Dear President Trump,
Twitter seems to be your favorite platform to speak to the people. On one hand, it is admirable that you use technology to be more accessible to the American people. On the other hand, it’s an in-the-moment communique so it tends to be reactive and impulsive. And unlike a person tweeting their opinions to their 1K followers about their Oscar picks. You’re sharing your opinions and spontaneous thoughts to the entire world about global activities.
As a person with a master’s degree in public relations and a 30+ year career in communications, I recommend you take a pause, a long breath and compose at least a second draft before you tweet your message. I’m going to share suggested alternative tweets to your most recent tweets without losing what I believe your real message is. I don’t agree with your message content but still, I want to be helpful to you in communicating in a more effective manner. You are no longer just speaking to your supporters. You are tweeting to the world. If you want to be heard and ‘win’- something that seems to be important to you, your tweeting needs to be less about your style and more about your message.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump 22 hours ago Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave “service” in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
I’d recommend quit using ‘fake news.’ Your team has been caught on multiple occasions this week spouting out falsehoods and alternative facts. ‘Fake news’ is losing its shock value because your team releases them on a regular basis. In this message, aren’t you just asking for equal treatment with the media? Don’t you want for everyone to be scrutinized for their current statements within their past behavior? I watched this interview on CNN. Cuomo did reference Vietnam. Blumenthal pivoted. Cuomo followed the more current questioning around the SCOTUS nominee. Here’s an alternative tweet that gets at it: Chris Cuomo asked Sen. Blumenthal about Vietnam but didn’t pursue it. Seek the truth with everyone.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Feb 8 My daughter Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by @Nordstrom. She is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! Terrible!
This one is straight up icky. Your campaign and presidency has been plagued with ethical concerns about you and your family’s business conflicts. This tweet makes you sound like the high school principal yelling at the volleyball coach for not putting your daughter in the game. I am changing the content of this tweet to resemble your parental emotion without signaling out a specific company (or person), something the White House (or a principal) shouldn’t do for personal gain: My daughter Ivanka is a great person — always pushing me to do the right thing! It makes me sad when she is treated unfairly.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Feb 7 It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!
What I also want to caution you about is your natural tendency to exaggerate. I get it. I’m a storyteller myself. Nothing makes the tale more engaging than embellishing details. What you need to remember is as convenient as Twitter is for you, Google is for everyone. Anyone can google the history and learn you lied in this tweet. You don’t have to lie to get your point across. Here’s what I mean: It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place. Obstruction by Democrats! I want to get to work!
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Feb 7 I don’t know Putin, have no deals in Russia, and the haters are going crazy – yet Obama can make a deal with Iran, #1 in terror, no problem!
Come on, now! Reign it in. President Obama is enjoying a high approval rating from his office exit. Your approval rating in your initial days is low. Skip tweets like this that talk about Putin or Obama. You have history tweeting your bromance with Putin. You can’t back-peddle now. You certainly have a long chain of tweets disrespecting Obama. Your current ‘I like him and I know he likes me’ won’t help your approval rating. My recommendation is no tweets containing either name.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Feb 6 The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!
To be honest, I found a real humanity about you in the NYT article. I finally connected to you being new to a massive job and being ultimately alone. I like the idea that you do walk the halls of the White House trying to imagine your historical implications. It reminds me of the famous JFK portrait where his head is bowed deep in thought. The visual image of you restlessly contemplating is so much more sympathetic than the bullying facade you assume on social media. Still, if you must tweet your frustration to the NYT, I’d go with: @nytimes writes fiction concerning me. They don’t know me at all.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Feb 6: I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!
It’s time to own the presidency. You are the one in charge, right? YOU must know what you’re saying, what you’re signing and what you’re doing. Although you’re moving quickly on your campaign promises, you probably want to slow down and educate yourself to avoid all these mishaps. You contradict yourself. You boast inaccurate universalities. You put a lot energy into past things that don’t matter now: voter election fraud, losing the popular vote, audience-size at the inauguration. You won. You’re president. Own it. Here’s the alternative tweet that says that: I call the shots, largely based on an accumulation of data from different resources. I am proud to be your President of the United States.
YOU SAID: Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump on Feb 9: SEE YOU IN COURT, THE SECURITY OF OUR NATION IS AT STAKE!
Oh my! Fear mongering isn’t the way. Take a note from a beloved president who won an unprecedented fourth term. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself,” -FDR. He also stepped into the presidency at tumultuous times. It was the depression and people were unemployed, hungry and desperate. FDR chose to motivate and unite the masses in courage and resilience. I know you’re disappointed about your travel ban. I get it. Your presidential authority has been suspended on this act by the judiciary division. You can express your disappointment without being so dramatic. I might get hit by a bus today but I still need to leave the house to go to work. Living in fear isn’t living! Here’s a tweet you could even put out there today: I believe in my travel ban to secure our country and Im ready to fight for it in court.
As always, President Trump, have courage and be kind!
Katy Walsh