Mulvaney aims for a Trump message "more proactive, less responsive"

One of the first acts of Mick Mulvaney after he began acting as Acting Chief of Staff for President Donald Trump in December was to air on television. With Trump under fire for forcing a government to close its doors to finance a border wall between the United States and Mexico, Mulvaney invited one of This week at defend the man he calls "the boss".

Over the next four months, Mulvaney was a remarkable public advocate for the president, appearing everywhere from Fox News to CBS. "Facing the nation"to take an interview on stage last week at a major investor conference in Los Angeles.

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This could have once seemed the norm for a senior government official. But these days, Mulvaney stands out among the meager ranks of White House officials who regularly defend a controversial president who has complained about not having more public support.

After four months of work, Mulvaney – who decided to lead Trump's own management – pumped the White House's communications machine a top priority. Mulvaney and President Trump talk almost every day about the communication strategy and the press, Mulvaney told POLITICO. He believes that even a daily dominant media president needs more powerful messages and more numerous, especially now that a hostile Democratic House party and a score of Democratic candidates are bombarding him relentlessly.

"We are going to spend a little more time being proactive and a little less reactive," Mulvaney told POLITICO during an interview to clarify his intention to fine-tune the White House's communications and press workshop. "We have an excellent message to sell. We want to talk about the economy. We want to talk about health care. We want to talk about trade, so if we can try to give the story a little more weight, we think that would be a valuable improvement. "

Easier to say than to do, say several former officials of the administration. Mulvaney's two predecessors also spoke of improving these teams, according to four former and current administration officials. These efforts have failed in the midst of infighting, high staff turnover, low morale and the fact that a president can undermine the most serene communication strategy by sending a wandering comment to the White House press.

"Whatever happens to Trump this morning, it will be the title, regardless of the communication plan," said a former official. "Many people take their frustrations within the communications team, but Trump will still be the director of communications."

And that can hurt any message recorded by other officials. "Previously, you could have a powerful chief of staff on a Sunday show, or a senior official like Colin Powell or Donald Rumsfeld. This has less impact now because President Trump is such an alpha man, "said Ari Fleischer, who was the press secretary for the White House under President George W. Bush. "This reduces the impact of these other skilled and competent communicators."

Mulvaney absorbed this fact, considering his approach plus letting him run the White House. He also praised the work of the press and communications on the deployment of the 24 March letter and Attorney General Bill Barr's press conference outlining the findings of the Mueller report, which the Democrats now call misleading.

Instead, Mulvaney is trying to work at the margins to strengthen operations. He does not plan to fire anyone and has good relations with press officer Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who remains one of the president's closest confidants in the White House, according to three senior administration officials .

Nor does he intend to fill the post left by former White House deputy chief of staff Bill Shine, who was responsible for overseeing the communications but left after about eight months. . Shine was the fifth White House staffer to serve as Trump's communications director in about two-and-a-half years after the resignation or disappearance of Sean Spicer, Mike Dubke, Anthony Scaramucci and Hope Hicks.

Instead, Mulvaney wants to strengthen the efforts of the press and communications teams by adding staff, urging Cabinet members and outside allies to make more appearances on television, and ensuring that the communications teams and press are included in political meetings. they understand better how to sell Trump's proposals.

However, current and former government officials unanimously agree that these teams will be under siege, as noble and practical as their goal may be. It is the reality of serving a media-obsessed president who cares little about the details or the flowchart of his press and communication teams.

"If you go ahead of the chair and answer a question, then two weeks later he does something different, you look stupid," said a second manager of the 39; administration. "Until the message comes from the president, it does not matter."

Mulvaney would also like more members of the Cabinet and outside ally in the White House, called substitutes, to defend Trump on television more regularly and be more visible. Kellyanne Conway, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Trade Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In the past, cabinet members were not always eager to appear on television to defend a president whose poll count was less than 50% and was constantly indignant by his detractors. Even some officials, such as Robert Lighthizer, US Trade Representative, are known for their shyness in the press, even though trade remains one of the main problems of the White House.

"The president is interested in – and likes that when – his cabinet members are out there," said a former senior administration official. "What you've seen is that reluctant or reluctant Cabinet members are leaving their positions and being replaced by people who are not afraid of the media."

Mulvaney told Cabinet members and senior officials that they were covered with him they were attending more often, said a senior administration official. "The amplification of the White House message is an essential part of our work," added the manager. "I do not know if it was a pretty big exercise for other leaders like for Mick."

Mulvaney also plans to equip the communication teams of the White House. He has already moved from his previous two positions in the Office of Consumer Finance Protection and the Budget Management Office to two senior officials: John Czwartacki, Senior Advisor to the Director of Strategy, and Meghan Burris, Assistant Director. President and Director of Media Affairs. A third former budget agency assistant could also soon join the communications team, according to three officials of the current administration.

Burris oversaw the White House's efforts with regional media, extolling the administration's efforts on issues such as the economy, opioids or judicial appointments at local offices across the country – an effort considered more important internally by Mulvaney than to woo the Washington press corps as Trump is heading for his reelection campaign.

Czwartacki quickly became a trusted aide to the White House. He began to participate in press team communications and meetings during the winter and can translate Mulvaney's wishes for other staff members. But he is currently detained in the White House and it is unclear whether he will stay for a more permanent position in the press workshop.

As for the daily press conference, which disappeared several months ago, it seems unlikely that it will resume normal operation under Mulvaney's leadership of the White House staff. "I'll send him to the press. Do you really listen that you do not have access to information? Goodness, the president is available almost daily to the press, Mulvaney said. "You get this directly from the President of the United States in a way that I'm sure is unprecedented."

Now, the question is whether Mulvaney's small actions will allow the president to benefit from the media coverage he wants so much by 2020 – while the campaign and the Republican National Committee are also mobilizing. "Trump is the ultimate substitute, but it's still a good strategy to put other players on the field to support the president," said veteran Republican Communicator Ron Bonjean.