Trump

Donald Trump besmirches the image of PR by complaining that his “phenomenal” job in handling the coronavirus is not getting the credit that he so richly deserves only because his communications team got “outplayed” by his opponents.

But Trump isn’t getting credit because Americans know that he's been a disaster in the response to COVID-19.

The president doesn't understand the role of PR, which is to communicate truthful messages to targeted audiences. PR isn't spin or pitching lies as truths.

Even Ed Bernays, the father of PR, could not position the deaths of nearly 200K Americans as a COVID-19 success story.

Trump though keeps on digging a bigger hole for himself. On Twitter, he had the nerve to compare his administration’s respond to the pandemic to the Obama White House’s handling of H1NI. He tweeted Sept. 18:

“Biden FAILED BADLY with the Swine Flu. It was the Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight”. He didn’t have a clue. We have done an incredible job with the much tougher China Virus!”

Trump’s COVID- 19 gang is more of a circular firing squad and when it comes to Swine Flu and COVID-19, the numbers—unlike Trump—don’t lie.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 12,469 Americans lost their lives to HINI from April 2009 to 2010.

America’s COVID-19 losses for the nine-month (March to Sept.) period stands at 198K. The US, which has four percent of the world’s population, accounts for 21 percent of the 947K COVID-19 death toll. That's a national disgrace.

What’s Trump's next move? Since he fingered then-VP Joe Biden for failing to counter H1N1, is he going to blame VP Mike Pence for the disastrous response to COVID-19?

Desperate times call for desperate measures by the sinking Trump re-election bid.

Just what the US needs…Public Relations Student Society of America’s 2021 Bateman Case Study Competition will focus on promoting civility in the national conversation.

“The pervasiveness of incivility and the incalculable toll it takes on the economic, social, physical and emotional well-being of all Americans beg for the intervention of communications professionals,” Jon Goldberg, PRSA Civility Tasks Force co-Chair, said in a statement.

Goldberg said there will be a national strategic campaign to restore quality, integrity and inclusiveness to public discourse in all its forms, wherever it takes place.

We can’t wait.