After every presidential election cycle, political pundits do a deep dive analysis on campaign strategies that were effective before the campaign launch and during the campaign.
One of the most insightful and thought provoking analyses I have seen was written by Michael Grynbaum and John Koblin, published in the New York Times the day after the election.
In their article — Master of the Media Evolved Yet Again, Grynbaum and Koblin wrote, “In his improbable journey to the apex of American power, President-elect Donald J. Trump has always adapted to the media tool of the moment.”
Former president of CBS News, Andrew Heyward, echoes that conclusion: “He’s always looking to the next venue that’s best suited to his instincts for generating support. It’s part of Trump’s extraordinary record of instinctively finding ways to viscerally connect with voters. He’s a master of evolving media.”
These observations are not a surprise based on reviewing Trump’s career before his running for the presidency three times.
Well before he ran for president the first time in 2016, Trump generated substantial name recognition in New York City and beyond with regular coverage in the New York Post. The Post, a daily tabloid newspaper, has the fourth-largest circulation of a printed newspaper in America. Its readership goes well beyond New York with a subscription-based online version.
In 2004, Trump recognized and seized an opportunity for even greater public exposure as the co-producer and host of the reality TV show The Apprentice.
During a long run on NBC TV, Trump worked hard to be viewed as a successful and decisive business mogul, willing to dismiss apprentice contestants with a memorable — “You’re Fired!”
The result of that name recognition together with his” take charge” personality, was a key element in Trump defeating a large field of candidates in the 2016 republican presidential primary elections. That led to a widely unexpected Electoral College win in November 2024.
Grynbaum and Koblin wrote, “Trump recognized the power of Twitter long before other politicians and in 2016, he started doing cable news interviews”.
They also wrote that he bypassed traditional media gatekeepers like “60 Minutes” on CBS, in favor of select online celebrities and podcasts that were especially popular among young men.
As an example, Grynbaum and Koblin noted that “Bryson DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open golfing champion and YouTube star, did a video with Trump that had almost 13 million views.“
More important than the always critical role of positive name recognition in any election, Grynbaum and Koblin suggested that bypassing the main street media allowed Trump to avoid confrontational interviews where he might have faced tough questions, fact-checks, and detailed policy debates.
By contrast, they suggested the carefully selected influencers Trump met rarely challenged him and often lavished him with praise.
The political wisdom of that strategy was affirmed in the one debate hosted by ABC news. Donald Trump did not do as well as expected and Kamala Harris did better than expected.
Following that debate, Trump declined to participate in a second debate and also pulled out of a planned interview with 60 Minutes. His decision not to appear was the first time since the late 1960s, when the program did not include host the two major-party presidential candidates.
Trump’s ignoring 60 Minutes was one of many based on his lack of trust in and disdain for many traditional legacy media outlets that he believed were left of center and hostile to him.
Despite the risk of a negative voter reaction to his positions on the traditional media outlets, Trump assumed correctly that there it would energize and mobilize his base if he regularly ignored and aggressively criticized the media, especially the legacy media.
Even before that decision on 60 Minutes was made, Trump was showing up on podcasts, widely viewed as unconventional and even odd in the context of a presidential campaign.
His first podcast with online star and wrestler Logan Paul met that profile. Trump and Paul discussed boxing, immigration, and the possible existence of extraterrestrial life.
Some may say this commentary is all about Trump. I agree. The reasons are simple.
Donald Trump has been elected president twice. This commentary includes my thoughts and others’ thoughts on how effective communication strategies contributed to those outcomes.
Kamala Harris has not yet been elected president and maybe never will be. In any event, I expect to do another commentary that will include my thoughts and the thoughts of others on how flawed communication strategies contributed to her loss in 2024.
For now, campaign communications strategies covered in this commentary, may or may not be relevant in upcoming elections in 2026, 2028 and beyond.
That said, I suggest there is one timeless lesson for all political candidates going forward. That lesson is: never fail to thoroughly evaluate the effectiveness of and use best practice in campaign communications strategies, especially those that are yet to emerge.
David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant in Easton.
Wilson Dean says
David Reel does an excellent job in this article describing how Donald Trump utilized the numerous media avenues to his advantage during the Presidential campaign. I was struck, however, by the realization that this strategy allowed Trump, in Mr. Reel’s words, to “avoid confrontational interviews where he might have faced tough questions, fact-checks, and detailed policy debates.”
Aren’t Presidential candidates supposed to face the tough questions, be honest, and lay out their rationale for their policy positions? Avoiding this path allows candidates to appeal to a citizenry willing to hear someone exploit their acceptance of misinformation and lies in support for their own biases and even bigotries. I fear a major takeaway from this article is that many voters in America are not fulfilling their requirement in a democracy of being an informed voter.
Bob Parker says
Yes, trump has always been media “savvy” finding ways to be noted in print media even if it took calling NY social reports as someone “who knew Donald” to note “facts” about him. He loved the legacy media until they began to push back on his lies and reported truthfully on his failures. This more than his disdain for the media caused him to seek other outlets. While trump is very effective at flooding the airwaves with his message, this does not erase the fact that his message is largely comprised of lies, misrepresentations, contradictions and hate for those he sees as being inferior or enemies. While he is effective at communicating with the public at large, his message has polarized American society at a time we need someone who can bring our society together.