What it means for normalcy to return to White House communications
After four years of President Trump’s unorthodox approach to government messaging and public engagement, one PR pro argues that it’s time to find again what was once the norm.
Regardless of party, all Americans should rejoice in one result of the 2020 elections: the return of well-planned, positive, carefully crafted presidential messaging and traditional media operations.
On Monday, Nov. 9, just 48 hours after winning the election, President-Elect Joe Biden released a simple, yet effective statement which extolled the announcement from Pfizer that its COVID-19 vaccine is predicted to be 90% effective. Biden’s 232-words struck the right tone of excitement, tempered optimism and pragmatic realism. It reminded Americans that the fight against the virus is far from over and the best protection against it remains the careful pursuit of science. It ended with the following:
America is still losing over 1,000 people a day from COVID-19, and that number is rising — and will continue to get worse unless we make progress on masking and other immediate actions. That is the reality for now, and for the next few months. Today’s announcement promises the chance to change that next year, but the tasks before us now remain the same.
The same morning, the outgoing commander-in chief fired his defense secretary, Mark Esper, with two tweets totaling 51 words and ending with “… Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”
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