For the Donald, all's well that ends well. That is as long as he's the one doing the firing, or in this case quitting. After Fox cancelled Trump's Thursday scheduled appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, the leading Republican candidate took to Twitter to inform "Trump Nation" how things went down.
Not too long after 12 p.m. Wednesday, Trump issued this message
"@FoxNews has been
treating me very unfairly & I have therefore decided that I won’t be
doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future."
Two days before his on-air cancellation and subsequent boycott of the
network, Trump took a direct shot at The O'Reilly Factor via twitter,
"@oreillyfactor, why don’t you have some knowledgeable talking heads on your show for a change instead of the same old Trump haters. Boring!"
Don't worry, this continuing soap opera of Trump and his tumultuous relationship with the media gets juicier. After Trump's boycott tweet on Wednesday, Fox promptly responded with their own take on the events,
"At 11:45am today, we canceled Donald Trump’s scheduled appearance on The O’Reilly Factor
on Thursday, which resulted in Mr. Trump’s subsequent tweet about his
‘boycott’ of FOX News. The press predictably jumped to cover his tweet,
creating yet another distraction from any real issues that Mr. Trump
might be questioned about. When coverage doesn’t go his way, he engages
in personal attacks on our anchors and hosts, which has grown stale and
tiresome. He doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists
what to ask is not how the media works in this country."
Fox, which attracts a substantial amount of Republican viewers, has had strained relations with Trump for quite some time.
His most recent bump in the road with the network came as a result of
his attacks on Fox anchor Megyn Kelly, who served as moderator during
the first Republican debate. I'm no ju-ju guru, but one would think that issuing statements like those probably aren't going to be good for your PR. Alas, the Donald remained nothing short of himself, adding yet another chapter to his growing book of "you-can't-fire-me-I-quit."
A similar situation transpired with Macy's after Trump's degrading comments toward Hispanic immigrants. Macy's declared their plans to end business relations with Trump, only for him to counter that he was severing the ties due to his disdain towards his products being manufactured in China, and saying they (Macy's) were experiencing a lot of pressure from other outside sources.
Trump continues to carry a majority of the support in the polls, as he currently trends at 24% (nearly 8% above Dr. Ben Carson who sits in 2nd). Though there is the saying of "any publicity is good publicity," I suspect most would disagree with that statement when the stakes at hand consist of being in the running to be named the next Commander In Chief. For now Trump remains at the head of the merry-go-round that is the Republican nomination, but for how long? Those behind him have gained significant ground since his initial upward spike in the polls. Much like a prize race horse owner, money can only take you so far, after that it's all about performance and the ability get the job done. While we're a good ways from the home stretch, Trump isn't doing himself any favors in regards to getting the media on his side.
Articles and Polls:
Trump Vs. Fox News Who Fired Who First
2016 Republican Presidential Nomination Poll - RealClearPolitics
As fall approaches and campaign season picks up, Hillary Clinton's numbers in the polls may start to plummet faster than the temperature. Clinton has been dealing with a seemingly small problem since March, regarding the use of her personal email on a private server. Much like a viciously feeding disease, although it has started small, the issue has all but exploded in a huge blemish towards her campaign efforts, that could play a decisive role in her ability to obtain the Democratic nomination.
Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton's email records were brought into contention, specifically concerning her use of a privately operated server rather than a government server in association with the use of personal email addresses. The situation became sticky for Clinton when questions were raised as to the content being exchanged through her emails, as she was serving as part of President Obama's Cabinet at the time in the role of Secretary of State. The convenience of using one server, rather than separating "work and play," is a wrong Clinton has publicly tried to right, having gone on record saying "Yes, I should have used tow email addresses, one for personal matters and one for my work at the State Department. Not doing so was a mistake. I'm sorry about it, and I take full responsibility."
While repetitive apologies have been issued by herself and those on her behalf, her numbers in the polls don't appear to be seeing any negative implications...yet. Early on in the race for the Democratic nomination, she held 60%+ of the votes over her opponents. That gap has significantly decreased, as she now holds an estimated 44% of the vote over Bernie Sanders' 22% and Vice President Joe Biden's 20%. More concerning than her drop in numbers is the increasing percent of Americans who wouldn't even think of associating Clinton and the word "trustworthy" in the same sentence.
While those such as former U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tomkins say that what Clinton did was "probably not" illegal, the water continues to get murkier as time goes on. Tomkins stands by her position supporting Clinton's innocence in the matter, writing in USA Today this statement, "Clinton is not being investigated for knowingly sending or receiving classified materials improperly." The topic of classified materials has become a growing concern due to the fact that while none of the material exchanged in the emails was classified at the time of transmission, 125 have been deemed retroactively classified.
Perhaps the biggest thorn in Clinton's side is that this issue will simply not go away. As former Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod stated "Her answers have evolved over time and prolonged this story...She's trying to bring this thing to an end so she can be heard on other subjects, but she needs a consistent answer." As her two chief opponents Bernie Sanders and Vice President Biden continue their uphill battles for nomination victory, Clinton may be on the fast track to realizing that what may seem convenient at the time, can be a nightmare to relive later.
Articles and Polls:
Hillary Clinton on Emails: "I'm Sorry"
Hillary Clinton's Email Controversy, Explained.
2016 Democratic Presidential Nomination Poll - RealClearPolitics
With his popularity sliding in recent polls to the likes of The Donald and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Jeb Bush is mounting for an all out advertising war that he looks to carry him through the winter months. Much like a bear stocks up on food and fat in order to make it through their long winter hibernation, good 'ole Jeb has more than sufficiently stocked his advertising/media pantry as the height of campaign season approaches.
Right to Rise USA is an independent Super PAC (political action committee) that Bush launched back in January. Through relentless fundraising efforts and the fortuitous ability to tap into a multiple decade deep donor list by way of his family, the committee brought in a record setting $103 million over the course of six months. Now that he and his Super PAC are locked and loaded, they are about to drop an eight-figure sum on ad buys in the early primary states. Part of this figure includes a whopping $500,000.00 worth of ads that will be aired on Boston and New Hampshire cable stations that will begin running today and continue through the end of the month.
In addition to this ice breaker of a campaign ad purchase, Right to Rise USA has also spent in excess of $200,000.00 on ads in the social media realm. Bush is well aware the times have certainly changed from when his brother and father were in contention for the White House, and so are the means in which people consume and digest their news and information. Within that $200,000.00 spent on ads targeting social media, the large majority were allocated to online ads. Most notably were those ads distributed by way of Vine, a video-sharing based social media program. Many of these ads in particular have found their way to Facebook and undoubtedly reached high numbers of viewers (voters).
So what's wrong with this picture you say? Sounds like a politician who's playing to win and just happens to have some deep pockets. Well, throw the man a flag and push him back 10 yards, because he's most certainly holding. Holding a very cheeky card that numerous other candidates were unable to possess due to their positions held within the federal government.
Bush's Republican counterparts, who are officeholders within the federal government, were not able to do what he did in starting up his own PAC, by way of federal law. In the early months of his group's fundraising, he was able to make campaign-esque appearances all while claiming he was still mulling the decision over whether or not to declare as an official candidate.
Once he declared his candidacy for office, he cut his ties (officially) with the organization as required by law. This time of campaigning before it become facebook official allowed him to perhaps gain some ground that other candidates were deprived of, due to a lack of resources, primarily the ocean of money Bush had at his disposal. After cutting the cord, he didn't leave this money bag baby in the hands of just anyone. He made sure to leave the reigns to someone who would no doubt have his back and continue drumming to the same beat he was before declaring his candidacy. The man who now holds the torch is Mike Murphy, who advised Bush's gubernatorial elections and helped contribute to his early preparation efforts for the campaign.
With his position resembling that of a classic Rocky film, he's got Mick in his corner ready to pump all the funds necessary into this multiple round bout, as he goes up against the likes of wealthier than wealthy businessman Trump and various others across the Republican board. While some criticize him for working the system and scheming to "...the rules of the game, the way it's laid out," at the end of the day isn't he just making the most of an opportunity that was afforded to him and he happened to take advantage of? Will the seemingly bottomless penny bank of the Super PAC Right to Rise USA help catapult Bush from mid-poll dweller to top of the pack?
Personally, I don't think so. However, something we do know for sure is, he won't be lagging in the advertisements and social media presence department. As for spreading his message of "plans to change the culture in Washington," it appears Jeb is putting his money where his mouth is, literally.
Articles and Polls:
Jeb Bush Campaign Drops 500,000 in First TV Buy
Jeb Bush's Super PAC Prepares to Launch Its First TV Ad Campaign
As Lindsey Lohan (pre-crash and burn) and the rest of the Mean Girls would have it, we break up the monotany of the middle of the week with a little splash of color. Unlike the clique segmented high school cafeteria Lohan so eloquently breaks down for us near the beginning of what was likely the last relevant thing she'll be a part of in American pop culture, American politics is not as easily deciphered.
Sure, you can group politicians within their respective parties of affiliation, however, who's to say that there isn't a fair share of gray (dare I say 50 shades of it?) left on the table when examining what politicians say to the mass media and how it is recorded or interpreted. More over, the media help serve as the bugle of communication between politicians and the public. Through this delicate relationship of honesty and trust, the media is effectively able to paint a portrait, for better or worse, of politicians and presidential candidates to the masses.
As a presidential candidate, the media can be your best friend or worst
enemy. Sometimes both. One minute they’re giving you high praise, the
next, they’re throwing you under the bus. In a world of say what you
mean and mean what you
say, it is becoming increasingly difficult for politicians to truly
know who has their back and who’s gunning for it. As crunch time
approaches for debates, primaries, and a ramp up in the campaigning
season, politicians with aspirations of serving as the
next commander in chief are certainly minding their P’s and Q’s. One wrong move, statement, or press conference, can tarnish and destroy
one’s reputation just as easily as it can help aid it.
Through examining
stories published on presidential candidates representing various parties, I will look at their use and involvement with mass media, how it correlates to their current poll numbers, and how it may boost or setback their campaign for the White House.
