Trump's staff is reportedly brainstorming how to positively spin Trump's bumpy first 100 days
President Trump's staff is scrambling to figure out the best way to present his first 100 days in office as the symbolic marker approaches with few major accomplishments to show for it, Politico reports. "One hundred days is the marker, and we've got essentially two-and-a-half weeks to turn everything around," one White House official said, calling the work ahead "monumental."
Thirty members of Trump's staff huddled last week to brainstorm how to approach the president's first 100 days, which will be complete on April 29. "Staffers, including counselor Kellyanne Conway, were broken into three groups, complete with whiteboards, markers, and giant butcher-block-type paper to brainstorm lists of early successes," Politico writes. One aide who attended said: "It made me feel like I was back in 5th grade."
Another attendee described the session as an attempted "rebranding" for the president, who has been plagued by shakeups, legal blockades, and legislative setbacks, including the high-profile collapse of a repeal and replacement of ObamaCare. The communications team reportedly settled on promoting accomplishments such as "prosperity," including backing out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, "accountability," including restrictions on lobbying, and "safety/security," such as the mostly approved-of strike on Syria.
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On Monday, Reuters additionally described the successful appointment of Judge Neil Gorsuch as "the biggest triumph so far for the new administration" while Politico points out the victory still "required the Senate rewriting its own rules to overcome Democratic opposition." Read more about how President Trump's team is considering painting his first 100 days in office at Politico.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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