Navigating Trump’s second term requires becoming ‘first movers’

Since President Donald Trump began his second term, brands have been tested by a whirlwind of policy changes, from sweeping executive orders on tariffs to abrupt pushbacks on social issues.

Many communicators, especially in the nation’s capital, have felt overwhelmed, scrambling to respond to rapidly shifting developments.

“It’s not in Washington’s nature to think ahead; we’re experts on one thing one week, and something totally different the next,” said Mike Ricci, a partner at strategic communications firm Seven Letter.

But given the current political climate, Ricci believes it’s time for brands to shift from this reactionary model to a more sustainable, proactive approach. He’ll lead a discussion on the topic at Ragan’s upcoming PR Daily Conference.

“We’re shifting from firefighting to fire prevention,” he said.

From ‘war rooms’ to ‘situation room’

Ricci pointed to early conversations around “war rooms” that arose during the administration’s first weeks – operational arrangements to address issues as they arose. But then, mid-crisis, something else would happen and they’d have to move on to other things that popped up.

“We’ve all gotten really good over the last 100 days at seeing where the fires are,” said Ricci, who previously served as communications director to two Republican Speakers of the House and to the state of Maryland. “But there’s a lot we can do, more than we realize, to see the sparks before the fire, so to speak.”

Given the speed and scope of regulatory changes in Washington, Ricci sees a need for public affairs professionals to shift from the reactive “war room” mentality to a more proactive, steady “situation room” posture.

A situation room, as he defines it, is about sustained engagement – teams regularly assessing risk, even when an issue isn’t dominating headlines.

Ricci draws inspiration from emergency managers, who maintain a steady drumbeat of preparedness rather than episodic crisis meetings.

He stressed the benefits of having a permanent in-house team that meets regularly to monitor and share potential threats. The set up allows people with different expertise and target audiences to flag concerns before they escalate. 

Staying ahead of the curve

Ricci said being a “first mover” doesn’t mean being the first to speak. Instead, it’s about spotting trends before they metastasize into reputational challenges – and preparing accordingly.

In 2021, ESG was everywhere, Ricci recalled. Then suddenly it became a term people feel like they can’t use anymore.

“These kinds of shifts don’t just happen overnight,” he said. Early signs showed up in state-level legislation, social media discourse and investor sentiment. Teams that were watching closely had time to recalibrate language, engage stakeholders or adjust positioning before backlash hit.

“A lot of times, by the time we get involved in issues, the messaging is already predetermined,” Ricci said. 

Spotting risks early also creates the chance to pre-bunk – preparing communications around potential flashpoints before they explode. That might include drafting messaging, pre-clearing visuals with legal or outlining where and how the organization will speak up.

“You don’t want to wait until you’re in the thick of it to decide where to use your voice, or how to use your budget,” Ricci said.

Prioritize, don’t play whack-a-mole

With nonstop news cycles, many public affairs teams fall into a reactive loop – what Ricci described as a high-stress game of “whack-a-mole” – where they attempt to tackle every emerging issue or in this case, every executive order.

“You have to prioritize,” he said. “The whole point of the (White House) coming out with overwhelming force is to try to make you lose sense of what matters.”

Ricci recommended that communicators identify the top three to five strategic priorities for their organization, then build messaging hierarchies around them. That might mean saying no to smaller media flare-ups and instead focusing on core legislative goals, reputational risks or stakeholder concerns.

For example, a trade association representing the agriculture sector might track dozens of policy proposals but reserve its full media engagement for the Farm Bill and a few high-impact regulatory issues.

Teams should also implement a simple issue-ranking system that evaluates the urgency, potential impact, strategic alignment and resource needs of each issue.

Ricci pointed to tools like Gravity Research’s quarterly corporate risk index – a red-yellow-green snapshot of emerging threats – as a model. While imperfect, Ricci said such frameworks encourage consistency and discipline in evaluating what matters most before a crisis unfolds.

The goal: stay focused on what matters most, not just what’s loudest.

“Good emergency managers don’t sit and wait for crises to happen,” Ricci said. “They try to anticipate them. We should too.”

The PR Daily Conference will take place May 21-23 in Washington, D.C.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.