Despite spending a lot of time and a lot of effort initially trying to distance itself from Donald Trump, now that he has taken over, the establishment GOP is trying to squeeze the most out of the Trump presidency.
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but one cannot deny that his speech style is... unique – in fact some may go as far as to say it's incoherent. We aren't saying that, but a lot of people have been saying it. His supporters of course love what they perceive as his "tells-it-like-it-is" style... but could you imagine trying to make a political ad of that?
But that all stopped with his first address to a joint session of Congress last week. Trump delivered an hour-long speech to Capitol Hill – and the nation – in which he finally detailed his plans for where he wants the country to go now that he is actually president. The clarification has been long-awaited for Republican lawmakers who have had to answer more questions about Trump-related drama, rather than how they are going to pass tax reform or Obamacare repeal.
But thanks to Trump's surprisingly on message speech, the Republican-led Congress finally has some marching orders – and some good material for political ads.
Well, they didn't exactly stick to that plan, but they did dig up some b-roll footage from their Republican Leadership Initiative roll out in January 2016, where the party tried to show how diverse they are trying to be.
"Then in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet," we hear President Trump say. "The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors..." Meanwhile we see b-roll of just that: families of all colors.
"Families of all creeds who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns," he continues. "But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large all across our country." B-roll of diverse community leaders – adorned with GOP t-shirts and buttons – continues to play behind Trump's speech before we finally see our new president addressing Congress.
"The people turned out by the tens of millions," Trump continues, "and they were all united by one very simple but crucial demand: that America must put its own citizens first, because only then can we truly make America great again." The final quote – "Make America Great Again – stays on the screen as the image of Trump fades into the GOP's official symbol – an image that many would have found laughable only a year ago when most of the footage for this ad was filmed (and most establishment Republicans could never imagine a Trump presidency).
One may be rightly confused how a party that systematically lambasted the last president for being a weak global leader could turn around merely months later and embrace an ideology of isolationism.
But hey, as they say "elections have consequences" – and if the 2016 election was any lesson, those consequences are for both political parties.
Say what you want about Donald Trump, but one cannot deny that his speech style is... unique – in fact some may go as far as to say it's incoherent. We aren't saying that, but a lot of people have been saying it. His supporters of course love what they perceive as his "tells-it-like-it-is" style... but could you imagine trying to make a political ad of that?
But that all stopped with his first address to a joint session of Congress last week. Trump delivered an hour-long speech to Capitol Hill – and the nation – in which he finally detailed his plans for where he wants the country to go now that he is actually president. The clarification has been long-awaited for Republican lawmakers who have had to answer more questions about Trump-related drama, rather than how they are going to pass tax reform or Obamacare repeal.
But thanks to Trump's surprisingly on message speech, the Republican-led Congress finally has some marching orders – and some good material for political ads.
The Donald Trump Movement is 'Your Movement' and the GOP Wants a Slice
After losing another presidential election in 2012, the RNC put out an "autopsy report" on the current state of the Republican Party. In that report, the party outlined the need to appeal to more diverse voters – to start adapting to the country's shifting demographics and changing attitudes about marriage, among other things.Well, they didn't exactly stick to that plan, but they did dig up some b-roll footage from their Republican Leadership Initiative roll out in January 2016, where the party tried to show how diverse they are trying to be.
"Then in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet," we hear President Trump say. "The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors..." Meanwhile we see b-roll of just that: families of all colors.
"Families of all creeds who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns," he continues. "But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large all across our country." B-roll of diverse community leaders – adorned with GOP t-shirts and buttons – continues to play behind Trump's speech before we finally see our new president addressing Congress.
"The people turned out by the tens of millions," Trump continues, "and they were all united by one very simple but crucial demand: that America must put its own citizens first, because only then can we truly make America great again." The final quote – "Make America Great Again – stays on the screen as the image of Trump fades into the GOP's official symbol – an image that many would have found laughable only a year ago when most of the footage for this ad was filmed (and most establishment Republicans could never imagine a Trump presidency).
Since When is The GOP All In On 'America First?'
Aside from what was until very recently a shotgun marriage between Trump and the "establishment" GOP, there's another striking element to this ad that those "Never Trump" Republicans could easily be startled by – the GOP's full embrace of the Bannon-esque "America first" sentiment near the end of the ad.One may be rightly confused how a party that systematically lambasted the last president for being a weak global leader could turn around merely months later and embrace an ideology of isolationism.
But hey, as they say "elections have consequences" – and if the 2016 election was any lesson, those consequences are for both political parties.