The MSNBC piece illustrate’s how Donald Trump works with the media’s help to ‘define’ and ‘turn’ actions against him back against others and the government he once ran…
He IS much better at this than running a country, or business ….
There are TON’S of books and media pieces about him doing this , yet he STILL makes it work because the media points it out, but then ?
Keep’s it going….
We ARE in for a much more of this in the next two years as Trump fights legal efforts to convict him of misdeeds criminally and civilly ….
Americans showed their tiredness with the Trump show two years ago and even last November….
Unfortunately ?
It’s in for reruns for the next year or two….
Played out in courts and rallies from Manhttan NY toWashington DC toAtlanta Georgia to Florida….
Free seats are on TV, Newspapers and Social Media….
Trump exploits journalistic and institutional norms to shape narratives in his favor. Trump is a master of exploiting what I refer to as information asymmetry — the space in which events are anticipated but can’t yet be officially confirmed, such as what we’re experiencing in the current moment.
And that’s when he strikes. When Trump knows there is an information vacuum, he gets his story out first, whether it’s true or not, giving him “first mover advantage.” In particular, we should keep in mind that the time between when the DA’s office negotiates a surrender with Trump’s lawyers and when charges are unsealed — which might take a couple of days — is when Trump would have the most latitude to shape the perceptions and reactions of his supporters.
Because once his version is out there, reining it in or correcting it becomes very difficult.
We saw how this can play out in Trump’s favor in the Russia investigation….
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We saw Trump use this strategy yet again after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago for classified documents. Trump had been in communication with the Justice Department for months over the return of missing documents that had been flagged by the National Archives, unbeknownst to the public. Trump knew prosecutors couldn’t comment on ongoing investigations. Therefore, when he claimed Aug. 8 that the FBI conducted a “raid” of his home, “broke into” his safe and even planted evidence, he understood that his version of events wouldn’t be contradicted. Trump painted the FBI as a rogue agency that had engaged in an unjustified search, rhetoric that inspired one of his followers to attack the FBI’s Cincinnati office with a nail gun.
This same tactic has been employed in the last week. Knowing that prosecutors speak only through their filings and that grand jury proceedings are secret, Trump used the absence of information to claim he would be indicted in a matter of days, using the opportunity to rally his followers to “protest” and “take our nation back.”…
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It’s possible that, because of the immense logistics an arrest and arraignment of Trump would entail, his indictment would be under seal until he travels from Florida to surrender himself in New York.
Should this happen, the media and the public should remember that before they react immediately to whatever he says in that time frame — especially knowing such a situation might make Trump more desperate than he has ever been. It would potentially be his last chance to manipulate the public narrative, media coverage and his supporters’ reactions in his favor. Because if charges are filed, he’ll have to answer to facts and evidence, which are his kryptonite. Perhaps that is what scares him the most…