On Saturday, September 24, Donald Trump tweeted that perhaps he would invite Mrs. Gennifer Flowers to the first presidential debate.
It seemed, Mr. Trump’s concept was to irritate Mrs. Clinton since her husband had admitted to least one sexual encounter with Mrs. Flowers, in 1977. After Mrs. Flowers confirmed via tweet that she would attend the debate, “Gennifer Flowers” started trending on Twitter.
Many of Mr. Trump’s followers articulated their excitement on Twitter. I too felt I had to share my opinion.
And, even with Mr. Trump himself:
It turned out that Mr. Trump did not invite Mrs. Flowers. While that did not come as a surprise to me, I was astonished that Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said what many Americans have been wondering about for a long time. She stated, “... I can’t believe how easily baited the Clinton campaign was...”
Baited?
The Clinton campaign?
Wisely, the Clinton campaign had not engaged at all.
On the other hand, thousands of people who thought that they might get to see uncomfortable, embarrassing moments, not unlike a series of events in a reality show, did get baited. About 6,000 people began following Mrs. Flowers on Twitter.
“Gennifer Flowers” trended on Twitter almost the whole day.
How disappointed the baited fans must be now.
Then again, the entire series of events was typical of Trump publicity stunts.
1. Mr. Trump suggested that perhaps he would do something which would hurt, irritate, or embarrass other people.
2. Most certainly, he hurt at least one woman’s feelings. It is safe to assume that Mrs. Flowers already selected what she would wear at the occasion of attending the debate.
3. Mr. Trump also wasted hours and hours of journalists’ time, which they needed to ponder what to write about such a publicity stunt.
4. Mr. Trump’s tweet sent thousands of people into a tweeting frenzy. They too wasted hours and hours because in the end Mr. Trump delivered – nothing.
5. Finally, Mr. Trump let his campaign manager do the talking and reveal that just like Mr. Trump wasn’t going to present his tax returns, Mr. Trump was also not going to invite Mrs. Flowers.
Summing it up, Mr. Trump produced another cliffhanger, and just like on TV these cliffhangers are only designed to get people to tune in – again.
In reality, Mr. Trump hadn’t not decided if he would invite Mrs. Flowers but he stirred up thousands and hurt at least one woman’s feelings – Mrs. Flowers.
In contrast, Mrs. Clinton didn’t bait anybody. She decided that she would invite Mr. Cuban, and she did.
I believe, being president is not about baiting thousands; it’s about making realistic plans and delivering.
What do you thinking about Mr. Trump’s “baiting”-strategies?
[Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Huffington Post. ]
Follow Gisela Hausmann on Twitter: @Naked_Determina