PR Hits & Misses of the Week

So let's start off right now. Welcome. It's Friday. It's a new time this week. Honestly, I had to push the time I needed to do a dial in with alma mater, one of my kids alma mater, Loyola University Chicago at our normal time. So I'm doing it in the afternoon, but thought maybe we could hit a couple people who are already tuned out for the work day. It's the Friday before Thanksgiving and this group is gonna be a whole lot EAS than talking to a bunch of college students on the Friday before Thanksgiving. So I want everybody to jump in right now. Tell me, tell me, what's the big story you followed this week? There's so many. But what's the story that grabbed you? What's the story that really grabbed you? And because you opened it and you read it, the algorithm kept fading, feeding it to you over and over and over again, and you can't let it go. There's so many of them for me and I'm going to highlight them, but I want to find out if you all have any. I have to change my, I have to change my sitting. If you all have any for the week. Caleb, Herb, Louise, Greg, Sandra, who's following any of the stories for the week? Okay, I will give you some of mine as, as we, as we pop in here. So why don't I. Hold on. I'm gonna get the better. Are you ready, Jill, are you ready? Okay, let me tell you the story. Well, there's so many, honestly. So these are the stories that I want to talk about today. I quickly, I did a post this morning chatting about some of them. We still have to talk about Quiet Piggy, but not the story itself because we've all seen it, you know, we've all heard it, we all know about it. What I'm looking at is the messaging because there's plenty of people out there more knowledgeable than me, wiser than me on all things political and everything else. But I'm looking at the response. I'm fascinated by the response as a crisis manager, but a crisis manager who is always looking at a key performance metric, which is public sentiment. I am always looking at public sentiment. Okay, so Caleb, hopping in with our first comment, our first joiner, and our first comment. Quiet Piggy, Punishable by death. But it's more the fact that there's not that huge of an outrage. It's definitely not 2016, 2017 any more. Yeah, I agree with you. The punishable by death. If we could highlight what's going on this week Rhetorically. Is that a word? Rhetorically? From a rhetorical perspective, if we look at the White House and we look at President Trump's reaction to things, that is what pressure looks like. That's what it looks like when someone is under pressure. And I'm not saying this because I know Trump or I'm in the White House or I know people in the White House. I'm not saying that, but I'm saying I've been at the center of a crisis. I've been at the center. I know what it looks like when someone's under the gu. When someone doesn't want to admit that it's fault or that it's over or that things are going to be exposed. They don't want to give in. This is absolutely what it looks like. Louise. I haven't seen as many quiet, piggy posts as I thought I would. Algorithm doesn't want to seem to feed them to me. Oh, well, lucky you. Lucky you. Could it be that everyone is so desensitized at most Kind of know that this is mental health declining. Manny, that's a good point. I mean, here's the sad thing. If. If I. This is how I explain it, you know, like the boiling frog. We're so. Everyone is so accustomed for it. Accustomed to it. Now, I don't know if you're like me, if anyone's like me, and you've been a little obsessed with Ken Burns the American Revolution. Omtg. Yes. But has anyone watched the American Revolution on pbs? Okay, I love. I won. I love watching pbs. But there's so many things that you learn by watching the program the American Revolution. One I learned. Okay, we should watch that. I'm aging because I can't keep up with it. I'm falling asleep, and now I'm behind. Not that I find it boring, but put me in a dark room watching the American Revolution. I'm like. And I'm asleep. So I'm already behind. But from. It was very interesting what I saw happen in, I think, was it the second episode. Like, Ken Burns and team made a point of explaining what a patriot was and how and not talking about mega, but, you know, mega has appropriated the word patriot. Okay, when we hear patriot now, what do we think when we see flags? When we see. When we hear patriot. And we also, when we think of sedition, we think of, you know, January 6th and all that. But the American Ken Burns American Revolution made a point of saying, no, the Patriots were against, like, what Great Britain. Great Britain was doing against loyalists, against That I don't know. Did anyone else pick that up? But I picked that up and I said there is no denying what that framing is. So this week, I think if we have to look at a week last week was about the Epstein files coming out and dripping, dripping, dripping. Has anyone read some of those files? I've read some of them. When you cannot follow, like Jeffrey Epstein could not bother with punctuation, grammar, capital letters, couldn't even bother with it. But how many people still engaged with him, knowing what he was charged with? And then I've been listening to all of the Jeffrey Epstein email. Like I have been going deep into all of the podcasts and everything. And the deeper that you go, you understand, and we'll start talking about some of these people, you understand why the blowback exists. You welcome the guy who likely ordered Khashoggi killed. Was that a distraction? Jill? That's a really good point because what we're seeing out of the White House now is, is that panic. Did anybody hear or see online alleged, we don't know if it's true or not, the, the leaked video footage supposedly of Trump saying, you know, yelling, you know, and then they, they transposed it against him the next day with. His voice was all scratchy and he said that he blew his top off after that. So I don't know. I mean, I, I don't tend to believe everything that I come up on social media and if it's not in the mainstream, but I don't know. But whether that, that leaked audio is. Is real or not. What is real is the panic and the reaction that's coming from it. So let's start jumping at some of these, the comments here. I read so many of the damn things. I was having extra dreams about the emails. It's so much, isn't it? It's so much. Okay, so the first story, the one that grabbed me and I did a post about it because it is so sad that it made me laugh. But also, if you are a person who has ever been on the receiving end of a narcissistic personality disorder type, whether it's light or it's somewhat just like that, if you've ever been on the receiving end of that and you see what it looks like when someone is spiraling in real time, Okay, I hand raised. It is matching what we're seeing out of the White House right now. It's when you no longer have a grasp of a narrative. It's when other people are narrative. It was taking the narrative and that is what's happening with the White House House, they're losing the narrative around Epstein. And that's why late last week, when President Trump went on True Social, and the first post, which we talked about on our Live last week, pointing the finger, like, let's look at Bill Clinton, let's look at everybody else, but not, you know, but not me. Then we. The next post, like, oh, yeah, send them out. Send out the files. I have nothing to hide. I have nothing to hide. When the quiet piggy moment happened. So we have Chris Narcissist, specifically malignant ones. Molly, the stories I could share with you. All that Trump stuff is textbook whatever. Chris, high five. You there, brother. Right? I mean, anybody who's seen it in real time, you know what you're looking at, you know what you're looking at, you know what you're seeing? It's when someone loses control of their own narrative. And that's exactly what's happening in the White House right now. So then let's go to. Let's go to Quiet Piggy now for a moment. So we know that. We know from the White House, like, these are reporters names that we haven't heard of, like Mary Bruce, a lot of people working for ABC News when he was in the White House. So then we had the pressure with Khashoggi, and she was asking the question about, you know, because here we have had in Saudi Arabia, we have Trump, and we're trying. And we're looking at this, this coziness. And if any 911 family is sitting there and watching that and knowing that there's a dinner. Actually don't know if it was. I don't think it was a state dinner, but it was a dinner. Could you imagine, like, your heart would be bleeding watching all this? And so Mary Bruce from ABC starts asking questions about the Khashoggi piece and the Epstein files. And what does he do? He lights up. And he lights up and starts pushing back at her. Where are you from? Where are you from? Abc. Fake news. Fake news. That MAGA reflex, right? Fake news. And also then start talking about Brendan Carr again. Throwing what. Like, who's. Who can name even one FCC chairman ever in the history of FCC chairmans. Now Brendan Carr. We all know about Brendan Carr. Now Brendan Carr's back in the news again. He was the person behind. We can do it the easy way or the hard way with. With Jimmy Kimmel. But then starts talking again like, well, okay, well, we're gonna. Like abc. We're now gonna take out, you know, your License. And then he's threatening, like, Seth Meyers. Like, it's just. It's crazy. It's crazy. So then we see that reaction. But then we see the reaction. Press gaggle. Air Force One. He's out there leaning out, talking to the reporters. Oh, my gosh. I'm blanking. Her name starts with a C. The Bloomberg reporter. Oh, it's in all my notes. Oh, she deserves the credit. It's not Candace. Does anyone remember? Okay, but the Bloomberg reporter, White House correspondent. That's where we get the quiet piggy comment. Now, we've had two people come out and defend. I mean, all I could see were two people in defense of the quiet piggy comment. Or two public officials. Now, there were a number of people, MAGA types. I saw it on X. Say that he was referring to. And I don't know the last name. Oh, God, it feels like commerce. But the name, I guess the head of. Okay, you guys, I just have to do this. Sorry. Sorry. Kathryn. Lucy. Thank you, Herb. Katherine. Lucy. Oh, you're my. Are you sitting at work right now on the computer? Good for you. Oops. That's me. That's my voice. But some people, some mega types on X said that he wasn't saying quiet, quiet Piggy. That he assumed that he was speaking to Peggy Collins from Bloomberg. So wasn't Piggy. It was Peggy that he was saying. Oh, boy. Oh, it's lunchtime. Good. Oh, I'm so glad that you joined at lunch. Right. Because you're not. Because you're. You're working. You're working. You're not going to use. Is it taxpayer dollars, Herb. Okay, so that. So that was one thing. And I'm losing my train here. Lose my train of thought. Okay, so now Meg is saying that it was that. And we know that's not that. So now we have. We have two people who've come out in support. So one, I did a post about it. Cause I saw it the other day, and I had to laugh. You can't not. You're a not for profit guy. Okay, Herb. Well, good. Then you're working on behalf of others. Where a congresswoman so appears on Jake Tapper's. The lead on cnn, Representative Maria Elvira Salazar. She is a Democrat from Massachusetts, defended President Donald Trump. I'm just kidding. She. She's not a Democrat from Massachusetts. She's Republican from Florida, naturally. And she said because we don't do videos on Substack Live. Okay, so this is what she said. So Jake Tapper. Oh, okay. So this is what it was. So the, the ABC Mary Bruce reporter said, Is it appropriate, Mr. President, for your family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while your president is a conflict of interest? Fake news, you know, Trump says. But then. So Jake Tapper asked Salazar for her response about the piggy comment. And this was her quote, you know, President Trump is very picturesque. Such an odd, such an odd word. Even if that were the proper use of the word picturesque, would we put, would we label Trump as picturesque? Would we. President Trump is very picturesque and difficult. Isn't that, that's the counter. Picturesque and difficult and different type of politician. No kidding. But I always say that I look at his policies and not as his personality. No one is perfect. Those who are perfect are in heaven. Oh my gosh, we're going to mega, mega, like hitting all the track, all the checkpoints there and then started talking and then got into, pivoted into Trump's immigration policies. So that's just, that's just crazy. That, that's just, that's, that's beyond crazy. Right. So, and, and Jake Tapper, if you were to watch that video, that's exactly how he looked like. I, I don't, I don't even understand what I'm, what I'm listening to right now. So then we have a response. Maria Salazar had a 30 year career in journalism. Oh, no kidding, Herb. Before politics. And should know better. Well, I don't know. I have a couple journalist stories in here too. When she interviewed Bill Clinton or George Bush, did they call her Piggy? No. Exactly. Oh, speaking of George Bush, all of this, all of this stuff is happening in the week of Dick Cheney's funeral. Did anybody watch Dick Cheney's funeral? Did I watch Dick Cheney's funeral on C Span? Yeah, I did. Would I normally. Is that appointment viewing for me? No, it wouldn't be. But I was sitting here working and I thought, well, why not? It's a little bit like going to mass in a way. Like you're, it's from the cathedral, the music, the singing. Like, why not? And because I've been in the. This is going to be a quick diversion. But last Sunday I went to mass. Not that I go to mass every Sunday, I'll be the first person to admit it, but I felt like getting a little blessing for something that was happening in my life. So I felt like going to mass and this matters, this matters. But I go to mass and I'm there. Okay, maybe not right on time, but I'm there really, really early. Like the mass hasn't even started yet. I couldn't find parking. This isn't Christmas. This isn't Easter. This is a Catholic church, and I can't find parking on a Sunday in November. What? So I park in a place probably really shouldn't have parked there. Go. Impact. I end up sitting in the front row because I wanted to sit. And when you're in the front row, anyone knows this, who went to Catholic school too, you got to pay attention when you're in the front row. You got to be up there. So everybody. The congregation's behind me. So already I'm like, I can't even believe how packed this is. And I've said this before when I went to Mass, like a month ago. I'm. I'm kind of friendly with one of the. One of the church ladies there. She's my friend's mom, Oma. And I said, what is going on here? Now? The church happens to be near, like, a shipyard, so there's a lot of military around. So I think, you know, where I'm going with this is there's just this new wave of, you know, like, if you think. If you're looking at the news and online, you think, oh, maga's falling apart and the Republican Party's fall, not so okay, that conservative movement is there. And there's just so many of these people who, I have to say, they didn't go to, like, 18 years of Catholic school. Like, we did, like, we put in the hours. J.D. vance didn't put in the hours of Catholic school, and now he's all of a sudden a Catholic, but so I'm in the front row. And then, you know, at Mass, when you should be praying after Communion, but. But instead you're just kind of looking at people come up. The amount of people who came up with rosaries in their hands coverings. It's like I was transported back to pre Vatican World. And also I told the kids, one of the kids, I don't. I shouldn't say this, but there's like, young males coming up, like before Communion. They get on both knees. So there's a movement there that's happening. So that that movement is still there, isn't necessarily mega, but I think it's like this kind of like conservative JD Vance of it all too, is pushing. Is pushing up against it as well. So the reason why I'm saying that is everything is coming to a head now. I think where we are this week, you know, these last two weeks, because the Epstein. Everything with Epstein is. Is Pressuring pressure is just a pressure point. Okay, so that was the first one. So the second one was from. To go back now to the piggy comment or the quiet piggy comment is Caroline Levitt, Caroline with a K, who's also Catholic. And I'm gonna come back to this for a reason. There's a reason there. Okay, so now he snapped. So, Katherine, Lucy, thank you. Is the reporter Herb, for sharing that said quiet piggy. And I think we're all in agreement that it was for her. And Carolyn Levitt's in agreement as well. So she put different spin on the remark. This is what she said, quote, I think everyone in this room should appreciate the frankness and the openness that you get from President Trump on a near daily basis. Now, some of that is true. The frankness and also the openness, too, because he is definitely being open on how he's really thinking. I'm gonna hang a bit, hang back on a bit on the word appreciate. I don't know if I appreciate it like many other people I don't know. But that type of remark. Now, if you put this in the same week, I think this happened on the same day I think it did, of the Cheney funeral. Now, no one President Trump and no one from the Trump administration was invited to that funeral, which, frankly, I don't think they cared anyway. But who you have there, you have George W. Bush, you have President Biden, they're both there. And you have Mike Pence and you have Kamala Harris, two who debated each other. You have. Who else was? Oh, Al Gore was there and Al Gore, of course, because we all knew, you know, that Al Gore got separated from tipper back in 2010. But I don't think they're divorced. I actually think so. Al Gore, back, according to Wiki, was dating an environmental activist. I don't know if they're still together, but what a difference it was. There's such a stark difference. If you were to watch the Cheney funeral and. And George W. Bush speaking. Oh, but also, Pete Williams gave a eulogy at the funeral as well. Pete Williams, former NBC correspondent in the Washington bureau. He retired a couple years ago. Prior to NBC, he was a press secretary. He's from Wyoming, where Cheney's from. So that's where he got his start. And he was spokesperson at the Pentagon. So he's been there. So he's really been like a public affairs guy. A lot of people kind of forget that he was public affairs, but he told the story from the pulpit of when he was going to be outed because Pete Williams is gay. Back then, nobody knew that about Pete Williams. I mean, people in the new know kind of know that. But that was a time when you could not be gay or to be a spokesperson at the Pentagon and be gay meant you had to step down. And he offered to resign to Dick Cheney. And Dick Cheney said, no, that's not gonna happen. That's not gonna happen. And Dick Cheney, of course, his two daughters, Mary and Liz, you know, one became a congressman and then lost that position. And then his other daughter was gay. You know, she married her partner. So Dick Cheney, even though we have the whole Gulf War issue there, it's a completely different Republican Party. That's what I thought watching it. If anyone else, Herb, saying the seating chart is always fascinating. The seating chart is fascinating. You know who wasn't at the Cheney funeral? Who I think normally would be there? Anyone want to gander a guess who was not at the Cheney. At the Cheney funeral, but also was in the news. I'll wait. I took a drink. Herb. That's very funny. Matt, present the fly from the Harris Pence debate. But you know what, Herb? We don't know that. So flies live 24 hours, but could be Obama. You're right. President Obama was not there. Michelle was not there. Who else wasn't there? Who else? Thanks, Shelley, for saying that. Who else was not at the Cheney funeral? Who I think typically, or I think would have been had the news gone a little bit differently. Thanks, Shelly. Bill Clinton. I think Bill Clinton would have been there because that's Bill Clinton's. That's Bill Clinton's Persona, right? The statesman. He would have shown up. He would have shown up at that funeral, I think. But Bill Clinton can't be at that funeral. He cannot be at that funeral because of Jeffrey Epstein. All right, so that's those two stories. So the quiet piggy comment, I always want to say Miss Piggy. The quiet piggy comment, very damaging. Very, very damaging. And really, the big part about that story is how truly awful the spin. I mean, how bad is it that the only two people who come out in defense of it and also are women? Ugh. Okay, another story. Michelle's comments last week were super interesting. Yeah, Michelle's been everywhere, because Michelle has a new book coming out about style and. Yeah. So she's telling a lot of stories about what it's like, you know, what it was like in terms of the perceptions and what she had to deal with. You can really appreciate it now in our environment right now, how difficult it would be for them. MacGyver can't be at the funeral. He's mentioned so much. Why wait? I'm sorry, Manny, I'm missing that. Wait, is that because of snl? I'm missing that. Okay, so moving on. Here's another story. We have so many stories and I'm taking too long on my stories. I'm so sorry. Real quick, I'll mention I recorded a podcast yesterday where I put, you know, week in review. And as I was right before I was recording, I read the article, oh, Clinton's name in the email. I gotcha. Megan Markle in Harper's Bazaar. So I, I, I've always said this about Megan Markle. I am, I am neither a super fan or a hater by any means. I'm right in the middle with both of them. I probably have a little more empathy, sympathy for them, if any. I think they make colossal mistakes and they keep making mistakes over and over. And I have said this for years and podcasts and posts and everything that Megan just needs to be an influencer. That's because she has fantastic style, which you can see in the Harper's Bazaar profile. But I don't think they chose like the best photos. Like, so sometimes you wonder, like, are we working with her or a little against her? And the reason why I say that in the article. So it's a good article, but what's, and I say this about Meghan Markle too. I think she had a rough, rough road with the royal family. I don't think that would be easy at all. But I still say they made so many mistakes and they miscalculated so much of what they were doing. I was listening to a Tina Brown interview with the New York Times last weekend. It is such a good interview, encourage you to listen to it. But they were asking about Prince Harry and Meghan and Tina Brown was saying, you know, because originally, I mean, she was a journalist over there, is that, you know, the only thing that Prince Harry knows how to do is be a prince, she said, whatever that means. But she's right, right? Like that's what he's good at. And in the absence of that, there's nothing for Harry to do. There really isn't anything there. He's already told all the stories, so that puts them in a really tough spot. So now it's Megan's job right now to get all the money. So she has new Netflix special. It looks beautiful. Like her stories, I think are great. Like going in that whole, whole home Eck. Martha Stewart World is smart. I think it's the smartest place she can be. But I find it so vanilla. And when I say vanilla, I'm being nice. I guess it's like watching it is graham crackers with a side of white milk and applesauce. You know, it is just. It's like milquetoast boring. But it's beautiful. It's beautiful. The Tina Brown interview made me nostalgic. Oh, yeah, Margaret, wasn't it Listening to it, it just brought me Back to the 90s. Listening to it. I thought it was fantastic. It was so good to listen to Michelle and Stephen Colbert in a dress adorned with symbolically broken strands of pearls. Is that what it was, symbolically? Did she say that or is that you thinking of that? Yeah, I did see that. Come to think of it, do you not think it's their advisors who have taken advantage of them? That's always been my take on Oprah. The book, the first stock on Netflix. Carla, I respect your thoughts there on that. You would think that. But I know people who've close, you know, who've worked. I actually spoken to people who've worked for them. It's. The stuff that you hear about working for them is actually more true than not. It actually is. There is a difficulty there. And what I think it is is I don't think they follow advisors. I don't. I really don't. I think that's the problem because in this Harper's Bazaar article, and. And this is where it's unfair for Megan and. And I've said this about Megan, too. I. I don't know if I said this post or not, or if I said on podcast. I don't even remember. But. But a national outlet wanted me to speak about Meghan Markle a couple weeks ago, and I just said, fine. Yeah. And I don't know why I just said yeah. But then. And then I backtracked and I went, no. Well, no, I take that back. That's not what happened. No, I sound more virtuous than I am. That wasn't it. They sent the questions, and as soon as I saw the questions, I wrote back and said no. And here was the reason why I was wavering on it to begin with. What I don't like about the Meghan Markle coverage is that it's always negative. And the reason why it's always negative is because that's the click, right? That's what people want. Because they know for. For every person who likes Meghan Markle or is on the Fence about him or like, me. Like, they're good, they're bad, they're whatever. You know, I love this. Don't love this. You know, they're whatever. They. They have so many haters, or Meghan Markle has so many haters, so they get the clicks and what I. And the reason why I ended up saying no to this person is because the questions they were asking me were, why? Why do you think Megan did this? Why do you think Megan did that? Like, I don't know. I'm not Meghan Markle. Why would I know what Meghan Markle does? No, if you want to ask me my opinion on the perception of it, fine. But I just wrote back and said, no, I can't do this. Sorry. So. So I. No. So I begged out of it. And then I'm making this point like, I never want to do Megan Press ever again. Like, I'll do my own stuff, but I'm not going to be a spokesperson to feed into that negativity. Like, I just don't want to do it anymore. But. But having said that, having read the Harper's Bazaar article as well, low key. One of them should go on Traders for a PR reset and let people see them in a new light. Oh, I have to take. My phone's dying, of course, because I didn't. So I have to do my regular mic. Sorry, everybody. Oh, actually, can you guys let me know if this is better? Let me. Oh, no, I don't know if this will click in. Oh, yeah. Can someone just let me know? Does this sound okay? If I'm using these? Caleb, someone let me know. I know they do need a. They do need a PR reset. A little bit of a reset, but. Okay, good. Thanks, Caleb. So. So the article, you never feel. You feel like anyone who reports on Meghan Markle, it. It's. It's like they're fair. Like, they probably come in and say, this will be fair and balanced, but then they kind of get their little dig there and here's part. And then I'll move on from this as well. And part of the reason why Megan kind of deserves it, in my opinion is because, you know, what we really want from Meghan Markle is just interview at a normal, casual place, right? And then just. Just authentically speak like it is, like, how hard it's been, the challenge, how, you know, how, you know, we got to figure out where we fit. It's not easy. It's not easy going against the family and Harry's family and all that. If she just went a little more authentic, then I think it would really resonate with people. But Megan is still playing that royal card. And technically, she's a duchess, so they can. But it just. It just doesn't work how it should. And so it sets her up for these little micro failures. And whenever she gets profiled, there's always parts in every profile. I've read about Meghan Markle, where there's these little digs where they highlight. They always highlight the things where she's acting very royal, like, and very above her station, like, every article, no matter how much they try to be fair. And in this one, because apparently in the beginning, she went with all these girls in la. They were at the La Brea Tar Pits for a reason. I don't even know what they were doing there. I can't remember. And I'm sure the girls were looking at it like, why are you here? Like, and they were young girls. And also, like, young, young girls. Do they even know who this is? Like, this is not like the Princess Diaries. Like, when they see Megan Miracle, I don't. I bet they don't even really know who she is. And. And then they. Then they. They move from there to New York City, where she's conducting the second part of the interview at her friend's townhome on the Upper east side. And, And. And what makes the article is that Megan walks in. So it's just Meghan and the reporter or for the writer from Harper's Bazaar, and the house manager announces the Duchess of Sussex. And the writer says, like, to no one, to just two of us. We're the only ones here. That was a. That was a dig. There's no doubt about it. But also, like, Megan, why, like, why do you need to do that interview there? So you know what I mean? So that's kind of my feelings on it. Or they could take the Diana approach, stick with what they're good at, supporting charity. You can't stay mad at a charitable person who stays consistent. Great, Carla. That's a really, really good point. That's a very good point, Diana, you know, and maybe that's the difference between Diana and that's the other thing. Just right before I hopped on, I saw chatter on there that one of the photos of Megan and I, I, I love Megan's style. I. I am very. Look at my black and white. I love Megan's style. Love it, love it, love it. All the photos, I felt like she looked beautiful, but they never chose, like, the right photo. It's like, because she really is beautiful. But the, like, the captures that they got, like, is that like the best one that you got of her? But she's sitting in a pose exactly like Diana. There's nothing authentic and genuine about their brand. It doesn't resonate with people. So they get negativity. Harriet, I agree with you. I. That's, that's exactly what the problem is. That's it. You got a lot of likes for that. I agree with you. They're still not authentic and people know that. Like what, in your guys opinion, what's authentic? Meghan Markle. Authentic Meghan Markle to me is, oh, shit. Do you know how hard it is to turn against Royal Family and try and make a buck in the U.S. i mean, not like that pedestrian of conversation, but you know what I mean? Wow. If Megan took that turn and then brought us to her home and then we could see her as a person, like, wow, look where you are now, how you got here. But show us the mess. That's what it is, Megan. Show us the messy parts. You and Harry keep trying to show us that there is no mess, that everything you did was smart and the smartest thing you've ever done and you haven't made any missteps whatsoever. But if she were to show us the mess, wow. I think that would resonate with a lot of people. I really do. Okay, so, so the Meghan Markle piece, she's going to get blowback because she always gets blowback. But you know, again, they're still not going to get, they're not going to get the public. Some of them were really questionable. Oh, so it's not just me. Carla, you agree some of them were really questionable photos, right? Because you look beautiful. She looked beautiful. The clothing, the styling was. Ah. I can't help but wonder if it's the British press driving the hate in the same way. But no, this is a u. I mean, this is a US reporter driving the same hate the way Diana got it and Harry shutting the door in the PTSD reaction, you know, but if you remember Diana, those of us who remember the Diana years, we remember the Diana years, right? And we remember the press and the back and forth and the Panorama, Panorama interviews. Like we remember all that and we, and we know now in hindsight the things that the Royal Family did to Princess Diana. We all know that. But from, but we didn't have social media. We did not have social media. However, public sentiment for Diana, at least I argue this, this is my argument. Public sentiment for Diana was positive. Was largely positive from the public perspective. So maybe royalists out there, you know, may have had problems, you know, just following the. The King Charles, the Prince Charles of it all. But, I mean, that's why. That's why Meghan can't. Meghan will never be the Diana one because the. I. I just think the haters out there will never allow it. And because of social. Social media algorithm, they want the negativity and the. The chatter. But until. Unless Meghan and Harry can just be honest, I don't think it's going to work for them. I really don't. And sometimes, honestly, I just want Harry to go back to the uk. I think he'll just be happier there. I don't know. I feel bad, but you don't want to split the family, but. I don't know. But anyway. But that's Meghan and Harry. So I want to move to Kevin Spacey, and then I want to talk to the Coast Guard, too. And I know what you guys are thinking, like, coast Guard, who cares? But it's something very interesting that I read this morning. So it's more like a press, like a news piece of it and crisis management. It's something that happens in my job all the time. That crept up in the story, and I have to say, I predicted it, I called it, and the Washington Post affirmed it for me. Megan will never be the Diana because Kate has the attention of the people. Oh, my gosh. Can we come back to the royal family real quick? Does anyone have a problem if we talk about the royal family for a moment? I did a little bit. The royal household pushed nasty angles, but her consistency with Charity really played a part in her authenticity in the moment. Karla, I agree with you. It is Diana. The thing about Diana, even from the beginning, if you think about Diana, and honestly, I gotta change myself too. Even Kate, if we talk about Kate Middleton, because she kind of came up in the news, too. Diana was authentic. Like, Diana was Diana. Like, even if you think back when Diana, when we first saw Diana walking down the street as a kindergarten teacher, like, remember when they were dating or courting, she was always like. Like shy D. Who is shy D? Shy D is real. That's who she was. That's who she was. And she was who she always was. In the end, the only thing that people could, like, knock her on or give her guff for was how she used the press the same way that the royal family was using the press against her. She fought back for it, but she was always Authentically. Or you could geek out on this all day long. Good. So could I. But one thing that I noticed. So, chatter. This is Reddit chatter about Kate Middleton. So some of the scuttle on Kate Middleton. Not scuttle. It's not scuttle. It's scuttles when you have inside information. But the chatter is the photos from. What was it, like the Royal Variety Night? Someone on a computer could help me. Or some real royal follower. Manny, maybe you might know this. I don't know that Kate and William, Catherine and William appeared. But what's happening now is that the press. Excuse me, pause for hydration. That a lot of the press and photographers are not airbrushing photos like they used to. So we're starting to see more untouched photos of Kate Middleton come out. There were a number of photos from Getty, for instance, that weren't. They weren't airbrushed or photoshopped in any way. So people are starting to see this very, very gaunt Kate Middleton and very aged Kate Middleton, which also just raises more speculation. Right? Like, because I don't want to push narratives. I'm not. I'm just saying I read it, I read it, but it doesn't mean that's fact. It's just public opinion. Opinion. But, you know, there's conspiracy theories out there that she never had cancer, but that it could be Crohn's or could be eating disorder, whatever. So there are a lot of people who think that. But regardless if you think that or not, I mean, she, I mean, she's, you know, they're saying that, you know, that she had cancer. And if that's the case, which, I mean, I personally believe that is the case, she had a tough road, so it's no surprise that she's going to look a little rough for the wear. And also she's aging. You know, she's. I mean, has a very important, exhausting job. Job. But it's interesting that she's not as filtered as we used to see. Is that intentional on the part of the press, or is it intentional on the part of Buckingham Palace? I don't know. Like, is it their way to be more authentic or is it the press's way of saying, oh, royal family, we're gonna make you more authentic, we're gonna force it? I don't know. So a lot of people chattering about that. So that is the royal family chatter. We can come back to that in the end. I just wanna do, I think, intentional to humanize Kate and William. I don't know, Harriet, because it's not humanizing. Let's just say this. It's not humanizing in a flattering way. Do you know what I'm saying? Could that be because of the drama from her Photoshop gate moment after Photoshopping her kids? Oh, that's right, Carla. I totally forgot here. I did all this. Oh, my gosh. I remember the post that went crazy Greg and I were in. So that all happened in March. Was it March of last year? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It was March of last year when the whole cancer thing was going down. When the, when the palace, the Royal family, they were trying to cover Buckingham palace, they were trying to cover whatever was going on with Kate, and then they put out the photo of Kate with the kids. I mean, oh, my gosh, that seems like a lifetime ago. What a mistake. And we were in Arizona because I was speaking at a conference and I said, hey, Craigie, wanna come with me? And it was the night we were watching the Oscars. Yes. Ariana Grande was giving. Was giving an award out. But I was asking him questions about what do you think is going on from a press point of here? Like, what the hell is going on here? Wait, how's Greg? Oh, Greg's doing great. He's doing great. I know. Getty have since told all photographers no photoshopping images and that they'll check. Yeah. Especially when it comes to the Royal Family. But what's interesting, this, that sweater in the doctor family pick. I know. But what's interesting is the ones, though, that are released, some really not great ones now for some of us, I mean, me included. If I had photos looking that good coming out, I'd be okay with it. Royal Family is under so much fire regarding Andrew in the. Oh, God. Andrew in the uk. I mean, if, if you want to see, though, I mean, why President Trump, all the pressure with President Trump right now, look no further than Andrew and what happened with the uk. I mean, that's, that's accountability. Right. What the Royal Family's doing to. We'll see to what extent. Right. Royal Family under so much fire regarding Andrew in the uk. I'm from Scotland. Oh, you're from Scotland, Harriet. Okay, this is a complete way pivot off the field. Like, I'm off the field right now and I'm going into the dugout. Harriet. But am I crazy? But in the book, the Correspondent, there's the ancestor. I don't want to give the book away, but the ancestor from Scotland. Isn't that your name? Isn't it the same name. Is anyone, did anyone read the correspondent Harriet? I think, I think isn't the woman's name Harriet Duncan? Anyway, let me come back. Let me come back on the field. It's almost like they want to distract the bad pictures. I don't know. But what would you say if you were Kate saying you want to distract to put bad photos of me out there to distract from, from Prince Andrew. But the thing is they're all. But they don't need to distract and flood the zone like Donald Trump as because they've already done that with the press statement. They have already distanced. They said and they put in their statements. We stand with the victims and Andrew's soon to be out of the house so publicly there is that distance there. So they're not going to be, they're not going to be as desperate like if anything, if you're looking at messaging out of the Royal family, let's think about this. You're going to be messaging how tight of a family William and Kate are. Right? Right. That's what you'd want to do. I don't think she has a choice. Right. Wait, no, wait. Yeah. Harriet. I could be crazy. I could be crazy. But I, I thought, I, I thought that was the name. I, I thought. Okay, so we stayed a lot of time on the Royal Family, but am could talk about the Royal Family. Let me squeeze in here a Kevin Spacey piece because I think it's interesting. What time is it? Okay, we have time. I just have to tell you a really quick story about the Coast Guard and why it matters. Now some people may not matter about the Coast Guard, but this really kind of plays into Washington D.C. so the US co star, they're, they're in the military. My, my daughter serves in the Coast Guard. She's underway today. Not to give away secrets or anything. I always ask her, are you underway? Off to shoot down fishing boats in Venezuela. But she's going underway as an ensign and she's going to come back a lieutenant JG because she gets promoted tomorrow. So everybody says and well wishes to Rory police. Thank you. So I'm so proud of her. She also screamed for commands. She's so, I'm so proud of her. But she just, I always tell her, I'm like, just keep your head down. Like, you know, because so the Coast Guard's under the Department of Homeland of Homeland Security. So even though I say this is Pete Hegseth's, I said, you're in Pete Hegseth's Coast Guard. Technically, she's not. She's in Christy Gnomes postcard. Coast Guard. So the Coast Guard's under. Thank you. I will tell Rory that you all congratulated her. So yesterday a story comes out in the Washington Post. It's an exclusive. And when I see an exclusive with the Washington Post, the type of reporting that I see, not to take away from the reporter, but this is the type of reporting that's the reporting. Okay, so the story that came out that said that the Coast Guard was no longer classifying the swastika, an emblem of fascism and white supremacy that is linked to the murder of millions of Jews and the deaths of more than 400,000 U.S. troops who died fighting in World War II, end quote, as a hate symbol. Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi era insignia as, quote, potentially divisive under new guidelines. So this came out yesterday. Now, did the Coast Guard send out a press release announcing this? No, but this went on. So I don't want to come out and blame the Coast Guard and say this is a Coast Guard problem. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to come out and say this is the Coast Guard under the Department of Homeland Security problem. Kristi Noem, by the way, who has use of a Coast Guard jet, also lives in Coast Guard housing. Senior officers in the Coast Guard can't live in the housing that they would always receive because Kristine Noem is in there because she says that she is. There's threats against her. So she gets housing because her and Corey Lewandowski spend time together. So then this is what I read this morning when I was waking up another story in the Washington Post. So yesterday on X, Kevin Lunde. So he is the, it says he's the acting commandant. I thought they made him commandant. So when Trump took office, he got rid of Admiral Fagan, a woman. She was kicked off because she was too diverse. She was too concerned about diversity. So yesterday, Admiral Kevin Lundy, so, oh, yeah, acting commandant, U.S. coast Guard says that the, quote, the claims that the U.S. coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses or other extremist imagery as prohibited symbols are categorically false. These symbols have been and remain prohibiting the coast care per policy, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But it's in the policy. That's the thing. It's the policy has, has already been released. So that's the problem. So this is classic backstepping. But I can't, knowing how Department of Homeland Security works. I work for it. I worked under it. Having a daughter in the Coast Guard, being a Coast Guard family, knowing a lot of people and knowing Coast Guard admirals. I have not made a phone call yet, but I'm going to you. It feels, it just feels like pressure here. This feels like a pressure moment. So I'm going to give. I'm giving the Coast Guard the benefit of the doubt. However, this is where it comes into my world, is that this morning there's a Backtrack Washington Post. U.S. coast Guard back. Backtracks on it. But there was a quote in here that I loved, which is the reason why. So a spokesperson for the Coast Guard said when they got a hold of him is that we will be reviewing the language. Okay. So the Coast Guard was caught unawares, as they say, when this happened. So now there's no. Now there's new messaging going out with the Coast Guard and his email, internal email said that the updated guidelines are meant to streamline administrative requirements. Like, could you imagine? Like, that's how you're messaging a swastika to streamline administrative requirements. My goodness. And we will continue to protect our people and create a safe, respectful and professional workplace for all. All. But here's the part that I found interesting. And this is what I always say. I say it on stage. I say it in all my keynotes, everything. No, many of them are still acting that way. Doesn't have congressional approval. Gotcha. Thank you. Is this story, the reason why it's Washington Post story is because it was leaked. That's why. Because this was happening at Coast Guard headquarters and someone went, what? I'm sorry, what, what are we changing? Changing what's being changed. And then they go and they make a call to the Washington Post. That's what happens. It's leaked because they have a quote from someone unnamed that says. Okay, and I love this quote. So it just says an official. We don't know who it is. I would hope I would know who this person is. Whoever it is, respect quote. We don't. So this is someone on the inside side home. Either Homeland Security or the Coast Guard. It just says official. We don't deserve. Tells me it's Coast Guard. We don't deserve the trust of the nation if we're unclear about the divisiveness of swastikas. And they spoke on the condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisal. So there's that. So I just wanted to say that about the Coast Guard and then quickly, apparently the Marines have never had any issue with this. Oh, no, none whatsoever. However, no, with the current administration. You know the phrase wheels falling off the bus? How many wheels are on this thing? Administration. Exactly. That's funny, Jill. That's very funny, Kate. Hasn't half the cabinet move into military housing? Yeah, like, Stephen Miller moved into housing. Pete Hegseth moved into housing. Okay, so here's a funny story that I want to get. So my final word on this is, you know, so many people, you know, serve in the military. Like, there are so many people who are sacrifice, like, literally sacrificing their lives, putting them their lives on the line, but also sacrificing, like a good life. You know, I'm a mom of like a 23 year old, and she's like, has to put in, like, where are my orders gonna be? Where am I gonna go? And she has to think, like, do I go there? And I know I won't have a life, And I won't have a life here, here. And I won't have a life here. And that's hard with a girl whose friends went to all these colleges and they're living in the city and doing this fun. But, you know, I'm like, Rory, that's like. That's sacrifice. And I respect everyone who does it, but I also respect this unnamed person in the Coast Guard who's just calling it out and said, how do you expect anyone to have the of us as an organization if we allow this? You know, love that respect to that person. But also, I'm going to give Acting Commandant Kevin Lunde. I'm going to give him a break because he's. He. He reports to Christy. No. In the White House. All right, so real quick, I have to do this. What time is it? Okay, Couple minutes. Kevin Spacey. There is an article, you know. Oh, I can put it here. Here it is. If anyone wants to see it. This article is a great read. You guys have got to read this article. It's the Telegraph. So it's Kevin. Here's the headline. Kevin Spacey interview Homeless canceled and crooning in Cyprus. That is such a great headline. Now, years ago I started. I really. When I really got into cancel culture of it all was during me too. I mean, I'd been following it prior to that. I was already in it. My. You know, my. I already cut my teeth on it being in. In crisis management. So when me too happened, I was primed. I was ready for it. And Kevin Spacey, I've been watching him. So Kevin Spacey, full transparency as an. Love them. House of Cards made Netflix like we have streaming today, in my opinion, because of Kevin Spacey and House of Cards. Oh, you know what? You know what? We should label what's happening right now. House of Cards. That is what is happening. The Netflix House of Cards is happening in real time. So if you miss House of Cards, just read the paper every day. Okay, so Kevin Spacey now is in Cyprus and he has like a. Like a cover show. Have you ever been to one of those cover band shows? Oh, speaking of my Ensign. Oh, just sent me. Hold on, I gotta see what she sent me. Sent me a photo. Hold on. Oh, my kids are calling each other so bad. Anyway, anyway. Oh, no, Connor's sending me something. Oh my gosh, my kids are blowing up my phone now. Anyway, he is now singing and nightclubs and he is, they say, crooning. So let. Oh, no, I read my free. I can't get back in. Hold on. Let me see if I can break in. Let me see if I can break in. Does anyone know how to break in on. On newspapers? I want to support journalism, so I'm not going to tell you, but I'm going to see if this works. Come on. Yes, we're in. Okay. Last Sunday, Kevin Spacey was found on stage in a nightclub in Cyprus singing that's Life and Bridge Over Troubled Water to an audience who had paid up to 1,200 pounds for the privile Kevin Spacey. Really? Oh, yeah, I used Apple News, you're right. Oh, thank you. I got in. But that's how I found. I found this article on Apple News. So anyway, so he's promoting Kevin Spacey's songs and stories for one performance only. An unforgettable night of music, memories and showmanship with one of the most iconic performers of our time. Well, that's true, he is iconic, but not for the reasons that he wants to be known for. So anyway, anyway, this reporter does an interview with them. It's. This article is fascinating. If you want to see someone still not take accountability for what they got called out for. Kevin Spacey refuses to do it. So let me go to the back. So this reporter did a great job. So the past seven years, ellipsis. Oh, God, I just love this writing. Spacey has talked of what he describes as the lowest point of his life. In November 2017, after actor Anthony Rapp, he was in Rent, he was a Broadway kid, gave an interview to Buzzfeed, which accused Spacey of sexually assaulting him in 1986, when both were relatively unknown actors. And if you remember, Kevin Spacey I've said this in the past. I don't know where I was. I was in a hotel in Boston for some reason, and I don't know why I was in a hotel in Boston. So maybe I don't know why. I think it was at a conference or something. But I remember being on Twitter and Kevin Spacey posting, oh, by the way, yeah, this all happened. And I happened to be a homosexual. I was like, my calling as a. As a culturally canceled culture crisis manager has been born from this moment. I was like, he ain't never coming back from this Kevin Spacey. And he hasn't. So he says he feels that that entire crisis is in his real here. Robert F. Kennedy said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon their position on vaccines. Oh, God, we're coming to an end. We have to talk about rfk. Next week, we're going to talk about RFK and Elizabeth Nutzi and Ryan Lizza. But everything is behind him. So he said, quote, now, there may be individuals that made decisions that I don't think were fair based on what they thought they knew at the time. The fact that a whole bunch of people in Hollywood that I had relationship relations with were an inch thick, okay? But my friends, my colleagues, my family, I've not felt isolated at all. But right now, Kevin Home, Kevin Spacey, he's saying he's homeless. He had to sell his house to pay for all the legal fees. But he says, I have always felt the public was on my side and understood what had happened and were not buying into the things that they were reading. And I've always been enormously grateful for that. Like, wow, he still won't do it. Now, it's hard, but this guy's going to be blacklisted. I mean, he just is. Because, again, it doesn't matter if it's at the Kevin Spacey level or at a lighter. God, we can't put him on the same spectrum like Meghan Markle. And this is what I said because I was speaking to a class at Loyola Chicago for a class, my daughter's former professor, and I was telling the kids in the class this morning, authenticity sells. It does. It doesn't matter if you're. If you're. If you're applying for a job or if you're online or you're getting through a crisis or you have anything to rep. You know, if you're rehabbing your reputation or you want to solidify your reputation, people can read through the bs. They can. And that's what's keeping Kevin Spacey down. And that's what's keeping Megan Markle stuck. That's what I'm going to call her. I'm just going to say she's kind of stuck in a place that she doesn't want to be. I can't believe anyone is buying tickets, let alone at that price. Carla, can I be honest with you? If I was in Cyprus, say, Greg and I are in Cyprus. I say, greg, we are going to Kevin Spacey. I would go to that show. Now, would I pay that much? No. But I would see Kevin Spacey. Oh, my God. Would I see Kevin Spacey? All right, everyone. That brings us to the end of our week in review. PR hits and misses. There was a lot. It's exhausting. So this week on the PR Breakdown podcast, I was talking about Michael Wolf, the journalist. There's so many things happening with the Epstein files. Oh, I need to talk about Larry Summers. Larry Summers lost his position. You know, he was a visiting lecturer professor at Harvard. He wanted to hang on to that institution so badly, but it's impossible. It's impossible. How can you expect a student to sit in class and respect their professor? How can you have parents pay for that education? And with someone who was tied into Epstein for so long, who also was trying to get dating advice while he was married, whose wife was also talking to Epstein, it's just. You'll wait for Kevin Spacey on this. That's hysterical. Herb. Chris, you're in Philadelphia running your first marathon. Oh, the Philadelphia Marathon in November. It's gonna be chilly, boy. I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon, so good luck to you. From former runner to current runner, you're in much better shape. I'm gonna struggle to get through my turkey trot, but, hey, we're sending you the best crap, so run away. Best of luck. But to everyone, thank you so much for joining me this week on our PR Breakdown. Oh, as I was saying, this week on the PR Breakdown podcast, I'm touching in the whole Epstein files, but I really focus on Michael Wolff, a journalist who I like and follow. He's an author. He got really close to the sun with Jeffrey Epstein. And I highlighted. I took out excerpts from his interview with Joanna Coles with the Daily Beast. They have a series where they go back and forth about Trump, so about him spinning his way out of giving Epstein PR advice. And then this week on the podcast, it's all these things that we're chatting about. All right, Manny ran to the refrigerator. I hear you. All right, everyone, thanks so much for joining me this week. We will not have one next week because it is Black Friday, big shopping day here as we're going through the holidays. So I hope everyone has a great holiday. Oh, plug my friendsgiving for members only in the vault is next Crap is next Tuesday. I believe it's in the membership. All the information is in the membership. Also in December, December 17, Dr. Abby is joining us for members only chat. Lake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and and Justin Baldoni. But really I focus on these two right the, the, the Blake and Ryan of it all. Because it is one year since Blake Lively dropped that civil complaint against Justin Baldoni in a coordinated effort with the New York friggin Times to bring that guy down. And they are still battling it out a year later. If you know me, you know where I fall on this one. You know there are a lot of content creators out there who could talk about the, the legalities of it. They know everything within an inch of everything. I'm always looking at the reputation and the intent behind it and I've never ever wavered. So we're bringing Dr. Abby back. So that is going to be Wednesday, December 17, 7:00pm Eastern Time, members only. So I hope that you can join me there. I believe Dan, like we already have the RSVP in there and then we also have our monthly training at 12pm that day and that's members only as well. And that's where we break down a crisis. But look at the actual crisis communication strategy of it all. So that will at 12:00 Eastern Time. And then that night is when we're going to do our little gab with with our group. All right everyone, I hope you have a great week and for my friends in the U.S. hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And to my and to everyone globally, have a wonderful weekend. Bye for now. Sam.