The Scoop: Trump, Rubio reveal the dangers of mixed messaging from leaders

On Sunday, just one day after the U.S. arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the morning show rounds to message the regime change.

Rubio insisted on “Meet the Press” that the media was “fixating” on President Donald Trump’s comments that the U.S. would run Venezuela.

“It’s not running — it’s running policy, the policy with regards to (oil blockades),” Rubio said.

Just hours later, his boss undercut him.

While aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump seemingly intentionally provoked his audience of reporters to ask a question he knew would raise eyebrows.

“And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” he teased, according to the New York Times. When a reporter asked that question, Trump responded: “It means we’re in charge.”

A White House statement later Sunday said there was no contradiction between the remarks of the two men and that the administration will “will continue to diplomatically engage” with Venezuela’s leadership.

Why it matters: The incursion into Venezuela will have far-reaching effects for citizens of that nation, expats abroad and foreign oil and gas companies who Trump has signaled will soon enter the market, which had formerly been controlled by the state. But for now, let’s focus on the communications impact of these competing statements.

Trump is no stranger to a communications impact that directly contradicts messaging put out by his subordinates. Even early in his first term, way back in 2017, The Guardian reported on Trump’s habit of saying the exact opposite of what his top brass said on topics ranging from the firing of James Comey to political tensions with North Korea.

This is not how most organizations function. In a more common structure, leaders will work with their department leads and communications functions in order to unify around one message delivered with many voices. Ultimately what the boss wants usually wins the day, but that’s often decided in conference rooms before the first person speaks publicly.

If you find yourself in a similarly volatile organization where plans are changed on the fly, consider a more unified communications strategy. If the CEO or another top leader wants to be the key voice on a topic, let them. Once that person speaks, then surrogates can be deployed in support and echo of those comments, rather than vice versa.

Otherwise, you risk introducing dissonance into the process that muddles the message and raises questions about what the actual plan is. In this case, Venezuela finds itself uncertain who is leading which aspects of the nation. The energy companies Trump hopes will move into the oil-rich country face uncertainty about who they should be listening to. That could jeopardize the administration’s long-term goals in the nation.

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Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.