It goes without saying that we are living in the bizarro version of an alternative America that one would have expected to read about in a Ray Bradbury science fiction novel. Sadly, fantasy has become reality and truth is simply no longer worth a plug nickel.
To wit, this exchange from yesterday’s Senate confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch:
– Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch criticized Tuesday President Donald Trump’s attacks on the federal judge who blocked his administration’s travel ban, saying for the first time publicly that he found them “disheartening” and “demoralizing.” Gorsuch previously made those comments in private conversations with senators, but Tuesday marked the first time he went on the record with his disapproval of the president’s rhetoric when he called US District Judge James L. Robart a “so-called judge.”
“When anyone criticizes the honesty or integrity of the motives of a federal judge, well I find thatdisheartening. I find that demoralizing, because i know the truth,” he said during his Senate confirmation hearing, in response to a question from Sen. Richard Blumenthal about Trump’s tweets.
Asked by the Connecticut Democrat if that “anyone” included the President. “Anyone is anyone,” Gorsuch said.
That statement was immediately followed by this comment:
– White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday pushed back against reports that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch called President Trump’s attacks on judges “disheartening.” “Wrong and Misleading: he spoke broadly and never mentioned any person,” Spicer tweeted, linking to an Associated Press story that said Gorsuch “publicly calls President Trump’s attacks on judges ‘disheartening,’ ‘demoralizing.'”
Wow.
And, so, once again, the fake news, post truth world has created yet another crazy spin on who said what, who to believe and my wondering whatever happened to honesty?
These are strange days indeed for the population as a whole and the chief communications officers and chief marketing officers of America’s top companies in particular. How does one deal with a Trump attack? How does one clarify a clear falsehood? How does one limit the news to a single cycle? And should one ignore a POTUS assault altogether?
I ask these questions because we’re about to publish an original research paper in conjunction with The Institute of Public Relations
that provides best practices, tips and protocols to deal with this anything but brave, new world in which we live. The research consists of 22 one-on-one interviews yours truly conducted with some of the top CCOs and CMOs in the country.
Stay tuned to this station for more information. We hope to share the findings as early as next week.