PR Resource

A leader can compromise his authority through ignorance. He should know basic facts, but doesn’t. As a result, his subordinates think less of him and his power of persuasion dwindles. Here is a case. Any school child can tell you the British burned Washington and not Canadians who were not even a nation then. This might be dismissed as a one-time faux pas, but President Trump plays fast and loose with facts. He makes them up as he goes along, and he contradicts himself from day to day. It’s a wonder he is able to keep a base of supporters. He has lost many who voted for him the first time. Yet he persists in bending and breaking facts, be they historical or not. No wonder foreign leaders who deal with him are angry, and the Twitter community has a good time schooling him.

It is tragic enough that a business executive takes her own life. It is a crisis for a company that has her brand name. Kate Spade was a celebrity designer of handbags and accessories. Even though she had sold her company and was engaged in a new venture her name remained on the door. Her untimely death gives the owner little time to transition from the image of the founder to a brand unconnected to a person. Kate Spade will now live as a particular type of handbag in a price range. It was trending that way anyway since Spade had changed her name and was pursuing a new line of fashion goods. But, the suicide of the founder dampens the successful image of the products. How could someone who seemingly had everything yet not have enough? If she suffered from depression, why hadn’t she gone for treatment? If she was unhappy, why?  There may be no answers, but anyone who owns and uses her handbags is left with lingering questions.

One way to turn off people is to be seen gaming a system. That’s what is happening in California where two Democratic candidates for governor are boosting Republican rivals in an effort to knock each other out of the two top spots in the primary election. Why? California has a primary system in which the two top vote-getters regardless of party go on to the general election. The Democratic candidates know that running against each other will be difficult in the general election because the state is sure to elect a Democratic governor. It will be much easier if the opponent is a Republican. So, they are running ads supporting Republican candidates in the primary. It is a cynical move but legal. One can easily pardon voters if they don’t like either Democratic candidate as a result of their gaming the system. It would be ironic, if as a result of their chicanery, the two top winners are Republicans.

International relations is the art of making and keeping friends around the world. It is recognition that no matter how powerful a nation might be, there comes a time when it needs allies. Insulting friends isn’t done because one wants to maintain a bond. This is why the President gets a failing grade in international relations. He has imposed tariffs on friend and foe alike in his effort to “Make America Great Again.” How can one beat up on Canada, our loyal neighbor to the north? What possesses one to take a whack at Mexico where so many goods are manufactured?  Trump believes the US is weak and needs protection from predatory neighbors. His way of going about it is ham-handed and self-destructive.  Congress needs to convince him to lift the tariffs and negotiate, but Congress is weak itself with infighting among Republicans. The midterm elections can’t come soon enough. Maybe, just maybe, we will get a Senate and House that will stand up to Trump and make peace with allies.

This televangelist risks ruining his ministry with his request for a $54 million private jet. The perception is one of greed. His flock could easily be excused for failing to believe the preacher has a pipeline to God, and God told him to buy it. After all, he already has three other private jets.  How many does a minister need to spread the divine word? To an outsider, the fellow smacks of fraud. For $54 million one can fly first class for decades, and should a preacher be winging from place to place in the height of comfort? Where is the example for others unless he wants everyone to reach the exalted heights of owning a personal jet? It’s an odd relationship with his flock of believers. Long ago, a preacher said, “God’s business is very good business.” That seems to be the situation here.

Pharmaceutical company, Sanofi, ducked a controversy with a proper response. Comedian Roseanne Barr blamed Ambien, a Sanofi medication, for the racist tweet she let fly at a former counselor to President Obama. Sanofi responded with a bit of snark, “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.” One can envision the writer of that phrase chuckling while he or she composed it. The statement is not an expression of outrage, merely a statement of fact. And, it is the fact that is so damning.  One doesn’t get the opportunity often to defend a product so well. Kudos to Sanofi for a proper response.

A Swedish brewery is making and selling a beer that uses processed sewage water. It is its way of making a statement about the need to conserve and protect water. One wonders if Swedes can overcome the gag factor to try it, and if it is any good. The name of the brew is PU:REST to connote the safety of the liquid within. Still, can you envision someone coming home with a six-pack and serving it to guests? There are many ways to position a company in relation to natural resources. This doesn’t seem to be a good one although the company is earnest.  Sometimes PR gestures should remain on the brainstorming white board rather than being effected.

President Trump is claiming a Democratic law is forcing the administration to break up families engaged in illegal immigration. He and his attorney general say there is nothing they can do to prevent it. Unfortunately, that is not true and the media have widely reported the falsehood.  It is one thing to arrest a migrant for crossing the border without papers. It is quite another to take the children from the migrant and put them into a foster care system that has lost track of nearly 1500 of them. Trump is looking like an unfeeling demagogue as a result of this move and has created a crisis for his administration whether he sees it that way or not. Few parents,no matter how ideological they are, can imagine their children being torn from them and held in mass incarceration. Come November they will have a chance to express their concern, or even outrage, over the move. With waves of Republicans retiring from the House and key Senators stepping down, Trump may be facing a hostile Congress for the first time. If he does, he will have only himself to blame.

A number of high tech entrepreneurs and scientists are sounding an alarm about artificial intelligence (AI). They are afraid machines will take over and move against humans who will be defenseless. Notable naysayers include Elon Musk and the late Stephen Hawking. Those who work in AI, however, know both its limitations and advantages. It is a long step from AI of today to the rogue computer of “2001: A  Space Odyssey.”  Today’s AI machines are giant data crunchers using algorithms and tens of thousands of examples to perform visual recognition and find patterns. Those who fear them do not understand the massive power AI needs to do the simplest tasks that even children can perform. AI needs better PR, a truthful statement of its merits without hype about what it should be able to do, but can’t — not yet, anyway. With better appreciation of the systems, AI can prove to be a boon to humanity rather than demon technology.

Trump’s spokesperson says it bothers her to be called a liar because one’s reputation is all one has. She is right about that, but her words belie her. The article cites four instances in which she lied about facts and says there are more examples as well. Perhaps Sarah Sanders doesn’t know the facts or, as her boss does, makes them up as she goes along. This administration has a peculiar relationship to the truth. It is whatever someone says in the moment, facts be damned. Unfortunately, the media keeps track of facts and is only too eager to point out when there is a discrepancy between what one says and what is right. Sanders can be hurt by words about her, but she had better get used to it, or best of all, resign her position. She can let someone else who doesn’t worry about reputation take her place and lie constantly.