Trump Steamrolls Critics With Flood-the-Zone Strategy: Style Rankles Even Some Allies But Draws a Contrast with Biden

Trump Steamrolls Critics With Flood-the-Zone Strategy

Style rankles even some allies but draws a contrast with Biden

Around the White House, some call it season two of the reality show—only with a bigger budget.

Companies, in fact, pitched reality shows on President Trump’s seismic comeback, according to people involved in the discussions. But the offers were turned down. Trump now is producing his own, choreographing a return that has left critics, and the press, breathless and rattled.

The strategy is to show supporters he is eager to keep campaign promises, strike a contrast of stamina with former President Joe Biden and disrupt Washington to a degree he fell short of in his first term. The pace and volume has sometimes frustrated some of Trump’s Republican allies, who, like Trump’s Democratic opponents, are struggling to keep up. Several early moves such as those undertaken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle certain agencies are facing court challenges, and he risks leaving Americans feeling fatigued.

In some ways, though, it is working, putting his critics often on their back foot. Democrats have objected to his attempts to freeze congressionally appropriated funding, position the government as hostile to immigrants and promote plans to occupy foreign territory. But so far, they have found little consensus on a message or direction.

The strategy was crafted to make it difficult for controversies to linger before the next attention-grabbing proposal or statement, people close to Trump said. On his first day in office, Trump signed executive orders to crack down on the southern border. But, in a deliberate coupling, he also pardoned the people who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump himself asked for aides to bring even more executive orders than they originally planned for the early weeks.

“We only know one speed,” said White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich. “That’s a stark contrast to the last four years.”

Meanwhile, all the action has entertained Trump’s base with viral moments.

“Let’s do something fun,” Trump told aides as they flew to Mar-a-Lago in Florida. They would later head to the Super Bowl in New Orleans. Why not use the moment to commemorate his renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America?

High above that body of water, Trump summoned reporters aboard Air Force One. A crew member’s voice came on, directing passengers to look out the right side of the aircraft to witness for “the first time in history” such a trip over the newly christened gulf. “Wow,” Trump said, “he did that well.” On the way back to Washington that night, an aide showed Trump, the first sitting president to attend the game, memes the visit had generated.

Trump has enjoyed high approval ratings in his first few weeks. But he runs the risk of alienating the independents and suburban women who voted for him in 2016 but not 2020, after deeming his first term to have been chaotic. Still, nearly one month into the second term, Trump has established a torrid pace and is enjoying the dominance.

The former star of “The Apprentice” has a penchant for stagecraft that is nothing new, but Trump is more hands-on than ever, according to people working for him. Take Tuesday. As reporters were led into the Oval Office for Trump’s meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Trump made sure a large map showing the Gulf of America was on display. Later that day he brought reporters back in to hear Elon Musk describe his bureaucracy-busting plans. And late that night, as snow battered Washington, Trump walked Marc Fogel, the schoolteacher who had been imprisoned in Russia, into the Diplomatic Reception Room.

“He’s become a very famous guy,” Trump said as an American-flag-draped Fogel expressed appreciation for Trump’s honoring a promise made to his 95-year-old mother to get him home. Trump then took Fogel on a tour of the Lincoln Bedroom.

The packed day was nothing like much of Biden’s presidency, during which he often went stretches with limited press interaction. His staff eventually began to stage-manage his schedule aggressively.

At each stop Tuesday, Trump fielded numerous questions from reporters, as he has done daily since taking office. In his first week alone he took 136, according to an analysis by the Daily Mail. Doing so allows Trump to dominate the spotlight and act as his own press secretary.

Karoline Leavitt, who officially holds that title, as a result is doing only sporadic briefings, and Trump’s events are carried on all the news networks. “FULL SPECTRUM DOMINANCE,” Steven Cheung, communications director, tweeted on Tuesday with a montage of coverage of Musk’s visit to the Oval.

Trump has signed dozens of orders, and his staff has coordinated them to maximize news value and tout a common refrain: “Promises made, promises kept.” —>READ MORE HERE (or HERE)

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