This is the time of the year that self-proclaimed PR experts write about what they think are the worst blunders made by other practitioners, but never mention ones that they made during 2025. So I’ll do so also, but with a twist: It will be limited to what I consider are the worst PR political mistakes of last year, based on what I learned when I worked on presidential, statewide and local campaigns.
As I have written before, I advise PR practitioners to pay close attention to political happenings because there are many tactics that can be used on non-political accounts. All of those essays have been aimed at non-political PR
practitioners, because only a very few in our business will enter the world of political public relations. But some will. So this essay will provide lessons for those who do. But that doesn’t mean that savvy practitioners can’t glean some lessons and apply them to non-political accounts.
Unlike my past urges that PR practitioners should learn tactics by paying attention to political happenings, this essay will advise PR people what not to learn.
As we enter the election year of 2026, below are some political public relations mistakes of 2025. Even if they didn’t harm a candidate doesn’t mean that they weren’t mistakes.
Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned from the New York City mayoral race was from how former Gov. Andrew Cuomo campaigned. During the early days of the race he was so assured that he would win the Democratic nomination that he let other candidates take the spotlight, which Zohran Mamdani did and won enough votes in a segmented primary to win the Democratic nomination. Lesson to be learned: The best advice you can give a candidate is always to run as if you’re losing. Don’t copy Mr. Cuomo’s strategy.
Mr. Mamdani said on Sept. 11 that he intended to apologize for comments he made in 2020 calling the New York Police Department “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,” reported a New York Times (NYT) article. But as I have often said, once a statement is made it’s cast in stone. Apologizing for it does little to convince people the apology is sincere. Lesson to be learned: Apologies do nothing that will change the minds of most people. Once you make a remark only actions, not words, will convince people that the apology was sincere. Be careful what you say. Words can come back to haunt you.
For those of you who aspire to become involved in political public relations, here is a lesson that you should remember. The NYT reported on Sept. 13 that Mr. Mamdani said that he would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, if he came to New York. Mr. Mamandi had a large lead among voters polled when he made that statement. Doing so could only alienate voters who support Israel’s actions in Gaza. Lesson to be learned: If you’re representing a candidate who is winning, always advise against making comments that can antagonize some voters. The only time that “shock comments” should be made is when a candidate is losing and attempting to shake up the race.
Then on Oct. 7, the second anniversary of the war that began when Hamas attacked an Israeli music festival killing more than 1200 people and taking several hundred hostages, Mr. Mamdani couldn’t have picked a worse time to say that the U.S. government is “complicit” in what he described as “genocidal war” and called for the conflict to end. From his previous statements voters already knew that Mr. Mamdani believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. He would have been better off making a conciliatory remark on the anniversary of the war. His statement could only cost him votes. If you ever manage candidates who are leading in the polls, the best advice is to suggest that they do not make statements that can be turned into negative TV commercials as Election Day nears.
Perhaps a 2025 trophy for extending a PR crisis should be presented to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, After the National Football League announced Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer, Ms. Noem said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, CA,
to “enforce the law.” Normally the announcement of the Super Bowl half-time performer would be a one or two day story. But by immediately attacking the Bad Bunny choice, even though he is an American citizen, Ms. Noem assured that the Bad Bunny selection will remain a topic for journalists much longer than it would have. Lesson to be learned: Just because a client is in a position of power doesn’t mean the person knows how the media will react to statements. Try to have any comments vetted by the corporate PR department or during a PR crisis by the corporate attorney before a client makes them.
Arguably, the grand mommy of PR mistakes was when Pamela Bondi, the attorney general said in February 2025 that she had an Epstein “client list.” But in July 2025 the Justice Department said that a “review found no such list and no evidence of Epstein blackmailing prominent individuals.” Lesson to be learned: By Ms. Bondi saying one thing and her department denying such a list existed, it caused immediate suspicion of a cover-up, leading to massive negative media coverage. Account teams should always be consistent in comments to the media
Adding to the PR crisis was when Ms. Bondi distributed documents in a binder that supposedly contained new information about the Epstein affair, but did not follow through with her promise to release all the files after she learned they contained numerous references to President Trump. Lesson to be learned: Never promise the media or a client that you are going to do something unless you intend to do so. Not doing so can result in a loss of confidence in you by the client and distrust of you by the media. Remember: Once something is said, it is cast in stone and subject to questioning by the media.
After a surprise coalition of Democrats and Republicans forced the release of the Epstein files, the administration opted to do so piecemeal. Lesson to be learned: That was a mistake. Dribbling out the files leads to continuous negative media coverage and accusations of a cover-up. Better to release them all at once to refute charges that you are engaging in a cover-up. If doing so would embarrass a client, let the corporate attorney implement the strategy.
In my opinion, the granddaddy of political PR mistakes of 2025 was the ill conceived movement of Ghislaine Maxwell, “Sentenced To 20 Years
In Prison For Conspiring With Jeffrey Epstein To Sexually Abuse Minors” who, after being interviewed by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, was transferred from prison to what is called a “country club prison” after she said that she “never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way.” The transfer to a more lenient prison added a new element to the negative media coverage. Reporters then wrote articles that the transfer was due to Ms. Maxwell lying to protect the President. Lesson to be learned: In this case having a member of the administration question Ms. Maxwell and then release the transcript did not stop the negative news coverage. It provided fuel to the fire. If you want to engage a third person to bolster your argument that your client did no wrong, always make certain that the individual is a well respected independent authority. (Ms. Maxwell, who in addition to being a partner in crime with Mr. Epstein, was also charged with perjury. In addition to the prison sentence, she was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine.) Remember: Only the media determines when there is nothing new to report.
Of course, a person doesn’t have to be a politician to make a political blunder: On Oct. 4, Jake Tapper of CNN conducted a so-called exclusive interview he had with President Thump. So called, in my opinion, because the interview was conducted via texting between Mr. Tapper and who he said was the president. As Lawrence O’Donnell pointed out on his Oct. 6 MSNBC show how does Mr. Tapper know that his questions were actually answered by the president? I know the answer, He doesn’t. Lesson to be learned: It’s difficult to have a client included in an article in a respected print pub unless the candidate has new information to disclose or is an office holder in an on-going situation. But cable TV political programs are so anxious for “important” guests, that if a candidate is willing to say something “explosive,” you should target producers of those shows.
On Nov. 14, two days after a congressional committee released documents about Mr. Trump’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump ordered an investigation into Democrats association with the convicted sex criminal Lesson to remember: Attempts to shift a PR problem to another person or entity, as Boeing and BP did, is a PR 101 mistake, because doing so only leads to greater coverage of the problem. What President Trump should have done is stick to his original statement that he knows nothing about the Epstein files and has done nothing wrong and then let his attorneys handle the situation.
But on November 18, Mr. Trump’s continued attempting to shift the blame to Democrats by saying the Epstein files are a Democratic problem. In a session with reporters after his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the president again said the Epstein situation was a Democratic problem. Later in the afternoon the House voted to release the files that the president had long wanted kept secret. Lesson to remember: Mr. Trump’s battle to keep the files from reaching a House vote is a perfect example of how to keep a crisis alive: His attempts to position it as a Democratic problem, his calling it a “hoax” and his attempting to block a vote over many months made the Epstein files a daily story. Even PR 101 students know, or should know, that it’s’ best to get out all the bad news at once instead of letting it become a daily drip. It also positions the president as being desperate.
A few Democratic members of Congress made what I consider a major PR blunder when they issued a video advising military personnel to refuse illegal orders. Even though there was nothing wrong in what they said, their remarks distracted from the on-going news about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green’s break with President Trump, the decline in president’s approval ratings and the on-going coverage of the Epstein files. Republicans jumped on the video saying that it encouraged military personnel to disobey orders. orders. Lesson to remember: When the results of a public relations campaign are producing the desired results don’t do anything that might derail the converge. Save other breaking news tactics for when there is a lull in the news. Personal Opinion: President Trump said in the old days their remarks might have been punishable by death. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is one of the Democrats who appeared in the video, which I believe might have vaulted him into the running for a place on the 2028 Democratic presidential ticket.
President Trump has a long history of making remarks that show no empathy or concern for the poor, the ill, or American soldiers who were killed in combat. But what is arguably his most uncaring, insensitive comment was when he said that Rob Reiner and his wife’s deaths was because of “ the anger he caused others” through “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” Lesson to remember:” During a tragedy, it’s bad PR to say something unsympathetic. Doing so always leads to negative media coverage. Personal Opinion: The president’s remarks about the Reiner’s murders prove that Mr. Trump’s made-up “Trump Derangement
Syndrome” is an authentic medical condition, and the president has it. President Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles gave an interview to Vanity Fair about the working of the Trump administration. When the article was published, Ms. Wiles said the article was a “hit job,” her remarks were taken out of context and contained quotes that she never said, even though the Times article said that the Vanity Fair reporter played the tape for its reporter, proving that what was reported was true. Lesson to remember: Before interviews, PR practitioners should emphasize to a client that nothing is off the record and that there is only one way to assure that a published article will not contain something the client regretted saying: “Don’t say it.”
On the day it was supposed to release all the Epstein files (12/19), the Department of Justice released what was said to be only 10 percent of the files, most of it redacted; the remainder previously known. This was a PR blunder for many reasons: It received negative major news coverage, saying that not releasing all the documents, as required by law, provided Democrats with talking points, saying that the Trump administration broke the law and assured that the Epstein files will remain as a news story into this year’s mid-term elections and provided Democrats with talking points that will still be newsworthy in the 2028 presidential election. Disobeying a Congressional action is a criminal offense, with a five year statue of limitations, a former justice department official said. Thus, if the Democrats regain the presidency in 2028, those that participated in the decision to not release all the documents when required by law could be prosecuted. The Epstein file matter is a self-made PR crisis for the Trump administration. They’ve sat on the files since 2016. If they had released them then it would have been a dead issue by now. Instead it is an example of how to keep a PR crisis alive. To make matters worse, The New York Times and the Associated Press both reported that 16 files were gone Saturday, while CBS News said at least 15 were missing, including those with pictures of President Trump. Files with Mr. Trump were reposted on Sunday after major media criticism. Lesson to remember: Bad new should be disclosed immediately. Letting it dribble out makes a bad situation worse.
In our business nothing is assured. Clients will come and go. PR practitioners will be hired and fired. PR programs that we believe are “sure things” will turn out to be duds. PR people will get promoted, not because they deserve the promotion, but because of office politics. Management will make promises that they have no intention of keeping.
The only thing that is assured is that PR blunders will be made this year on political and non-political accounts. And I’m willing to bet the ranch on it.
Nevertheless, based on my experience as a reporter, editor and PR practitioner, whose first job in our business was with a political shop, I can assure you that if you want to enhance your creativity, play close attention to the political scene. Unlike the lessons in your PR 101 textbooks, you’ll see how things work in the real world, like attempting to turn a negative into a
Positive (which hardly works), how clients should reply to antagonistic questions, the best ways to disseminate client messages, and how to handle a PR crisis and many more techniques that you can use to your advantage on non-political accounts. It can provide savvy practitioners with new ways of thinking. And you don’t have to take an advanced class in public relations. Just use your TV set and daily newspapers as textbooks.
There are important lessons that people in our business should remember from the Mamdani-Trump meeting: No matter how much you dislike a colleague never bad mouth the person (especially your boss).You don’t want to get the reputation of being a disrupter. At group meetings pretend that you like everyone, even if you don’t; that goes triple if you can’t stand your client.
And don’t ever do what Mr. Mandami did shortly after his cordial meeting with President Trump, and said on NBC, “I still think he’s a fascist,” because you never know when you will need help from the person you bad mouthed.
