordability crisis — but as the contributing cause.
We need to change that narrative ASAP.
Mailing “free” money is certainly one way to do it. But it’s not the only way.
Look, if tariffs are part of a larger strategy — i.e., rebuilding our manufacturing base, lessening our dependence on foreign countries (cough, China, cough), and creating a slew of new, better-paying jobs — then Donald Trump needs to sell that story.
Instead, he’s mostly insisting that everything is just wonderful the way it is. But that’s not gonna save our bacon in the midterms!
The American people wanna see the “connective tissue” that proves these tariffs are worth it. They don’t understand the economic argument for tariffs, and they don’t believe everything is wonderful, because basic goods still cost too much.
That means that the White House must invest in new ways to track the tariffs:
- Where’s the list of all the new, better-paying jobs? How many are there — and which states are they in? Let’s hear the story!
- What are the latest stats on domestic investments? We hear talk about countries like Saudi Arabia investing “trillions,” so we need a better methodology to tally the numbers — and celebrate these big victories.
- Pick five relatable indicators of inflation. Doesn’t matter what five you pick, as long as it makes sense to the average household. (It could be the price of eggs, a gallon of gas, the cost of milk — whatever.) But we need to “package” these stats in a comprehensive way, to remind the American people how bad things were under Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, and how much progress we’ve already made under President Trump.
The mainstream media won’t tell our story for us. We need to do it ourselves.
Furthermore, we need to explain it differently than we already have, because the roadmap we’ve been following has taken us off-course: Our current trajectory will get us smashed in the midterms.
Very clearly, these aren’t the right landmarks.
Which is why we need a new roadmap ASAP.
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