 Nick Sandmann |
RunSwitch, a Louisville PR firm with close ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is providing media support for Nick Sandmann, the Covington Catholic High School student who was in the middle of the social media firestorm triggered by his standoff with a Native American protestor in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The SM barrage charged Sandmann and his fellow MAGA-hat wearing students with disrespecting Nathan Phillips, 64, who took part in Indigenous People's Day March.
Additional video, however, revealed that members of the Black Hebrew Israelites cult screamed racist and homophobic insults at the Covington students.
Philips, it turned out, fashioned himself as a peacemaker. Borrowing a drum, the Marine Corps vet stepped between the students and BHI members in a bid to form a prayer circle to calm the situation.
RunSwitch distributed a statement from Sandmann in which he said by remaining motionless and calm, he was helping to diffuse tension.
"I realized everyone had cameras and that perhaps a group of adults was trying to provoke a group of teenagers into a larger conflict. I said a silent prayer that the situation would not get out of hand,” he said in the statement.
President Trump has weighed in on the matter, calling the Kentucky teenagers "symbols of the fake news media in the US and how evil it can be. They have captivated the attention of the world, and I know they will use it for the good—maybe even bring people together," tweeted Trump.
Gregg Feistman, M.A., Professor of Practice in Public Relations at Temple University and former corporate communications executive, joins Taking the Lead to discuss the frameworks leaders can use to determine when to speak up or stay silent.
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