Donald Trump is the Dennis Rodman of Politics

Donald Trump is the Dennis Rodman of politics.  To my Democrat friends, now that you have stopped laughing, please continue reading; to my Republican friends, this is a supreme compliment to President Trump, please continue reading.

I have had the pleasure of talking with Rodman privately in the past and found him to be one of the most intelligent people I have ever met.  And he has one of the most magnetic personalities I have ever encountered.

No one dislikes him and he immediately makes everyone feel at home around him.

Those who understand Rodman best are those who do not try to understand him; they simply accept him at face value and give him the freedom to be himself.

Everyone in the N.B.A. wanted Rodman on their team because they knew he would deliver on the court. 

Nevermind him wearing a wedding dress to his book release party in the 90s.  He would show up late for practices and games; but despite this disruption, every N.B.A. team would have gladly taken him because he was viewed as a winner.

Notice the number of Hall of Fame coaches Rodman played for: Chuck Daley (Pistons), Phil Jackson (Bulls), and Greg Popovich (Spurs).  These were coaches who had a firm grip on their teams and coached for N.B.A. teams that are all storied franchises as far as management goes.

Similarly, Donald Trump in many ways is like Dennis Rodman.  You will go crazy trying to understand him with “conventional wisdom.” 

Those who understand him best are those who don’t try to constrain and contain him.  They stand back and marvel at his ability to use the tool of “misdirection” to confuse his enemies.

Trump told us during the 2016 campaign that he likes to keep people guessing about him and his policies; well, he has not disappointed us in this regard.

Rodman wearing a dress had nothing to do with his prolific rebounding on the court, having led the NBA in rebounds seven straight years or him being named to seven NBA All-Defensive First teams; and most did not realize at the time that Rodman was paid $ 10 million dollars for wearing that dress.  Now tell me who is the fool.

Many cringed at Rodman’s off the court antics and his total honesty when reporters asked him questions, but not one person in the N.B.A. would ever say Rodman didn’t make every team he played for better.

Similarly, people cringe at Trump’s tweets, his bluntness in media interviews, and his constant stream of consciousness in front of the media; but this is the same guy that got his tax cut in 2017 that gave us a bullish economy, that broke the ice with North Korea by doing a face to face, and put America’s interest above other nations.

Democrats, the radical liberal media, and never Trumpers are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how Trump won the nomination in 2016, yet alone the presidency.

Their conclusion is that Trump voters are stupid, ignorant, white supremacists, white nationalists, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, crazy, etc.

Despite the drama that constantly surrounds this president, most Americans believe he is fighting for the rights of and supremacy of America.

Most of the foreign leaders I talk to about Trump have great respect for his singular focus of putting the interests of America first and not the wishes of the European Union, NATO, or the United Nations which are all controlled by radical liberal globalist elites.

These foreign leaders are all amazed that it's taken this long for an American president to put their own country first.

So, Americans had to decide whether they wanted to win the global Mr. Congeniality contest like we did with former President Obama and were made to look weak; or elect Dennis Rodman, er Trump, and win championships, i.e., advancing a conservative agenda.

America overwhelmingly chose Dennis Rodman.  America no longer wanted to lose with style, Obama; but rather they wanted to win with blood on their uniforms because they were in a fight.

Winning is winning.  There is absolutely no consolation in losing!

Those who support Trump are loyal to him, despite all of his eccentricities, because they see in him a fighter, yes maybe even a bully; but he is fighting for values they believe in:  marriage between man and woman, genders are either male or female, protection of religious freedoms, pro-life, America’s interest above global elites.

Why other American presidents sold us out is a big question.  Trump’s ascendancy to the presidency is America’s response to our globalist political elites from both parties here in the U.S.

Trump doesn’t seem to care about being popular; but rather advancing the cause of America around the world.  And for this, he is considered racist, isolationist, and xenophobic? 

Really?

In the immortal words of my boy, Niccolo Machiavelli, “It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.”

Obama feared not being loved and America lost; Trump hates not being feared and America is winning.

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur.  He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. 
You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

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Kiron Skinner: The Unceremonious Firing of a Strategic Thinker

In the immortal words of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, “To every man there comes a time when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a great and mighty work; unique to him and fitted to his talents; what a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the moment that could be his finest hour.”

These were the first words that popped into my mind last week when I heard about the unceremonious firing of foreign policy savant, Kiron Skinner.

Last year, she was “tapped on the shoulder” by President Trump to be the director of policy planning within the Department of State. Basically, it’s an internal think tank within State that carries a lot of weight and influence.

Within foreign policy circles, Ms. Skinner is universally considered as one of the most brilliant strategic thinkers on the scene today and has been for many years.

Oh, did I tell you that she is also black, female, Spellman and Harvard graduate, and comes from legendary civil rights activists’ parents? To learn more about her background, you can read the recent writeup about her in Spellman’s alumni magazine.

Those who follow my writings know I have been very critical of my Republican Party when it comes to its lack of engagement with blacks.

But yet, in the area of foreign policy, the party has created huge opportunities for our community.

It was the Republican Party’s grooming of Ms. Skinner’s colleagues Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice that led to two successive black secretaries of State under President George W. Bush. Ms. Skinner is on track to follow in their footsteps.

So, what did Ms. Skinner do that justified her being unceremoniously perp-walked out of the State Department like some criminal?

Ms. Skinner was accused by “anonymous” sources of Abusive management style, making homophobic remarks and accusing people of having affairs. Yep, you heard right.

I spoke with several high-level sources within State who were in a position to observe Ms. Skinner’s work. All denied vehemently that there is any truth to the allegations.

So, let’s dissect these heinous crimes Ms. Skinner is accused of committing.

Abusive management style. What the hell does this even mean? Please allow me to interpret for you.  

It’s obvious that she ran up against some Never Trumpers and Deep Staters who are on a mission to stop every policy the president is initiating within the State Department. 

Making homophobic remarks. If you refuse to aggressively promote homosexuality in our foreign policy, then you are homophobic. But besides that, this innuendo flies in the face of her own former colleagues before joining the State Department.

Respected openly-gay professors Scott A. Sandage and Carol Goldburg have heaped praise and support on Ms. Skinner.

“As one of the few out lesbians on our campus, I am not tone-deaf to even subtle forms of discrimination such as micro-aggressions, and can categorically state that Kiron Skinner does not engage in such behaviors,” Ms. Goldburg said.

Accusing people of having affairs. How dare she. Death, to Kiron Skinner. How can anyone with an ounce of integrity accuse someone of one of the most horrific crimes known to mankind?

Her crimes were so awful, look at how some of the biggest names in foreign policy responded.

George P. Shultz, our 60th U.S. Secretary of State, said, “Kiron is a first-class scholar who tackles important issues and applies a keen, analytic mind to the topic at hand with boundless intellectual energy. Beyond her scholarly capabilities, Kiron adheres steadfastly to the principles of honesty and integrity.”

Niall Ferguson, a historian, biographer of Henry Kissinger and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, said, “I have never known [Kiron] to be anything but cool, calm and collected. She brought to the Policy Planning job an exceptional combination of strategic insight and technological expertise. And she was playing a leading role in key initiatives, particularly the administration’s reassessment of U.S. policy towards China.” 

Victor Davis Hanson — Martin and Illie Anderson senior fellow, the Hoover Institution, Stanford University — said, “Dr. Skinner explains the recalibration of American foreign policy under the present administration with rare insight and analyses — a foreign policy scholar of the first rank.”

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, said, “Dr. Skinner’s knowledge of foreign policy and statecraft will be difficult to replace. I join former Secretaries of State George Schultz and Condoleezza Rice, among others, in welcoming her back into spheres of influence where she will be a high impact contributor.”

Based on these high-powered endorsements, how can anyone conclude anything other than Ms. Skinner’s dismissal was nothing more than an inside-the-Beltway hit job on a Trump loyalist.

What a tragedy if this moment finds the Trump administration unprepared or unqualified to continue to utilize Ms. Skinner’s prolific mind when it comes to foreign policy advice.

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur.  He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. 
You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

Add Raynard Jackson to your facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/raynard.jackson.12

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An Open Letter to Candace Owens from a “Real” Black Republican

Candace, I recently had the opportunity to finally meet you in person.  We both spoke at The Symposium at the Wall in Sunland Park, NM, location of America's first privately funded border wall.

We were both backstage and the host brought you over to me so we could be introduced.  I must admit, I was stunned at your arrogance!

I gave you my business card, but there was no attempt by you to reciprocate.  You kept repeating that my name sounded familiar to you.

I couldn’t help but chuckle inside at your repeatedly saying that my name sounded familiar to you.  I came oh so close to pulling a Rick James on you!!!

I know you millennials think civilization started when you guys came out of the womb, but it really didn’t.

And this is my challenge to you by way of this column.  I want to remind you of the words of Solomon in Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding.”

You, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have a lot of potentials; but neither of you has shown any inclination to decrease your media presence to focus on becoming more and better informed on the issues of the day.

Many whites sing your praises because you are simply “entertainment” to them.  You provide “race” insurance to them.  In their mind, they can’t be racist because they had you speak at their conference.  Never mind that you have absolutely no connection to the Black community or “real” Black conservatives.

They are “comfortable” with you because they know you pose no threat to their approach or views towards the Black community.  They know you will never challenge them on some of the distorted views they may have towards the Black community.

You measure success by likes, followers, and retweets; we measure success by victory!

Many will hire you to work in their nonprofit organizations, but I would be totally stunned if they would be willing to hire you in any of their private-sector corporations!

A lot of the criticism of you has little to do with the biased radical liberal media or people who are hating on you; but rather because you have made many unforced errors.

You said on national TV that Congressman Maxine Waters is “not a smart person,” and that LeBron James was “ignorant.”

Your making statements like these are the reason why you have absolutely no credibility within the Black community, even among “real” Black Republicans and conservatives. 

I thoroughly disagree with almost everything Waters and James believe in politically, but no one with half of a brain would ever say she is not a smart person or that he is ignorant.  They both know what they are doing and saying, I just happen to totally disagree with them on principle.

I know you feel you have to constantly get the approval of the white folks you are catering to; but NEVER, I repeat, NEVER give up your integrity.  You can always make more money, but you can’t make more integrity; once you lose it, it’s almost impossible to get it back.

Despite the plethora of media appearances you have, I strongly encourage you to get some media training; you could be so much more effective with the proper training.  As a matter of fact, as one who has trained some of the biggest names in sports, entertainment, business, and politics; I will offer my guidance to you free of charge.

Despite what many whites in the Republican Party think, you cannot move the needle on the issue of getting more Blacks involved in the party because you have no ties to nor any institutional memory of “real” Black Republicans. 

If you don’t know people like William T. Coleman, Art Fletcher, Jennifer Carroll, Robert J. Brown, Richard Finley, Ada Fisher, Fred McClure, or John Burnett; then maybe you should spend a few months away from the media to get the proper education to understand the issues you are attempting to discuss.

Because, to be honest with you, you have confused the hell out of me with some of your recent public pronouncements.

You testified before the House Judiciary Committee on April 9 of this year and stated in your opening remarks that you were a Democrat; then last week you stated on Laura Ingraham’s TV show on FOX News Channel that you were a Republican; which is it?

Black Democrats ignore you because of some of the crazy statements that come out of your mouth; “real” Black Republicans ignore you because you have no relationship with the party or the Black community.

You are the flavor of the month right now, but your 15 minutes of fame will be over by the end of this year.

How do I know?

You are not the first Black to be promoted as the “flavor of the month.”  The Republican graveyard is full of people like you who have been willingly used only to be discarded and thrown into the sea of forgetfulness, and woe [it] be unto you if you don’t know their names because you will soon join that club unless you read the handwriting on the wall.

And with all thy getting, get understanding!

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur.  He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. 
You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

Add Raynard Jackson to your facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/raynard.jackson.12

Add Raynard Jackson to your twitter.  https://twitter.com/Raynard1223

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How to Effectively Deconstruct Liberalism

As someone who makes a living by providing strategic and crisis communications to some of the biggest names in sports, business, entertainment, politics, and government; it is very difficult for me to watch people engaging in debates on radio and TV.

People far too often confuse frequency in media with substance in media.

Even though this column will focus on Black Republicans and conservatives, the principles can be applied to anyone and any situation across the board.

I have been actively engaged in media since my high school days and have been trained by or sat at the feet of some of the biggest names in media and communications.

Since the 2016 elections, I have told any and everyone who will listen that race will be the dominant issue of the 2020 election cycle.

The Republican Party and the conservative movement are totally ill-prepared and unqualified to properly deal with the issue of race.

I constantly cringe when I see Black Republicans embarrass themselves on radio or TV; which is, unfortunately, the norm rather than the exception.

Most of them have absolutely no training in media or communications; but radical liberal producers constantly book them simply because they know their host will make them look foolish, thus perpetuating the narrative that Black conservatives are buffoons.

Their egos will not allow them to get media training and the party sees no need to do it.

Last week, I was asked to appear on a friend’s TV show.  Cherri Gregg is the host of Philadelphia based Flashpoint.  She is very liberal; but this time, to my surprise, she actually did a great job as moderator. She had me going up against three radical liberals. 

I enjoy embarrassing radical liberals by putting them into an intellectual corner and checkmating them!!

Listen to the debate and then follow this column as I dissect my appearance.

The first thing you will notice about these radical liberals is that their starting premise is that America is “racist.”  But they never define the term racist or racism.  I had to repeatedly ask them to define their terms before they finally gave me some psycho-babble rumblings that made absolutely no sense.

Rule # 1 in debating, ALWAYS make your opponent define their terms.

Mission accomplished!

Remember what former Republican California U.S. Senator S.I. Hayakawa said in his book Language in Thought and Action: “Meanings are in people, not in words.”

Never ever assume your audience knows what you mean when you use certain words. 

If you know anything about radical liberals and liberalism, you should already know their definition of certain words and be prepared to “force” them to defend and justify their own words, thereby exposing the weakness of their arguments.

Radical liberals are not used to being challenged or forced to define their terms of engagement because most media outlets are friendly towards their radical liberal guests.

When they avoid defining their terminology, as they will, you must be persistent in forcing them to explain to the audience what they mean by using certain words.

Notice in my interview how I pressed and pressed the three radical liberals to define racist and racism.  They became so frustrated that they simply strung together radical liberal phrases and talking points that made absolutely no sense.

Melissa, a radical liberal white female, got so emotional during the interview that she actually said, “white people have to amplify the voices of people of color.”  In other words, Massa has to come into the Black community and save us because we are too stupid to save ourselves.  This is truly the essence of liberalism when it comes to Blacks.

Rule # 2 in debating, ALWAYS force your opponents to become emotional, it clouds their judgment.

Mission accomplished!

Now the coup de grace.  As we all know, liberalism is based on irrational thinking, therefore it will produce irrational results.  Charles finally admits that the negative pathologies affecting Baltimore are the fault of their Black elected officials.  But then he goes on to say he didn’t like the “words” President Trump used to describe the conditions in Baltimore.

So, he now concedes to my premise that Baltimore’s condition is the fault of liberal policies, but he just didn’t like the words that were used to describe Baltimore and Elijah Cummings.  This is a tectonic shift from the beginning of the interview!

Checkmate!

Rule # 3 in debating, ALWAYS repeat your disarming argument until your opponent unwittingly concedes to your viewpoint.

Charles became so unhinged at the end of the interview, not only did he criticize Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings; but he also went on to criticize former President Obama.

Charles, on national TV, even went so far as to call Trump voters, “poor ignorant white people.”  Yep, you heard right.

Once radical liberals become unhinged and emotional, then their true feelings begin to come out.

I went up against four radical liberals, including the host, and in less than thirty minutes got them to concede on several of my key points.

They all showed they could not give a concise definition of racist and racism.  They were forced to put the blame for the conditions of Baltimore where it belonged—on their Black elected leadership, not President Trump.

So, to the Black conservatives who are enamored by the bright lights of the TV cameras, please get yourself some training so you can stop embarrassing yourself and making my job more difficult.

I know you are turned on by being in the media; but as Solomon told me in Proverbs 4:7: “Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding.”

Raynard Jackson is a Pulitzer Award-nominated columnist and founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. BAFBF focuses on the Black entrepreneur.  He is also President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC, an internationally recognized political consulting, government affairs, and PR firm based in Washington, DC.  Jackson is an internationally recognized radio talk show host and TV commentator.  He has coined the phrase “straticist.”  As a straticist, he has merged strategic planning with public relations.  Call RJA to discuss how they can get you to the next level of your career or business.

For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. 
You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.

Add Raynard Jackson to your facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/raynard.jackson.12

Add Raynard Jackson to your twitter.  https://twitter.com/Raynard1223

Add Raynard Jackson to your Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=5502539&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=loLR&locale=en_US&srchid=55025391407093543596&srchindex=1&srchtotal=3&trk=vsrp_people_res_name&trkInfo=VSRPsearchId%3A55025391407093543596%2CVSRPtargetId%3A5502539%2CVSRPcmpt%3Aprimary