Trump Stages Photo-Ops As Counter-programming To Impeachment Proceedings

President Donald Trump shares a Thanksgiving dinner with US troops at Bagram Air Field during a surprise visit on November 28, 2019 in Afghanistan. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

In the midst of impeachment proceedings that he dubs as a “hoax,” President Trump has come up with a new distraction strategy: photo-ops.

According to the Washington Post Saturday, Trump and his aides have staged photo opportunities and public events with the purpose of showcasing the President on the job — an election strategy aimed at convincing voters that he is hard at work for them while Democrats ramp up impeachment proceedings. The Post noted how Trump served turkey to U.S. troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving and that he is scheduled to meet with European allies in London next week.

“I’m working my ass off,” Trump said during a re-election rally in Sunrise, FL on Tuesday night, according to the Post. “The failed Washington establishment is trying to stop me because I’m fighting for you and because we’re winning. It’s very simple.”

The Post also noted that Trump is taking a cue from the Clinton impeachment proceedings in 1998 by meeting with former Clinton strategist Mark Penn in the Oval Office. Penn reportedly advised the President to focus on governing and traveling frequently.

Republican public relations professionals told the Post that the images of Trump outside of Washington, such as his visit to an Apple facility in Texas last week, delivered the message that Trump intended.

“This is the right strategy for the President: Show the American people that he is focused on doing his job while Washington Democrats chase the great white whale of impeachment,” Michael Steel, a former senior aide to former House speaker John Boehner (R-OH), told the Post.

Read the Washington Post’s report here.

Latest News
187
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Photo-Ops? Maybe it is more like folks being compelled to slow down their cars on a highway to view a horrible traffic accident??

  2. Avatar for theod theod says:

    POTEMKIN VILLAGE WORK: This is an administration working hard at pretending to work hard. It’s hardly any real work at all.

  3. “Trump served turkey to U.S. troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving.”

    Did he lazily pitch drumsticks into the crowd like rolls of paper towel?

    (And, yes, that is a Photoshop challenge to any graphic designer reading this.)

  4. Just completely off into the Fake Reality Zone. There was never any reason to believe a single flapping word out of this guy’s mouth the last 40 years. No single reason to believe a word he said his entire campaign. And about 13,000 public lies while in office, as the highest elected official in the land. And now he is moving on to faked video presentations of his amazing work ethic, effectiveness, and Working For You promotions. That this works on ANY percentage of the electorate proves how dangerous TV, Video, and mass propaganda really are and how they have been abused by the folks who own the cameras and broadcast towers. We have reached the point where literally the world’s greatest liar and the only person whom you cannot believe a single word that comes from his crumb-hole is manipulating the manipulable like so many millions of puppets. I don’t think this will work enough to turn the tables for Chump, but gawd help us all what we have come to. Meat Puppets controlled electronically.

  5. Avatar for trnc trnc says:

    “This is the right strategy for the President: Show the American people that he is focused on doing his job while Washington Democrats chase the great white whale.

    Steel coulda stopped right there if he cared about accuracy.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

181 more replies

Participants

Avatar for slbinva Avatar for silvrfox Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mattinpa Avatar for eggrollian Avatar for tacoma Avatar for sickneffintired Avatar for lastroth Avatar for jkrogman Avatar for esva Avatar for leftcoaster Avatar for pine Avatar for darrtown Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for drtv Avatar for forgotmyginkgo Avatar for zillacop Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for mtw Avatar for dicktater Avatar for emiliano4

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: