Finishing the last leg of his Mideast and European trip, 70-year-old President Donald Trump plans to set up a White House war room to confront pernicious media propaganda all aligned to attack his presidency. Former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called Trump’s domestic policy a “complete disaster,” not admitting that it’s difficult for Trump to advance an agenda when he’s been mobbed by the media, scandalizing everything but the kitchen sink. Boehner admitted that Trump’s done a good job with foreign policy but couldn’t acknowledge that the anti-Trump media prevents the White House from making progress. Establishing a “war room” should help push back on the media’s constant barrage of bad publicity especially over the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, more specifically, Trump’s alleged ties to Russia.
Hillary declared Oct. 19, 2016 at the last presidential debate in Las Vegas that Trump was “Russian puppet,” hoping to persuade voters that Trump has secret ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. Hillary’s campaign strategy and paid opposition research was used by former FBI Director James Comey to spy on Trump officials, creating the media feeding frenzy about Russia. No intelligence official, including the former FBI director, has found one shred of evidence tying the Trump campaign to the Kremlin, after nearly a year of investigation. Yet former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a Wellesley commencement audience that Trump faces possible impeachment for obstruction of justice in the FBI’s investigation into former National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn. Hillary sets the media’s anti-Trump agenda.
Deciding to push back against the media and Democrats’ narrative that the country remains in chaos under Trump, White House officials intend to attack the specious case linking Trump to the Kremlin. As Harvard law professor and Constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz told Fox News’s Tucker Carlson May 19 that talk of impeachment by Democrats and press is preposterous since Trump’s committed no crime or high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Yet if you listen to Hillary deliver her Wellesley speech, you’d think Trump’s a convicted felon. Democrats like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) call for Trump impeachment daily, yet can’t say for what. Trump’s chief strategist Stephen Bannon and son-in-law Special Adviser Jared Kushner are expected to play an active role in White House efforts to push back on the Russian scandal.
When you consider that a Harvard study shows 80% media bias against Trump, Trump faces an uphill battle trying to confront the nearly daily stories of scandal and controversy. Trump’s watched since his Nov. 8, 2016 election story-after-story about Trump’s alleged ties to the Kremlin, despite zero evidence to support it. “The goal of the White House is to try to contain the crisis and media coverage of the Special Counsel,” an unnamed GOP official, not knowing how 72-year-old former FBI Director Robert Mueller would proceed. Mueller knows full well that Comey used a bogus Russian report to make decisions in the Hillary email investigation. Mueller also knows that Comey established “probable cause” to investigate campaign officials based on Hillary’s paid opposition research conducted by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, a dossier lacking any validity.
Trump’s new strategic communication team could hit a brick wall knowing they have few friends in the media. For a communication strategy to be successful, Trump needs inside contacts in the broadcast and print media to place front-page stories and commentaries to advance Trump’s agenda. When you consider over 80% of the broadcast and print media oppose Trump, his “war room” strategy could hit a roadblock. Publishing overwhelmingly negative stories on Trump, most Websites, TV broadcasts and print publications won’t allocate much space for Bannon and Kushner to flood the market with positive stories. “From my perspective, I think the president should be doing the stuff that he does best, which is talking about his agenda, jobs, trade and security,” said Christopher Rudd, CEO of NewsMax, a conservative news outlet. Preaching to the choir won’t help Trump.
If Trump wants his new communication strategy to succeed, he needs to get the word out how the Russian investigation continues Hillary’s failed talking points. Whatever contacts Trump officials had with Russia, they don’t advance the Hillary narrative that Trump colluded with the Kremlin to win the election. Trump’s communication team needs to expose FBI Director James Comey for relying on fake Russian intel or Hillary’s paid opposition research to investigate Trump campaign personnel. Whatever problems former National Security Michael Flynn has doing business in Russia or Turkey, Trump’s team needs to point out it has nothing to do with winning the election. “He talks when he shouldn’t,” said Trump billionaire donor radio mogul Stanley Hubbard, stating the obvious. Less Tweeting and more strategic communication should pay off.
