How to Ease Out of a Big Hillary Lie
Hillary Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri struggled to defend her boss’ claim that videos of Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric were being used as recruitment tools for the Islamic State.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Palmieri appeared uncomfortable backing Clinton’s claim at Saturday’s debate that fact-checkers from the New York Times and PolitiFact have debunked.
“Um, the uh, uh, you know, Donald Trump, I think, was talking–uh, you know, what Secretary Clinton was saying last night is that one of the many dangerous things about Donald Trump is that, uh, his hot rhetoric, saying we shouldn’t allow Muslim refugees into the country, is being used, and this is something that [an international group] has, who monitors social media and uh, on ISIS, has said–” she said before Stephanopoulos cut in.
“But there have been no videos,” Stephanopoulos said.
“Well, what they have said is that they are using him–he is being used in social media by ISIS as propaganda,” Palmieri said, sounding almost out of breath. “She didn’t have a particular video in mind, but he’s being used in social media, and uh, you know, what they haven’t found is the video Mr. Trump keeps talking about, this alleged mystery video of thousands of people in Jersey cheering the collapse of the World Trade Center. But it is true he is being used in social media by, um, ISIS, to, to help recruit and propaganda.”
“But to be clear, you don’t have a video, as she said–” Stephanopoulos said.
“She’s not referring to a specific video,” Palmieri said. “But he is being used in social media by ISIS as propaganda.”
How to Ease Out of a Big Hillary Lie: Takeaways
- Accept the fact politicians stretch the truth. No surprises. And both parties do it.
- As a spokesperson trying to dig your boss out of a hole, avoid digging a deeper hole.
- Admit the mistake or misrepresentation upfront. Example: “While we can’t actually point to a video, we will be able to show you evidence that…”
- If you fail to do this, a good interviewer will dig deeper, making you look bad, and you’ll have to admit the truth anyway.
- Get whatever proof you can to support your politician’s claim. In the absence of proof, even the best spokesperson stammers and struggles.
Obviously, encourage your candidate to stick to the truth. This is especially important if your candidate is Hillary. She already has a credibility problem. And curiously, it also has to do with a video supposedly responsible for Benghazi.
Serving as a communications director for a boss you respect for their honesty would be a goal. We understand you can’t always pick your ideal boss. But you can apply honesty and a straight forward approach to mitigate the damage.
Whether you’re representing presidential candidates or CEOs, contact me so we can develop a winning and honest strategy: bob@kaplitz.tv.
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