You know, there's a tried and true axiom here that has relevance, "It is in times of trouble that you learn who your true friends are." Think to your own life. It was when you were in the most jeopardy that your true friends came forward to stand with you, while the rest of them went full Trump, "Bob who? Never hearda the guy. I couldn't point him out if he walked in the room."
Make no mistake about it, surrogates are critically important to any administration. Every President is at least occasionally beset by controversies, and when he is, he can't be expected to spend all of his time commenting on them directly. Especially not a verbal loose cannon like Trump.Qualified surrogates are an effective way of getting the Presidents position across without exposing the President himself to uncomfortable questions. Trump's problem is an interesting twist on the original premise. It's not so much necessarily that his surrogates are abandoning him in his time of need, it's that the media is abandoning his surrogates.
This is what happens when you lie like a rummage sale rug. It might look cute on the folding table, but once you get it home, pretty soon the charm and novelty wears off, and into the closet it goes. Due to the toxicity of his basic message, His Lowness didn't have that many tolerable surrogates to start with, and now, the ones he still does have are running into the problem that networks other than FOX News won't give them a seat in front of a camera.
From the time she came on board the Trump campaign, KellyAnne Conway was the ever present face of the Trump campaign. This was immediately a problem because Conway's natural persona was one of arrogant condescension. Every time she opened her mouth, it came off as someone patiently explaining to their young grandchild why they must eat their Brussels sprouts if they knew what was good for them.She regularly frustrated hosts of all programs by her steadfast refusal to acknowledge that there was an actual reality out there. But when she drank her own "alternative facts" kool-iad, and started resisting the political theory of relativity, she got the Denver boot from every reputable network. So much for the Cruella DaVille of political commentary.
To my mind, the most effective of the Trump surrogates was Kayleigh McInerney, a mainstay on CNN. She was pleasant, soft spoken, apparently intelligent, and constantly smiling. She was also placid and serene in the fact of tough questions. Basically, what she reminded you of was a Hari Krishna at the airport, placidly smiling and holding out a copy of a book while you cut his ponytail off. But Kayleigh seems to have quietly faded from the scene, whether because she personally could no longer continue to shill for Trump, or because she wasn't sufficiently stupid or arrogant for the Inglorious Basterd, I don't know.
The rest of his surrogates were second squad players to start with. Stephen Miller may as well be KellyAnne Conway's male Siamese twin, he has the same grating, arrogant condescension. But he stepped on his crank yesterday on State Of The Union with Jake Tapper, having to be physically escorted from the set by security after a confrontation with Tapper, so I don't see him being very palatable to any of the networks as a guest in the future. Sam Clovis sailed into the political Bermuda Triangle after it was revealed that he was a campaign supervisor who told George Papadopoulos that is was just peachy for him to play footsies with the Russians for dirt on Hillary. Jay Sekulow is a joke, he comes across as the kind of lawyer who hoofed full speed, huffing and puffing, after your ambulance on the way to the emergency room. And Sam Nunberg lost his showroom smell when he admitted on multiple programs that he had called the President an idiot, excusing that by assuring everyone that Trump had most certainly called him worse. With friends like these?
The simple problem is that they can't let Trump speak for himself, and they damn well know it. This became abundantly clear last week, when the Boston Strangler of the truth, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, played a tape of Trump touting the success of his tax plan rather than have the Orange behemoth take the 140 steps from the Oval Office to make the statement himself from behind the podium, and face reporters questions.Their craven cowardice in refusing to let him speak for himself unscripted is an admission that he will do himself more harm than good.
Look, politics is ruled by impression and perception. And right now, there is an armada of detractors out there, their cannons blazing away with potshots aimed at Trump. And to defend him, he has a couple of kids armed with slingshots, with marshmallows for ammunition. This imbalance is going to continue to drive the public narrative that Trump is unstable, and unfit for the job, and should drive turnout to provide an effective check to his madness and stupidity. Don't let up on ght gas my friends, we're a long way from the finish line.
Authors note
I would like to show my sincere appreciation to all of the readers who have supported me during this amazing journey, so here's what I've decided to do. Starting at 5:00 AM on Monday January 8th, copies of my new e-book President Evil, will be on sale for $1.99. On Tuesday it will be $2.99, and on Wednesday, $3.99. Here is a perfect stocking stuffer for your new Kindle or e-reader, and I hope you enjoy it. All I ask is that once you've finished it, you leave a customer review at either Amazon, Goodreads or both. Reviews generate interest, who would you rather call, a plumber with two reviews, or one with three hundred reviews? And please, be honest in your review. Thanks again, and enjoy. You can find the book here.