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PR people should be very alarmed at the torrent of lies and deceit that are at the heart of Donald Trump's war on facts.
The president today dismissed images of caged immigrant children who were forcibly ripped from their parents as "phony stories of sadness and grief" put out by Democrats.
Earlier in the week though, Trump admitted that he, First Lady Melania and First Daughter Ivanka were affected by the images, and that he signed his executive order ending the baby abduction policy because he couldn't stand the "sight" of the pictures. Of course, it's all about him.
Trump has now changed his tune on those cruel pictures.
On Thursday, the president weighed in on the God-awful wardrobe decision made by Melania for her Texas field trip to visit some of the kids jailed by her husband.
The Donald contradicted Melania's spokeswoman, who said there was "no hidden message" connected with the First Lady's now infamous Zara jacket with "I Really Don't Care, Do U" scrawled on it's back.
Not true, claimed the president. He tweeted that the jacket referred to the "fake news media" and "Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!"
The Washington Post fact-checker reports the president has made 3,200 lies or misleading claims since taking office 518 days ago. Trump pulled off a tour de force during his June 20 rally in Duluth, where he lied or made a misleading claim every two minutes, according to the fact checker.
New York Times op-ed writer Timothy Egan today wrote "the constant repetition of the lie is the way to make truth meaningless. You say a falsehood over and over and it takes on the shape of reality."
He's concerned that our "fact-based democracy" won't be able to function "when the Trump toxins have gotten deep into the national bloodstream."
The same applies to PR.
Unlike advertising, which relies on making an emotional connection with a targeted audience, PR relies on facts.
Minus facts, PR becomes spin and dies.
PR also dies if Americans won't accept facts as reality, which is a top priority of president Trump.
In a world in which companies, non-profits and public figures just make things up, there's no need for PR.
The PR community must challenge the president's war on facts, before it's too late.
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