It does seem like any press is good press for Donald Trump? While I have long believed the theory wasn't correct and have advised clients accordingly, I stand corrected with @RealDonaldTrump. You can stop reading my book on PR and my book on Leadership now, I'm wrong apparently?
When violence becomes a love fest and the people behind it are simply "spirited", what's a voter to think? It seems as if Trump ups the ante daily and he usually begins on Twitter. Follow one news cycle and you will see his comments that light up a day of news routinely begin there.
While the war hero who got caught wasn't quite worthy of a Trump compliment, it did merit a tweet or two. Even the great KKK backtracking was facilitated by a tweet and the claim of being given a bad headset by CNN. I would have gone for the dog ate my homework excuse first.
It seems as though if you're a presidential candidate and you want to go far on Twitter, you'll have to get a bit irreverent and get the young voters talking? An analysis of the tweets of the mainstream candidates since their respective campaign announcements and you will see all sorts of displays of panache, pop culture savvy, and even a little moxie seem to go far. We've never known or cared about the penis size of any President, right? There's even a book out called Politics and the Twitter Revolution which discusses how Twitter influences the relationship between political leaders and the public. Read it and you'll get a better idea of just why Donald Trump is doing so well.
The United States does not have a "$500 billion a year trade deficit with China." Actually it peaked at $366 billion in 2015. Small rounding error? Contrary to what he Trump repeatedly says, he does settle lawusits. Just for fun Google the lawsuit of the Baha Condo Resort. Of course his quote about "Christianity being shut down" doesn't quite reconcile with the fact that 7 of 10 American citizens identify as being Christian?If a few tidbits and facts gone wrong disturb you, look at what Politico found in a single week of Trump talking points, as far as accuracy goes.
The fact-checkers are busier than usual. Details aside, Trump's offensive comments against Muslims, Mexicans, women and people with disabilities (to name a few) would have quickly ended the campaigns of other White House candidates but they haven't hurt Trump. What voter block is left to offend and does it even matter?
Basically, facts and offensive comments aside, we have Twitter and 140 characters shaping the race. I love Twitter, although I lose more followers with every negative comment about the presumptive Republican candidate than I gain. But with all due respect, 140 characters inching so precariously close to the oval office is concerning. While some people, who aren't drinking the Trump Kool-Aid consider him a bully in the sandbox, the fact is with the vast reach Trump has on Twitter he can hit anyone fast and furious and instantly, pivot and move on to the next news cycle.
Not a bad strategy?
Consider what Kim Jong Il said to former Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky, "I am the object of criticism around the world. But I think that since I am being discussed, then I am on the right track." He's not tweeting yet! Sounds like, "If I get my name in the paper, if people pay attention, that's what matters," which Trump told his real estate lawyer Jerry Schrager, according to Gwenda Blair's "Donald Trump: Master Apprentice."
Maybe any press is good press? Perhaps Twitter has made this formula all to easy. Bankrupticies aside, Congress isn't a company. And this country is in no position to experiment. #JustSaying