Fraser SeitelFraser Seitel

Depending on who you talk to, President Donald Trump could mean the end of everything from illegal immigration to the environment to the Mexican peso to the proper use of grammar as we know it.

There’s one more item that must be added to the list: the practice of public relations.

Positive PR begins with proper performance and good behavior and communicating that reality to the public. In other words, “doing good and getting caught.”

But today, with the onslaught of Typhoon Trump, the practice of PR may be doomed. In less than two weeks in the saddle, the new American President had already violated a half-dozen of the cardinal principles of public relations.

PR Principle #1: Never lie

The cardinal rule of the practice of public relations is to never, ever lie. Your most important asset is your reputation. And if you lie, you lose it.

In PR, where practitioners regularly explain to reporters and bloggers, what their clients do and why they do it, lying is the quickest way to lose the trust of those from whom you are attempting to gain “third party endorsement.”

President Trump, in his very first week, insisted that his inauguration drew more viewers than any in history (it didn’t) and also that despite the official results, more legitimate voters voted for him than for his opponent. “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump said.

In response, even the traditionally circumspect New York Times headlined its front-page article, “Trump Repeats Lie About Popular Vote in Meeting with Lawmakers.”

PR Principle #2: Always check your facts

Journalists trust people who supply them with accurate facts. They build long-term relationships with public relations professionals who feed them the straight story. And they don’t trust sources who, purposely or not, regularly get their facts wrong.

President Trump seems to have a problem with “facts,” whether tweeting or speaking. For example, the difficult relations with America’s southern neighbor began when the President-to-be claimed: “Mexico is sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”

The facts are a bit different, with the most recent number of immigrant sex offenders equaling two percent, with Latinos accounting for nine percent of U.S. sexual assaults; whites accounted for 71 percent.

PR Principle #3: Never attack the media

In the days when print newspapers and magazines ruled the communications landscape, the rule in public relations was, “Never get in a shouting match with a journalist who buys ink by the barrel.”

The same holds true in the Age of the Internet and Social Media. Savvy newsmakers learn to slough off the slings and arrows hurled at reporters and bloggers. They don’t let media criticism get under their skin. The new President, of course, isn’t most people.

After the Times criticized his claims about winning the popular vote, Trump tweeted: “The failing @nytimes has been wrong about me from the very beginning. Said I would lose the primaries, then the general election. Fake News!” 

This, despite the fact Trump had earlier sat down with the paper’s editors and agreed to “bury the hatchet.”

PR Principle #4: Don’t bad mouth your adversaries

What you say behind closed doors is your business. But what you say for attribution can get you in trouble. So, when asked about a competitor or opponent you just don’t like, it’s always better to demur, i.e. Discretion is the better part of valor. But Donald Trump doesn’t know the definition of “discretion.”

When John Lewis, the 76-year-old civil right icon who once had his skull cracked open defending the rights of black people, suggested Trump was an “illegitimate President,” the President fired back with guns blazing: “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results. All talk, talk, talk — no action or results. Sad!”

Even Trump’s most devoted advisers must have cringed at that one.

PR Principle #5: Always keep your word

The quickest way to lose your reputation is to promise something and then fail to follow through. When President Obama drew a “line in the sand,” threatening to retaliate against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, his credibility suffered when he never acted on his pledge.

So smart leaders won’t promise something unless they know they can back it up. And then there’s Donald Trump. While virtually every U.S. presidential candidate shares his tax returns with voters, Trump steadfastly refused. “I’m not releasing the tax returns because, as you know, they’re under audit. So I can’t release them till that’s done.”

A week ago the Administration announced that the President, on second thought, would be releasing nothing.

PR Principle #6: Always take the high road

Finally, public relations advisors uniformly counsel clients to take the “high road” in any public debate. Leaders should be admired, looked up to. And that means that they must always act with decorum and quality and refinement.

Here’s the “refinement” of America’s new President describing his most vocal critic, the actress Rosie O’Donnell: “I said very tough things to her and I think everyone would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her ... Rosie’s a loser, a real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie.”

All of which suggests that if President Trump proceeds on his current course — and there’s no reason to believe he’ll change any time soon — the trusted, public relations advisor may be destined to go the way of the floppy disc.

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Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He is the author of the Prentice- Hall text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its eleventh edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation and Idea Wise. He may be reached directly at [email protected].