What President Trump needs in his next press secretary
Four years ago, as Donald and Melania Trump descended the escalator inside Trump Tower to announce his campaign for the presidency, all eyes in the Fox Newsroom were fixated on the TVs spread across the various shows’ producer pods.
At that moment, I knew my longtime friend was going to be the next president of the United States.
For a while I had been suggesting, both publicly and privately, that a non-politician — a person with impressive business credentials — should replace the swampy D.C. political scene and turn the country around. After eight years of failed Obama policies, the forgotten, hardworking men and women of our country needed an outsider who had their best interests in mind. And Donald Trump was the answer.
On Nov. 8, 2016, just as I had predicted the year before, Donald Trump was elected as the 45th president of the United States. My prediction and unabashed support of Mr. Trump was controversial, and it upset the political elites and out-of-touch Republican-establishment types — but I didn’t care. The voters had spoken, and my friend was now the president-elect.
But with the upside of being a D.C. outsider came a downside. The newly sworn-in president was not a career politician — he was a successful businessman and a master dealmaker who had spent a lifetime avoiding Washington. And President Trump didn’t know enough people in Washington, even though that wasn’t a bad thing. He also had the baggage of beating a Republican field filled with “it’s my turn” candidates.
Filling any new administration is no easy task — but filling it while being a proud Washington outsider is even harder. One of the most important positions, in my opinion, is the press secretary — the spokesperson for the most powerful man in the free world.
We all remember President Trump’s first press secretary, Sean Spicer: a nice guy who has served our country admirably in the Navy Reserves since 1999, but Sean was never a pro-Trumper. As the spokesman for the Republican National Committee (RNC), his support for Trump ran either lukewarm or cold. And he was never really close to the president or his family.
And Sean never seemed to be very comfortable in the role of White House press secretary, unfortunately. He appeared nervous at times in front of the press, and he was fearful of the president — a trait that made him appear weak in person, on television and, more importantly, to the president himself.
Then came Sarah Sanders, who was just right. She handled a very hostile White House briefing room like a seasoned pro. She also had the trust of the president, which was very important. And I know the president is going to miss her counsel and her presence as his official spokesperson.
Sarah Sanders is a tough act to follow. But the next press secretary should possess the following qualities: a loyal supporter of the president since the beginning, someone with extensive media experience, confident on camera, a strong defender of the president and his policies, someone who understands that the goal is to serve the president and not his or her own interests, and who has a great relationship with the president and first lady.
And, finally, the next press secretary should be hyper-focused on the promises that President Trump has delivered to the American people: a strong economy, a strong border, historic tax cuts, and criminal justice reform.
“Promises made, promises kept” should be the theme for the next press secretary, as well as for the 2020 Trump re-election campaign. That’s just my two cents, but what the heck do I know?
Eric Bolling is a two-time New York Times best-selling author (“The Swamp” and “Wake Up America”) and host of Sinclair’s “America This Week with Eric Bolling” and “AMericA” on BlazeTV. Previously, Bolling was the largest independent crude oil and natural gas trader in the world. He was also a board member and then a strategic adviser to the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Board of Directors where he spearheaded the Exchange’s IPO, the largest financial IPO at the time. Follow him on Twitter @ericbolling.