I’m great at writing bios for my PR clients: celebs, entertainers, lawyers, businessmen, athletes—you name it.
Not to brag, but they’re some of my finest works of fiction.
Because, in my profession, we don’t begin with “the truth.” (More often than not, “the truth” only gets in the way. Lousy reality! It’s always interfering with my creative storytelling!)
Instead, we begin with the story we want to tell.
And then we cherrypick the truthful bits and pieces of his or her bio to tell this one specific story. So, nothing in a client’s bio is actually false — you never lie — but you use reality as a springboard for storylines that’ll ring more registers.
Pinsker Law of PR #33: Clients don’t hire propagandists to publicize what the truth is. We’re hired to publicize what they wish the truth was.
It’s not my job to report reality. I’m not a documentary filmmaker; that’s not why clients pay me. Getting mad at a propagandist for inaccurately mirroring reality is kind of like getting mad at a dentist because he’s bad at carpentry: They’re different disciplines.
PR is strategic storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.
And it’s ALWAYS driven by the beliefs, fears, and aspirations of your target audience.
This takes us to the latest Democratic freakout. Yesterday, it was gerrymandering; today, it’s the dreaded return of the most diabolical, meanspirited political attack of our era: the GOP’s “they/them” ads.
(Gasp!)
CNN issued the ominous warning yesterday: “Republicans reprise anti-transgender ‘Kamala is for they/them’ ads for the midterms.”
Why, how dare those Republicans double-down on a successful political campaign! That’s not fair.
CNN, of course, is carrying the left’s water with both arms:
Trump allies spent tens of millions of dollars airing an ad highlighting 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ one-time commitment that detained immigrants would have access to treatment associated with gender transition as was required by federal law, including surgical care. The ad’s tagline mocked the pronouns used by non-binary individuals, saying “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you.”
Widely cited by strategists in both parties as having shaped the campaign, that ad is now being mimicked in North Carolina and another competitive Senate contest in Georgia. Trans and gender identity issues have also come up in this year’s race for Virginia governor.
There’s nothing in CNN’s article that’s a literal, outward lie. Trump’s allies really did spend millions on “they/them” political ads. It happened: We all saw it.
But their reporting is about as “truthful” as a PR pro’s creative writing.
It’s basic human psychology: When reality is too difficult to accept, we invent an alternative. What the heart wants, the heart gets.
The truth, of course, is that Donald Trump returned to the White House and won the popular vote for many reasons — and yes, among those reasons was backlash to the Pronoun Police. The trans debate was certainly part of it.
But it wasn’t the main part.
In politics — and in life — it’s almost never just one thing. When you win, when you lose, when you tie, it’s usually not attributable to a single factor.
Usually, it’s a combination of everything.
Trump won in 2024 for a slew of reasons: Biden’s incompetence, Kamala’s unlikability, inflation, immigration, COVID backlash, cost of living, the MAGA agenda, and more. Also on the list are transgender issues, bathrooms, and biological men competing against biological women in youth sports — but these weren’t the primary drivers
You’ve probably heard the expression, “The straw that broke the camel’s back.” But if you stop and think about it, can you really blame one piece of straw more than the other? They all contributed to the camel’s broken back.
All the straw is guilty!
But if you’re a propagandist, it’s like Manna from Heaven: You can cherrypick whichever straw you want — and make it the villain!
In 1988, George H. W. Bush won 40 states and 426 electoral votes. With a lopsided victory like that, there were clearly many, MANY reasons why Bush crushed Michael Dukakis.
But according to the mainstream media, it was all Willie Horton’s fault.
I suppose it’s a defense mechanism: If they can blame everything on a mean ol’ ad that was a “dog whistle for bigotry,” then it’s not the Democrats’ fault that they lost.
If anything, they were just too gosh-durn nice!
Prediction: The Democratic Party and their sycophants in the mainstream media are gonna turn the GOP’s “they/them” ads into the Willie Horton ad of the 2020s.
They don’t want this story to be about liberals being culturally out of step, or Flyover Country’s rejection of the Woke agenda.
They want the story to be the GOP’s anti-trans bigotry.
Willie Horton was a black convict who was granted a weekend furlough from a Massachusetts jail, escaped, and then committed armed robbery, rape, and assault. In the minds of most voters, it exemplified Michael Dukakis’ weakness on crime. (As did his passive, unemotional answer to Bernie Shaw’s debate question about a theoretical attack on Dukakis’ wife.)
But because the ad showed an image of Horton, who was black, liberals decried it as race-baiting. None other than the History Channel(!) explained, “How the Willie Horton Ad Played on Racism and Fear.”
Once again: Bush won 40 states and 426 electoral votes! Trust me, there was a lot more going on than just Willie Horton!
But what liberal hearts want, liberal hearts get.
So now, the GOP’s 2024 victory is being recast as an anti-trans victory, propelled by the vicious homophobia of “they/them” ads. MAGA’s ascension had nothing to do with anything the Democrats did wrong; this was all the ad’s fault.
Curse you, ad!
It remains to be seen if this is smart PR. Perhaps this liberal storytelling will take hold and become the go-to narrative for the 2024 election. (Or, at least, soothe the wounded feelings of disgruntled DNC donors.) Perhaps demonizing “they/them” ads is their best defense.
Perhaps.
But whatever happens next, it’s not gonna be the truth.
That much we know.
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