I’ve often criticized the strategies used during a PR crisis because many are from hackneyed by-the-book manuals. That’s definitely not true about the tactics that President Trump has been using during his Jeffrey Epstein crisis. But just because it’s original thinking doesn’t mean it isn’t flawed thinking. His tactics have only made the crisis worse. It can be used as a case study of how to keep a PR crisis in the news.
What President Trump should have done regarding the Epstein matter is to make one statement saying, “I haven’t had any association with Epstein for many years and haven’t done anything wrong. All future inquiries regarding Epstein should be directed to the Department of Justice.”
Instead, by continuing to comment on the situation he not only positioned himself as the main element of media articles but also made statements that were easily proved to be untrue, like saying, “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words,” referring to a birthday drawing that was part of a birthday present for Epstein.
While rushing to get out a statement about a crisis ASAP is still practiced by many, if not the great majority of PR crisis specialists, I’ve always believed doing so can cause exceedingly more harm than good for a client.
Many CEO’s like President Trump think that rushing out a statement will be the solution to any problem because, after all, who is more believable than a CEO, in their egocentric opinions of themselves. Nothing can be further than the truth. Statements by CEO’s regarding the Boeing 747 crashes, the BP oil spill, the Wells Fargo banking problems and now the Trump-Epstein situation proves my contention that the best strategy for a CEO to take during a PR crisis is to let their lawyers do the talking.
Let’s pretend that President Trump is a PR client
The client has a PR crisis. He issues a statement within hours, thinking that will put an end to the crisis because after all, if a CEO says something everyone should believe it, because after all, “I’m a CEO.” That will keep the media happy is the CEO’s thinking. Right? Wrong.
After the rushed statement, new facts that contradict the initial announcement inevitably are discovered by the media (as in the Trump-Epstein matter).
The media now is cynical about any other statements issued. The CEO is now in a defensive position of having to respond to questions claiming that the initial statement was not credible.
Also, the media rehashes the original statement in follow-up stories, resulting in doubt about the truthfulness of all future statements.
Now the client has three PR crisis situations—the original one, another with a skeptical media, and perhaps the most damaging one, the belief that there was an attempted cover-up.
President Trump’s refusal to keep quiet and let his attorneys do the talking after his initial “I did nothing wrong” statement has mushroomed into a major PR problem for the president that will continue throughout his presidency.
His statement that “I Absolutely Love That Stephen Colbert Got Fired and I Hear Jimmy Kimmel Is Next” added fuel to the conflagration.
Even before the Epstein situation the president’s statements were proven to be untruthful. But they were mainly one-and-done lies. His untruths regarding the Epstein matter has legs.
During any PR crisis, I have advised clients that until the facts are analyzed internally, press inquiries should be answered with statements like, “We are investigating the situation and have no further details to share with you at this time. We will definitely keep you informed as new facts emerge.”
My question to so many crisis specialists are why are there so many adherences to the ancient “get it out immediately” rule that was conceived by mere mortals many decades ago? PR is not a science, so why accept its tenets as such?
Also, other than preparing a crisis prevention template to impress clients (what some Army PR guys, when I taught public relations at the Army Information School, used to call “eyewash”), how can anyone adequately prepare a credible crisis plan that works for a situation until it’s known what the situation is? An outline of a PR crisis plan I can agree with. No more because the tenet originated decades ago, which since has been copied by others without giving credit to the originator, me, is still relevant today. It says, “Unlike clothing, there is no one size fits all PR crisis plan. Every crisis needs original thinking.” President Trump is evidently not a believer of the adage. He is responding to the Epstein matter in his old fashioned way, by making statements that are making fodder for his critics.
Waiting too long to issue a statement might give the impression of stonewalling, according to some PR crisis specialists. But there can be serious consequences of rushing a statement just to satisfy the media (or a client’s ego). In situations with potential legal implications, the timing of the initial statement should be a joint decision involving attorneys, company executives and in-house and agency PR teams. I know this goes against many PR crisis beliefs, but I feel that the attorney’s advice should have the highest priority. That’s because protecting the company from possible legal problems is much more important than getting “good press.”
Getting it out fast to get “ahead of the story” isn’t the only crisis PR tenet that I have faulted over the years. All that does is have the crisis become news earlier than it would have.
Honest crisis specialists know that executing a PR crisis plan skillfully does not assure that the crisis will be contained, no matter how high the hourly fees of the experts are. What worked in one crisis situation does not mean the tactic is evergreen. New crises need new strategies and crises plans need continuous updates.
Many people and agencies in our business have the egotistical belief that they can solve all problems. Those of us who are realistic know that is not so and are not afraid to level with a client in crisis about what is and is not accomplishable.
But no matter how you think a PR crisis should be handled, one thing is certain: if you’re in the PR business, there never has been a recession for PR crisis specialists. And clients with egos like Donald Trump help make it so.
