The former US president, who is currently the Republican front-runner, expertly planned the publicity around his own incarceration.
It’s possible that many people will argue that former President Donald Trump, the undisputed favourite to win the Republican nomination for the 2024 US presidential election, had a difficult week. Contrarily, Trump has had a truly amazing week, at least in terms of enhancing his brand and thwarting his biggest threats. It demonstrates that Trump is a true expert in public relations and may has some of the best political instincts ever.
An explanation first. The worst president in recent American history, Donald Trump is a horrible manager. This is true by almost all measures, as he did more than anyone to undermine the American imperial project from within (which was an unintended net benefit of his presidency), as well as gutting environmental regulations, attacking workers’ rights, botching the US federal Covid-19 response, and bringing racial relations to essentially a century low (all of which were intended and very, very negative).
By the end of the 2020 election cycle, The Donald was able to align labour unions and raise money to oppose him, which his supporters claim is part of a larger plot. There is no conspiracy; it just demonstrates how awful his performance at his job was. Additionally, because of his irrational egotism and disregard for the truth, he poses a threat to the US’s fundamental stability. Trump did not have the US election stolen from him, and there is no proof that it was; many of us anticipated his plans before they materialised.
By the way, nothing indicates that he would perform better the next time. Consider his most recent proposal for public policy, which he refers to as a “ring around the collar” approach to further his ‘America First’ agenda and which would impose a 10% flat tariff on imports into the United States. A situation like this would only cause the US to break its GATT and WTO commitments, cutting off Washington from normal global trade.
Despite everything, you have to commend the man for being an astute media operative. Trump receives an invitation to the Republican Party’s presidential debate but declines because he doesn’t want to legitimise the opposition and because he can’t control the questions or conversation there. Then he does an interview on X (formerly Twitter) with former Fox personality Tucker Carlson, and that post has over 250 million views.
The most recent Republican debate reportedly drew 24 million viewers and received outstanding ratings. If we’re kind to Trump and assume that nearly everyone who viewed the post tuned in to the interview, it means that more than ten times as many people were interested in his interview as in the debate. It’s still evident that Trump was able to deflate the enthusiasm surrounding the other candidates, especially Vivek Ramaswamy, who many thought would win, even if we’re being kind to the rest of the field and assuming the actual views of the interview were a small portion of that.
Even if the other candidates willfully chose to ignore the Trump interview’s success, Ramaswamy was unable to celebrate because everyone was talking about Trump’s arrest the next day and the release of his mugshot. The other candidates also weren’t allowed to show video of themselves during the discussion. clever decision. Not only did he use it in his campaign emails, but he also went back to X after a two-year absence, posting his own mugshot and causing online chaos. Additionally, keep in mind that he intentionally travelled to Georgia to be arrested on these new allegations. So it’s obvious that he knew what he was doing!
Many of his followers are praising the “energy shift” that occurred as a result of the three indictments and the upcoming fourth one, which includes a mugshot that was successfully used for PR. Beware, Trump had this planned from the beginning. He raised an impressive $7.1 million since his photo was released, setting a new record for his campaign. He understood exactly what he was doing and he did it effectively.
His ability to bend everything to his will at the most absurdly hypocritical levels may be what best explains why he is the undisputed Republican frontrunner and such a brilliant political candidate.
For instance, the Republican Party is the social group that the police and their sycophants in society belong to. This is the political group whose members declare that they “support the blue” whenever a picture of a police officer brutally killing someone appears in a comment section. However, Trump manages to get himself jailed, then turns around and disparages the sheriff’s office and district attorney in the area while adopting an anti-government posture, and it still succeeds.
With these most recent actions, it seems more and more like this is Trump’s universe, and we are only residing there. Many believe that because of his arrest, the two-tiered legal system in America will finally be abolished and that wealthy, white males are finally being held accountable. That assumption is unwarranted at best and completely stupid at worst since, even if found guilty, it’s still possible that Trump would simply accept a plea deal and never set foot inside a jail cell. It’s likely that’s how things will turn out.
However, take note of the narrative he is able to control right now: many people in the United States and throughout the rest of the world actually believe what Trump is portraying. If his bizarre PR expertise can help it, he won’t go down without a fight.
