Donald Trump | Messaging Matters

Trump and the Republicans have a Michael Cohen problem

Written on February 28, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD)

Republicans are having some major difficulties with former Donald Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen‘s testimony before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform yesterday. Cohen sat for over 7 hours, giving testimony about the workings of the Trump Organization that was riveting, and at times stunning. Notably, the committee Republicans rarely if ever attacked Cohen’s specific allegations about Trump wrongdoings and illegal acts. Instead, they, and Republicans in the media and elsewhere, simply painted Cohen as “a liar” based on his guilty plea in two previous cases, one of which involves scheming with Donald Trump to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stephanie Clifford a/k/a Stormy Daniels, as well as lying for Trump about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Apparently, these Republicans realize that they face the following problems regarding Michael Cohen:

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Tags: Allen Weisselberg, Congress, Democrats, Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Michael Cohen, Moscow, Mueller, Republicans, Russia, Stephanie Clifford, Stormy Daniels, Trump Tower

Trump’s great border wall distraction

Written on February 22, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Climate change, one issue that gets less focus in favor of immigration

If you follow major news stories for the past few months or longer, you might think the biggest issue of our time is illegal immigration, and specifically Donald Trump‘s desired border wall. After all, Trump and the Republicans created the phony “caravan” issue before the 2018 midterm elections. Then, in December, Trump shut down the federal government over his inability to convince Congress, and the American people, to approve his wall. The shutdown was so disruptive that it forced the news media and the voters to spend more time focusing on the wall and immigration. After the Trump Shutdown hurt Trump and the Republicans in the polls, and amidst the threat of a second Trump Shutdown, Trump caved to the Democrats regarding funding for border “fencing.” However, Trump then declared a fake “National Emergency” as a ploy to circumvent Congressional approval and steal money from other taxpayer funds, such as disaster relief, to try to fund his wall.

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Tags: border, border security, border wall, climate change, Donald Trump, government shutdown, healthcare, illegal immigration, immigration, Russia, Stormy Daniels, Trump Shutdown

Congresswoman Ilan Omar’s Israel foul-up shows dangers of Twitter

Written on February 12, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch, Messaging Maxims

Twitter, source of trouble for some politicians

Democratic U.S. Congresswoman Ilan Omar of Minnesota got herself into hot water this week after she sent the following tweets regarding Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy‘s call for her and another Democratic Congresswoman to be admonished over their criticism of Israel:

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1094747501578633216

https://twitter.com/IlhanMN/status/1094761790595088384

Omar’s tersely expressed view that U.S. support of Israel is only a result of money, and her mention of lobbying group AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) in response to the query “who @IlhanMN thinks is paying American politicians to be pro-Israel,” angered a number of Americans. Many of those who were upset (including members of Congress) accused Omar of raising age-old anti-Semitic tropes regarding Jewish money as an instrument of global domination. On Monday, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders called on Omar to apologize for her tweets. Within hours, Omar issued an apology which mentioned “colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.”

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Tags: AIPAC, Congress, Democrats, Donald Trump, Ilan Omar, Israel, Jewish, Kevin McCarthy, lobbying, Nancy Pelosi, narrative, Republicans, Twitter

Nancy Pelosi keeps putting Donald Trump in his place

Written on February 8, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

For the past two months, Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has figured out the secret of dealing with Donald Trump: treat him like the toddler that he is. The results have been remarkable. First, on December 11 of last year, Pelosi cleaned Trump’s clock in a televised Oval Office meeting that also included Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a silent Vice President Mike Pence. Pelosi called Trump’s threatened government shutdown the “Trump Shutdown,” and even dared Trump to ask for a vote in Congress on his desired border wall. The Trump Shutdown label stuck, and angry voters punished Trump and the Republicans for their failure to keep the federal government open despite controlling all of its branches.

Howard Schultz, closet Republican

Written on February 1, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Previous effort to boycott Starbucks over anti-labor practices

Howard Schultz, former CEO of Starbucks Coffee and still its largest individual shareholder, has been getting lots of free airtime this week as he mulls a presidential campaign. Schultz claims to be a “centrist Independent,” but in his free media appearances, he spends his time bashing the Democratic Party. For example, he criticizes “people [obviously Democrats] espousing free government-paid college, free government-paid health care and a free government job for everyone.” Likewise, in another free media appearance, Schultz criticized freshman Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez‘s proposal for a 70 percent marginal tax rate on income over $10 million. Additionally, Schultz, as CEO of Starbucks, thwarted labor efforts to unionize the company, again while trying to portray his goals as some centrist “third way” alternative. In reality, Schultz with his Drip-Down Economics sounds just like another billionaire Republican to us.

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Tags: 2020 Elections, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats, Donald Trump, healthcare, Howard Schultz, labor, Never Trump, Republicans, Starbucks, taxes, unions, William Kristol

Democratic Senator takes down Trump and Ted Cruz over shutdown and wall

Written on January 25, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging

Yesterday, Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado absolutely slammed Donald Trump and Republican U.S. Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz over the Trump Shutdown and Trump’s border wall idea. As the above video shows, Bennet was responding to Cruz’ statement implying that Democrats could end the shutdown simply by voting the Republicans’ way (meaning, giving into Trump’s hostage taking by approving border wall funding as a condition for reopening the government). Bennet vehemently attacked Cruz and Trump on the following:

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Tags: border security, border wall, Donald Trump, fMexico, government shutdown, immigration, Karl Rove, Michael Bennet, Senate, Ted Cruz, Trump Shutdown

How the Republican cave on the Trump Shutdown and border wall will take shape

Written on January 21, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Protests against the Trump Shutdown

As the Trump Shutdown of the federal government drags on, and the polls continue to blame Trump and the Republicans, the pressure will eventually become too great on the GOP. They will have to cave to the Democrats (who now have majority control in the House of Representatives), both on Trump’s desired border wall, and the untenable idea that Trump could shut down the federal government because he hasn’t gotten his way on the wall. So now the question is, how will Trump and the Republicans cave without appearing to capitulate to the Democrats, which would cause great anger among the Republican base? The answer is likely to turn on interpretations of the terms “wall,” “fence” and “border security.”

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Tags: border wall, Chuck Schumer, Congress, Democrats, Donald Trump, government shutdown, House of Representatives, immigration, immigration reform, Nancy Pelosi, Republicans, Trump Shutdown, wall

As Trump crashes on border wall, Schumer and Pelosi pick up the pieces

Written on January 9, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Republican Messaging

Humpty Dumpty, sitting on his wall

Donald Trump‘s government shutdown and border wall fiasco brings to mind the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Last night, a defeated-looking Trump broke himself on his Wall, giving an Oval Office speech that was flat, uninspired and read off of a script. Trumped also sniffed repeatedly, as he did during his presidential debates against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump even reportedly told television anchors before the address that the speech, seeking taxpayer funding for his border wall purportedly because of a U.S./Mexico border “crisis,” was going to be “pointless,” and something his advisors had pushed him to do against his will.

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Tags: border security, border wall, Chuck Schumer, Democrats, Donald Trump, Humpty Dumpty, immigration, Mexico, Nancy Pelosi, Repubicans, Statue of Liberty

Democrats hang Trump Shutdown on Donald Trump

Written on January 4, 2019 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Good Government

Sign indicating Washington, D.C. national park land and monuments closed due to Trump Shutdown

When you have the facts on your side, and you communicate them in an effective and dynamic way, it’s good policy and good politics. That is the situation the Democrats are in regarding the current U.S. government shutdown. Democrats have correctly labeled it the “Trump Shutdown.”

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Tags: 2016 election, border wall, Chuck Schumer, Congress, Democrats, Donald Trump, government shutdown, immigration, Mexico, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Republicans, Trump Shutdown

Donald Trump’s Saturday Night Live Massacre

Written on December 17, 2018 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents, Media Watch

1938 political cartoon attacking Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ever since NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” went on the air in 1975, it has made fun of the president of the United States. From Gerald Ford‘s absentmindedness to Bill Clinton’s philandering to Barack Obama‘s ultra-calm politeness, presidents have had to contend with their satirical SNL portrayals. Usually, presidents have laughed along with such send-ups, knowing that not only is this the price they pay to lead a free society, but also that, for politicians, a little self-deprecating humor can go a long way.

Now comes Donald Trump, however, who has no self-deprecating humor and, according to many people, no self-awareness. Trump also has the thinnest skin of any president (or just about anyone) in our lifetimes. After last Saturday night’s portrayal of Trump on SNL, instead of laughing along, Trump took to his favorite mode of communication, Twitter, and challenged the legality of SNL:

A REAL scandal is the one sided coverage, hour by hour, of networks like NBC & Democrat spin machines like Saturday Night Live. It is all nothing less than unfair news coverage and Dem commercials. Should be tested in courts, can’t be legal? Only defame & belittle! Collusion?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 16, 2018

We can only say, good luck with that.

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Tags: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Constitution, Donald Trump, First Amendment, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, Gerald Ford, Hustler Magazine, Jerry Falwell, NBC, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Supreme Court, Twitter

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