How do we manage President Donald Trump? He’s our president. A government employee. He works for us. It makes sense to maximize his effectiveness, right? To squeeze every ounce of production out of him — and get the best results possible. That requires management.
The trouble is, one of the things that makes Trump, well, Trump is his creativity, unpredictability, and instinctive nature. All three are nullified by sticking to a rigid playbook.
Which is why it’s best to manage Trump via the child’s game of “Hot and Cold.” Don’t police his tactics — but give him feedback when he’s directionally misaligned. That’s our job as managers.
Quick disclaimer: This won’t be a policy paper. If you think Trump’s three biggest mistakes were not passing the SAVE America Act, growing the debt, and the Iran war, have at it. But even if that were true, there’s no viable course-correction before Election Day.
This op-ed is a call-to-action that’s executable today — so the Republicans can win the 2026 midterm elections. And besides, I don’t deal in “substance.” As a lowly public relations pro, my specialty is smoke and mirrors.
Here are the three biggest mistakes Trump is making right now — and how to correct them ASAP.
Mistake No. 1: Focusing too much energy on ballrooms, legacy projects, and DC beautification
In the grand scheme of things, does renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or building a ballroom matter? And with a federal budget of $7 trillion annually, does anyone care if Trump spent $15 million to repair the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool?
Of course not. War matters. Prosperity matters. Freedom matters. A snazzy new ballroom doesn’t matter even a little bit. Yet these and other projects are receiving heavy media attention. They’re oxygen-sucking storylines.
Newsflash for Republicans: the legacy media isn’t pushing these stories because they make Trump look good!
Trump’s legacy projects are occupying too much real estate in the attention economy. It’s helping the media — and thus, the Democrats — brand him as a wannabe monarch who’s building monuments to himself while half the country struggles to afford gas and groceries.
I don’t care about statues. Y’know why? Because I’m not a pigeon. Stop helping the media hurt you!
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman estimated that 70% of Trump’s mindshare “goes to his gilding, construction, renovation, renaming and tribute projects.” Whether that’s true isn’t the point: Trump’s actions fueled this narrative.
He exposed his own jugular.
That’s not to say renovations weren’t helpful. Washington is a dilapidated hellscape. As the Heritage Foundation noted, “If D.C. were a state, it would have the highest homicide rate.”
But we don’t need to hear any more stories about whether or not the Kennedy Center ought to add Trump’s name. It’s not only off-message; it’s handing PR ammo to the Democrats.
Solution: Put these projects in a Tupperware and keep them off the radar. Reopen when the midterm elections are over.
Mistake No. 2: Not focusing enough on crime and border security
These two issues tell the same story: Trump and the GOP inherited a problem that the Democrats botched — and immediately achieved historic results. The border is secure. We’ve now gone 15 straight months of zero releases at the border.
And even though the media stubbornly insisted that “there was no link between undocumented immigrants and a rise in violent or property crime,” that’s not what our data suggests.
Otherwise, it’s an awfully weird coincidence that once we closed the border, the fentanyl death rate plunged by 22% — and the violent crime rate had its largest year-to-year decline since the FBI began tracking statistics. That’s nearly 20,000 lives saved in less than two years. At this pace, by the end of Trump’s second term, 50,000 American lives will be saved.
This is an amazing achievement — and the GOP is doing a horrible job at spiking the football!
The contrast is obvious: The Democrats are the party of defunding the police and open borders. They vilify law enforcement, harass Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and flout federal law. It’s their vision for America.
Republicans did the exact opposite, and 50,000 American lives will be saved.
Solution: Celebrate this achievement with outdoor events and festivals — because with crime at record lows, we’re unafraid to take to the streets. We’re reclaiming our cities and communities!
Publicize round numbers, such as “50,000 Americans saved.” Every voter should know that stat by heart.
Create a high-profile awards ceremony for ICE and law enforcement officers to share their stories. Don’t let the media brand them as thugs and monsters; they’re our friends, family, and neighbors. And challenge the Democrats to explain why they’d dismantle the apparatus that’s kept drugs off our streets — and our children out of morgues.
Mistake No. 3: Not drawing enough attention to the growing socialist-Islamic axis in the Democratic Party
American elections are a binary choice: Republicans versus Democrats.
In places where Trump’s polling is underwater (which is, alas, in much of the country), the Democrats will do everything possible to connect the Republican candidate to Trump’s hip. It’s the guilt-by-association game.
That’s the Democrats’ sales pitch: “Vote Blue to send Donald Trump a message!”
This sales pitch was juiced by the president’s Republican midterm convention declaration: “Pretend I’m on the ballot.” It was music to Democrats’ ears.
So here we are. Voters are facing a binary decision in 47 days — Trump’s polling isn’t helpful — and both sides are saying that the election is a litmus test on the president.
Improving Trump’s popularity would be the best solution, of course. If that jumps to positive territory, the rest takes care of itself. But public opinion about Trump isn’t elastic. Most people have already made up their minds. We’re unlikely to jump the needle in 47 days, which is why we must connect the Democrats with a movement and ideology that’s more radioactive than Trump.
The growing axis between Islam, socialism, and the Democratic Party is no longer theoretical. It’s here. We see it in New York, Michigan, Minnesota, and major cities. Nearly 60% of Democrats support the Democratic Socialists of America — only 30% do not. The DSA isn’t a fringe faction; it’s the heart and soul of today’s Democratic Party. Because the Democrats welcomed them in. With open arms, too!
The Democrats hated Trump so much that they turned to socialists, communists, and Islamists for votes.
The DSA is openly using the Democratic National Committee to implement its own agenda, which includes abolishing prisons, eliminating border security, granting illegal immigrants voting rights, replacing the presidency, and scrapping the Supreme Court.
And that’s not all: DSA calls for “the end of Israel’s colonization and occupation of all Arab lands” and the “Palestinians’ rights to resist occupation in order to secure justice and dignity.”
Even on Oct. 7, 2023, the very first line in the DSA’s statement about Hamas’ atrocities was, “DSA is steadfast in expressing our solidarity with Palestine.” Because the DSA is ideologically aligned with the goals of Islamic jihad.
There’s the Muslim Brotherhood funding Michigan Democrat Abdul el Sayed’s Senate campaign. There’s socialist Twitch streamer (and kingmaker) Hasan Piker’s declaration that “America deserved 9/11.” There’s New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani giggling at the 9/11 memorial.
If the Democrats can play the guilt-by-association card, so can we.
Solution: Draw a line in the sand. Publicize the DSA’s rhetoric. Challenge every Democrat running for federal office to either exclude the DSA radicals, jihadi, and communists from sitting with the Democratic Party, or justly tar-and-feather them as their accomplices.
Make the Democrats the least desirable option.
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That’s how we take advantage of binary decision-making — and realign our messaging. It’s how we maximize Trump’s effectiveness. It’s how we manage our employee.
Three mistakes. Three solutions. And one midterm election to win.
Scott Pinsker (@ScottPinsker) is a public relations, branding, and crisis communications expert. His novel, The Second Coming of Christ: A Love Story, is available for purchase on Amazon.