Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on June 13, 2020, 3:16 pm

I have seen a few videos from Kayleigh McEnany, recently.

And... Wow!

What a powerhouse she is.

Energetic, confident, quick-witted, well prepared.
She relishes a fight just like her big boss does. But contrary to him, as much as she can be ruthless, she is equally effective at building bridges and recruiting the moderates on her side.

A rare skill.

While Trump is sometimes too much at the mercy of his emotions, this lady is at another level.
A true cold-blooded killer.

Notice she's not just a press secretary, she is a bulldog that defends Trump and attacks his enemies.
With Trump-like personalities, those are the people who have a good career: loyalists who stand and fight by the king.

And she is good at what she does.
What a genius move from Trump (or whoever put her in that post).

Plus there seems to be some YouTube channel dedicated to spinning and pushing the best moments of McEnany refuting and embarrassing various journalists, which serves as a (much needed) sounding board against a press that is becoming more and more anti-Trump across the board.

It's a pity and a shame that we are witnessing a government all-in on winning the information war.
But from a power dynamics perspective, it provides lots of material to learn.

Some of her techniques:

• Reframes journalists' questions to fit her political side of the story (when asked if the president shares concerns about police treating minorities differently, she replies that "the president believes most policemen are good.... Like David Dorn who was killed by protests" BANG!)
• Prepare a list of mistakes done by journalists in their past to diminish their authority (taking full advantage that she's got the mic and they can't reply)
• Prepare a list of extreme declaration done by some Democrat or "enemies" that make them look bad in all moderates' eyes (for example, the congressmen who said the police was "cancer")
• Agree and redirect technique (she avoids falling into the trap of cornering herself into extreme positions like Trump often does. She first of all repeats the political BS that the administration is focused on justice for all, and only after she turns hard-liner. That way, with the "soft start", she takes more people along with her
• Mixes compliments & collaborative frames to avoid turning everyone into an enemy (she knows that all barbs and aggression would make her disliked across the board. So she often uses collaborative frames as well, saying that "we can agree with the peaceful protesters' message". She also more than once complimented a journalist in the room, once saying "I like your mask, really cool", and another time telling a guy "I love the blue suit". What a genius).
• "High-road power moves" (when asked about Trump's reactions on what this or that democrat said, she replies "the president is not focused on what X or Y said, he's focused on making changes and has been diligently hard-working at... ", now she makes his petty boss seem super and supra-partes)
• She recruits the power of video: she knows that in this day and age videos speak louder, so she plays the images of police and protesters hugging to show a different reality than the media-portrayed one of only war and hate
• She recruits "the enemy" to dissolve the enemy and build bridges: many are trying to set Trump and the administration as the enemy of minorities and blacks. And what does she do? She ends one of her press conference with a quote of Marin Luther King on collaboration, then leaves immediately after on that high. Genius.
• Seeking unity with everyone outside of the room referring to "us" as "us Americans" (collaborative frames)
• Throwing bones to conservatives by calling the US the "greatest nation on earth" and glorifying its mighty military

These are just some of the techniques she uses.

I don't have much respect for the type of dirty work she took over, but she's truly impressive at it.
Right now, she might as well be Trump's single biggest ally and supporter for his re-election bid.