Trump's Folly and the Art of Branding

Trump at a rally in Hershey, PA Dec. 16, 2106

Branding, like any art, requires discipline. It is best created with the consistency of thought, word, and deed. Without this discipline, confusion sews the seeds of doubt and soon the brand you have is not the one you want.

Nowhere is this more apparent than with our president, his administration, and current political party leadership. Here are few examples; in his inaugural address, Trump promised disenfranchised Americans that they would never again be forgotten. Yet we now know from the CBO analysis of the newly minted American Healthcare Act that 24 million average Americans will lose their healthcare coverage by 2026 while the wealthy will receive a 400 million dollar tax break. 

Further, after seven years of bickering and moaning about the Affordable Healthcare Act, the Republican party cannot agree on a viable alternative. The party is deeply skewed in their response to Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposed American Health Care Act with conservatives hating it, Trump disagreeing with it and Ryan and followers spinning TV ads on the public to gain support for the hastily crafted legislation.

Trump himself is the walking, talking contradiction of presidential character, sitting alone in the White House at 3 am spewing libelous tweets accusing the former president of wiretapping Trump Tower while offering no evidence to support the accusations. Perhaps this is appeasing his base who believe there is a conspiracy behind every nook and cranny of life. But they are in the minority, and his brand is becoming further sullied and tarnished with every tweet. Especially when he sends Spicer and Conway out to put a new spin on what he actually meant when he said “wiretap”.

The list of brand offenses goes on and on, but one thing is sure, he is doing more irreparable damage every time he opens his mouth because his rhetoric is inconsistent. The confusion has arrived, the doubt is growing.