The Good
- Delivery. President-elect Donald Trump speaks with confidence. He talks conversationally with reporters the same way he might talk with friends or strangers he just met. Generally, he doesn’t memorize lines. He fluctuates his voice and uses his hands for emphasis, giving his delivery an extra punch.
- Stories. To reiterate his efforts to avoid conflicts of interest in business, Trump shared a story of a friend who recently offered him a $2 billion deal which he turned down.
- Preparation. He was prepared to handle questions about conflicts of interest and the Trump Organization. He brought a second person to the podium to detail the steps he is taking to avoid these conflicts of interest.
- Props. To demonstrate his efforts to avoid conflicts of interest, a table stacked with folders of documents was by his side. Props and similar visuals are an excellent way to drive home key messages.
The Bad
- Soundbites. You should consider soundbites and quotes that stand out and help audiences relate to complicated issues. But some of Trump’s soundbites went too far. He said, “I will be the greatest jobs producer that God ever created.” Describing his incoming administration, he said, “It’s a movement like the world has never seen before.” Such over-the-top statements can erode credibility.
The President-elect also said, “Obamacare is a complete and total disaster.” This is not true. Healthcare reform has provided health care to more than 20 million people. The New York Times reported health care costs are rising at a slower rate under health care reform. People continue to sign up for health care under the Affordable Care Act. These are not the elements of a disaster. These are the elements of a public policy that needs fixing. But calling health care reform a “complete and total disaster” reinforces politics as usual where each side insists on viewing policy as black or white or in extremes. Real life includes large shades of gray.
- Defensiveness. When talking about Russia and Vladimir Putin, he said, “Do you honestly believe that Hillary would be tougher on Putin than me? Does anybody in this room really believe that? Give me a break.” The election is over. Trump shouldn’t continue to debate his qualifications compared to Hillary Clinton.
Trump raised questions about the accuracy of some reporting. This is fine. He also praised some media. However, he continued to mock the mainstream media. Attacking the media in general will please your supporters but not win over others.
- Sarcasm. Trump sometimes addressed members of the media with sarcasm. Sarcasm might work on TV when you can hear him and see his body language. But sarcasm often doesn’t work in print. People who might read his sarcastic comments might misinterpret them.
- Nastiness. Reporters can be nasty. However, they cannot force you to be nasty. Trump engages in verbal jousting with reporters, sometimes being condescending toward certain media outlets.
- Evasiveness. The media asked some questions up to three times because they didn’t feel Trump fully answered the question the first two times. For example, he didn’t answer a question about how negative reports about Russia would impact his relationship with Putin. He didn’t answer if he will undo steps President Obama took to punish the Russians. He also offered no details on his plan to replace health care reform.
- Speculation. He speculated about how certain information got out to the public and the media. Stick to the facts. Stick to what you know. Don’t speculate.
The Ugly
- Social media. A reporter asked him about his Tweet earlier in the day that read, “Intelligence agencies should never have allowed this fake news to “leak” into the public. One last shot at me. Are we living in Nazi Germany?” Nazi Germany is responsible for the murders of more than six million people. Such comparisons are very inappropriate.