Before I go any further, I should clarify to the reader that I am not a Trump supporter. In fact, I rather publicly stated I would not be voting for him in 2020. I will also not be voting for Joe Biden or any other candidate for President of the United States.
Therefore, I have no dog in this fight and I am going to call this as objectively as I can. With that in mind, let me try to explain why Trump’s messaging right now is so chaotic and why it’s hurting him.
This morning, Donald Trump tweeted out an insane conspiracy theory about the 75-year-old man shoved by Buffalo police. He was shoved, hit his head, and was bleeding profusely. The video went viral. Trump, based on something that was said on the OAN network, tweeted out the conspiracy theory that this 75-year-old white man was actually Antifa and this was all a trap for police.
Over the last week on Twitter, the President weighed in on an NFL quarterback’s statements on kneeling during the national anthem; tweeted in all caps about a silent majority; Roger Goodell’s statements on the NFL protests; Joe Biden’s campaign; Law and order (not SVU, though); Mitt Romney marching with protestors; Colin Powell; defunding the police; D.C.’s mayor; whatever has been happening on Fox News; John Hickenlooper; the jobs report; Lisa Murkowski; claiming to have fired Jim Mattis as well as nicknaming him “Mad Dog”; Robert Mueller; John Huber: Chris Cuomo’s ratings; Andrew Cuomo’s state; Dinesh D’Souza’s book; Charlie Kirk’s book; a slew of endorsements; and Antifa.
In 2016, Kellyanne Conway reportedly took the President’s phone (and Twitter access) away at times to keep him disciplined on the messaging. It is high time for that to happen again. Trump’s inability to avoid commenting on any story that applies to him or is a topic he’s discussed before makes him vulnerable to oversaturating the voting public with too many thoughts and messages, and some are at odds with each other.
He has to hone in on two or three messages right now in order to try and stabilize the platform going into November.
The first message has to be the economy. For starter’s, Friday’s jobs report should be something he is pushing nonstop, along with the stock market’s confidence in the economic recovery. At the end of the day, people still vote for what is best for their wallets, and having a steady job again and rising wages right after a V-shaped recovery from a pandemic-induced recession will be great for him.
The second message needs to be on criminal justice reform. He has already worked to pass a good criminal justice reform bill and his opponent in November co-wrote the very bill that has led to a lot of the problems in the criminal justice community.
The third and final message he should adopt is one that directly reinforces his support of faith communities that were (and largely still are) under attack by progressive activists. He can do a lot right now to re-strengthen his support among evangelicals, a group he has to retain going into the election.
If Trump can stay on these messages, then the rather poor cycles he has had will be overcome fairly quickly. But he has to be disciplined. This is no longer about trying to “drain the swamp” or fight the system. This is about proving his system is right for the country.
Should We Trust Health Experts Anymore?
Here’s the thing about science: The very point of it is to be tested over and over to get more accurate information. The problem with the health experts, and leftist academics and scientists in general, is that they have always started with the conclusion in mind (that this study will somehow prove I’m right) and then cherry-pick the data to make it happen. That’s not science, that’s activism.
That is exactly what has happened since day one of this crisis, though. The data has always been used to prove that Republicans – and Donald Trump in particular – are wrong. When you jump on the media bandwagon to prove a political point, you are are not doing your job as a scientist.
We have gone from health experts telling us to shelter-in-place for months to out in the streets in crowds that are not at all socially distant. We have gone from businesses being shut down by the state to burned down by rioters. In all this time, not once have we really been allowed to go out (I realize most people by this point, had gone out into this brave new world regardless of state orders), but now we’re seeing thousands out marching… among other activities.
In all of this outdoor activity, though, we suddenly seem to be forgetting that we’ve been told for months not to gather in large crowds. A couple of weeks ago, Florida and Georgia residents (along with the residents of other Republican states) were being chastised by the national media for daring to go out to the beaches. Citizens who were wanting to go and operate their businesses and conduct life as usual were ridiculed by pundits from CNN to MSNBC.
We were told by health experts that going out was ill-advised. These were the same health experts who were being trotted out every day to condemn the actions being taken by Republican governors and the words and guidance from the Trump administration.
Those same health experts, though, rushed out a statement in support of the mass gatherings and protests over the death of George Floyd. They put out a letter with signatures and everything. A week before, they were tsk-tsking people going to beaches, despite warm weather having an adverse effect on the ability of the virus to spread. Now, though, it’s just fine, even when the protests are happening in states that aren’t warm and humid.
Just as notably, when a study on hydroxychloroquine came out that essentially refuted Donald Trump’s claims about the drug, it was rushed out and touted in every media outlet as often as possible. After all, Trump was pushing a bogus drug! Scandal in the White House!
Except, now we know that the study was, at best, sketchy as hell and unverifiable. At worst, the data was entirely made up. But the health experts, including those at leading medical journals, pushed the study as if it were gospel truth.
Our health experts (and, frankly, our national press) have to do better, or else they are going to find no one is listening to them anymore.
Homestyle: Let’s Do Some Edible Gardening
On this week’s episode of Homestyle, my co-host Leigh Guidry and I chat with local gardening expert Marcus Descant, owner of Urban Naturalist here in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Marcus is a big proponent of edible gardening, the idea of arranging your flower beds to not only look aesthetically pleasing but to use edible plants (vegetables, leafy greens, etc.) to do so. The designs that are available on his site are beautiful, and it’s definitely something you might want to look into doing for yourself.
If you want to hear more, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast here, and if you have cooking, crafting, or family activity ideas, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram (@Homestylepod).
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The Homestyle Podcast is a joint venture between myself and one of my best friends, education reporter Leigh Guidry. Throughout each episode, we discuss cooking, crafting, and other hobbies as well as how we make sure to spend time with our families despite how insanely busy life can be. The goal of the podcast has always been to take a moment to focus on what’s really important because, at the end of the day, family and life is more important than whatever distractions are going on in the world around us.
Recipe Of The Week: The Best Meat Sauce For Spaghetti
Last week, I gave you my grandmother’s overnight beef jerky recipe. I sincerely hope some of you have tried it already. If not, do it ASAP. But, if you’re looking for something a little more appropriate for mealtime, I want to share with you her meat sauce for spaghetti night - or, if you’re like me, spaghetti squash night.
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of this recipe because I have a long-standing theory that grandmothers never write down the full recipe on anything so no one else will re-create it. But, I have made a version of this before and it was amazing.
2 tbsp. cooking oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green peppers
1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. salt
Black pepper and red pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp. thyme
2 bay leaves
1-2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup tomato paste OR 1 cup ketchup
2-3 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 can tomato sauce
Brown onions, celery, and peppers in oil.
Add meat and brown with the vegetables.
Stir in all other ingredients, and keep stirring frequently.
Cook on low heat for at least one hour.
Serve over pasta of choice OR spaghetti squash.
Final Thoughts…
You should read about this Spanish porn star who killed a dude while high on toad venom.