Trump’s Messaging

Eduardo del Buey
Photo: Reuters
La Jornada Maya

Wednesday march 18, 2020

On March 11th, President Donald Trump addressed the nation on the current Covid 19 pandemic ostensibly to transmit a calming message to the U.S. and global public and show that his administration is in control.

On March 13th, Trump held a press conference with a number of public and private sector personalities. He began by once again engaging in self-aggrandizement with respect to his management of the crisis that had many in the media rolling their eyes. He invited Vice President Pence to speak, and once again Pence behaved like a sycophant praising the “great leader” much as one would expect in North Korea.

On both occasions Trump failed on several fronts.

First of all, he continued to try to put the blame on the current situation on China and other countries rather than address his administration’s inability or unwillingness to address the crisis head-on from the very beginning.

Moreover, the slow U.S. reaction to the crisis has its roots in Trump’s decision to disband the U.S.’s global health team since it had been created by the Obama administration. Yet another reason for the inability of the U.S. to deal effectively with the pandemic has been Trump’s denial of its scope since such a crisis could well affect his chances for reelection in November.

Indeed, he denied permission for a cruise ship to dock in San Francisco claiming that he didn’t want the numbers of Americans stricken by the virus to rise significantly because of all of the infected passengers on board. Fortunately for the victims, he finally caved in to pressure from a number of fronts.

Trump has preferred to spend a good part of his time deviating from a message of hope, preferring to pivot to congratulating himself for his financial stewardship while he tried to minimize the crisis claiming that the pandemic is a media and left-wing hoax aimed at attacking his presidency.

In short, other than bromides, his speech and subsequent press conference did not set forth a coherent plan to manage the crisis in a way and tone that would have a calming effect on the public and provide a way forward for all.

His delivery and tone during his address to the nation were awful.

He read from the teleprompter with little feeling or conviction, appearing disinterested in the message that he was delivering or the public’s concern with the crisis. His tone was monotonous and boring, he almost misread his text several times, and came across looking as though he couldn’t wait to get off the air.

In a word, the whole effort looked forced and fake, and did little to reassure anyone that the crisis was being addressed by a leader in full control of the facts and who shared their concerns.

The result was also not lost on the stock markets that immediately tanked on the following day again illustrating how investors sell in the face of uncertainty.

His message underscored the self-serving nature of his presidency.

It did not go unnoticed that he blocked flights to and from the United States only to and from countries where he has no business interests. This is in keeping with the leitmotif of his presidency to date – he is in this for his own personal and political gain with little concern for the average citizen.

During the press conference, Trump replied to a journalist that he took no responsibility for the pace at which the U.S. had responded to the pandemic, blaming it all on the system that he had inherited from the previous administration. This after the journalist challenged him by asking why he had dismissed the entire pandemic response team in 2018 because it had been created by the Obama administration. Once again, Trump lied.

In his press conference, Trump announced the $50 billion in assistance that the administration will give to states and the private sector. He once again refused to address the negative impact that the pandemic and its economic fallout will have on the average citizen.

And what are the major concerns of the U.S. public that he should have addressed?

The public wants a plan to indicate how the government will create the number of hospital beds needed to manage the widespread outbreak that his own health officials have told Congress is imminent and will be severe.

The public wants to know how the average wage earner will receive some form of unemployment insurance to compensate for lost wages as companies lay-workers off and market conditions reduce the profitability of most industries.

The public wants to know how the government is going to handle the widespread testing required to monitor the spread of the disease and how it is going to communicate openly and honestly from this point forward.

Parents want to know how their children will continue to receive their education, and how their children will be cared for should schools close. Most households are two income families who need to have their children cared for during working hours while parents earn a living.

They will also want to know how many households that cannot afford computers or internet connections will ensure that their children are able to follow coursework from home. In homes with more than one child, how will each student have access to remote teaching facilities?

Finally, the public needs a leader who can transmit to them that he understands their concerns and fears and has a plan to address them now and as the pandemic takes its course.

A leader who can show them that his government has an overall plan to address the myriad issues facing the public.

Addressing these and other concerns is a fundamental element of successful crisis management.

Convincing the public that the government is on their side is essential in calming their fears and ensuring that they themselves react in a rational and informed manner to the pandemic.

Reducing any sense of panic is the prime requisite for successful crisis management.

In this speech and in his subsequent press conference, Trump failed miserably in addressing any of these concerns.

On the contrary, his message lacked consistency and coherence, and his communications team once again had to go to great lengths after the televised address to the nation to explain to the public what he meant and how he meant it.

He failed to reassure the public as to how his administration plans to ensure the prompt delivery to markets of priority items such as food and medication should truckers and railway workers stay at home to avoid contamination.

Indeed, with the U.S. closed to Chinese and European aircraft, the impact on U.S. air shipments of time-sensitive agricultural exports, for example, will be significant, causing even more layoffs and economic hardship.

In summary, Trump showed no emotion or any tone or language that indicated that the President seeks to calm concerns rather than add to the confusion that has been the hallmark of his administration’s handling of the crisis since the very beginning.

To quote David Frum’s article in the March 12 edition of The Atlantic, “At every turn, President Trump’s policy regarding coronavirus has unfolded as if guided by one rule: How can I make this crisis worse?”

As a communications professional, I have found myself asking the same question.

If I were a U.S. citizen, I would feel completely underwhelmed by the President’s address to the nation and would question his understanding of the issues at play other than the impact they are having on his own personal interests and wealth.

I always counsel clients and students that a fundamental part of crisis communications management is being honest and transparent, sticking to a core set of pertinent messages and not diverting from them, and showing empathy and sympathy for actual or potential victims of the crisis. All of this must be accompanied by the taking of responsibility for any shortcomings in the management of the crisis to date, and indicate a path forward to ensure how these shortcomings will be overcome and better results will be achieved.

He did nothing of the sort.

He appears to continue to put his own political ambitions ahead of the public good. Admitting shortcomings and assuming responsibility has never been in his DNA.

These were the key messages that I took away from this speech in particular and his behavior in general.

The American public have a choice: listen to a President who clearly hasn’t got a clue about what he is talking about, or listen to medical and experts on pandemics.

I fear, however, that many Trump supporters will continue follow ignorance over science.

The choice is theirs.

But the results likely will affect us all.


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Edición: Elsa Torres