The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

PR Wars: Trump vs. No Kings

• www.mollymcpherson.com • Episode 317

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© 2025 The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson

Molly McPherson:

Hey there, welcome to the PR Breakdown. I'm your host, Molly McPherson. This week, the messaging behind two movements dominating our newsfeed. In this episode we're diving into something absolutely fascinating and, honestly, a little scary. We're witnessing two massive PR campaigns happening simultaneously in the US right now, and they're both straight out of a playbook written over 100 years ago. On one side, you have Trump's highly centralized, militarized immigration enforcement messaging, complete with noir-style footage and World War II-esque imagery. On the other, a decentralized, grassroots movement called no Kings that had over 2,000 protests happening last weekend.

Molly McPherson:

But here's what got my Gen X brain spinning. When I first heard about no Kings, all I could think about was one of my favorite Saturday morning television programs, schoolhouse Rock. Do you remember the cartoon, the no Kings cartoon, when they were singing about the American Revolution? This is where I wish I could bust through copyright and play it instead of doing this to you. They wanted no more Mother England. They knew the time had come for them to take command. It's very. Do you remember this song? Can you sing it right off top of your head, like me? It's very clear. You're being unfair, king. No matter what you say, we won't obey Gonna. Hold a revolution now, king and we're gonna run it all away with no more kings. Okay, I will stop right there To all my fellow Gen Xers who watch this on Saturday morning. I'm sorry this is going to be in your head all day, like it has been in mine all week, but I'm telling you it's the same type of campaign, because it turns out that connection might be more strategically brilliant than anyone realizes.

Molly McPherson:

In this episode, let's explore why, using the framework of a one Edward Bernays, the so-called father of public relations, who literally wrote the book on propaganda. So let's break it down. Before we dive into the campaigns, I need to give you the lens that I'm going to use to analyze everything, and that lens comes from a man named Edward Bernays. Now, if you're like me and you took the APR test through PRSA, the Public Relations Society of America, I'm guessing you had this question on the test. It's all about Edward Bernays. So I have the playbook in front of me, crystallizing Public Opinion. I refer to it quite often in my work. It's copyrighted in 1923, this episode over a hundred years later.

Molly McPherson:

But what he wrote could send chills down your spine if you cared about PR in this way. He said, and I quote those who manipulate public opinion constitute an invisible government, which is the true from the government that manipulates public opinion. Now here's what's important to understand Public relations is human behavior. It's how we think, how we react, how we message things for public consumption. And that public could be anyone your employees, your customers, your voters, your family, your community. We all work in messaging, whether we realize it or not. Every single day, we're crafting messages for different audiences. The difference is most of us aren't trying to manipulate public opinion on a massive scale, but some people are, and they're using Bernays' playbook to do it, whether they know it or not. Bernays talked about how public opinion is formed through what he called the group and herd mechanism. He understood that people don't make decisions in isolation. They make decisions based on what they think their group believes, what they think is normal, what they think is expected. Does that sound familiar? Because that's exactly what we're seeing play out right now in these two campaigns.

Molly McPherson:

Let's start with the Trump campaign, because this is where Brunet's invisible government concept really comes into focus. First, we need to understand something crucial A lot of what we're seeing is theater, pure theater. Trump is using his authority to make moves, knowing full well that many of these moves will be challenged in courts, but he doesn't care about the legal outcomes. He cares about the imagery, the messaging, the theater of it. All that plays into his ego. And here's the thing Trump has always been our television president. The same reason his show the Apprentice, was successful is the same reason he's able to wield power so effectively nowadays. He understands television, which means he understands social media with the video component. He understands spectacle. He understands how to create compelling imagery that gets people emotionally invested. So let's break down his current campaign using Bernays' framework.

Molly McPherson:

Target audience number one, his base, but also moderate Americans who want immigration policy changes. And here's the uncomfortable truth that's a lot of people. This isn't just Republicans we're talking about. There are moderates and even Democrats who genuinely want an immigration policy that's actually enforced. The message we're delivering on our promises. We're bringing order and strength. The emotional appeal patriotism, strength and this is key fear of invasion.

Molly McPherson:

Now here's where it gets really strategic. The imagery we're seeing is very specific. You're going to see Mexican flags in the footage, not because they're necessarily dominant in the actual protest, because that's the imagery that supports the invasion narrative. You're going to see smoke, tear gas, masks, everything shot in that noir style black and white dramatic, scary armed soldiers, handcuffs imagery that deliberately evokes World War II deportation scenes. They're not necessarily putting this out on newscasts, but they're putting it out in their content on their socials.

Molly McPherson:

Let me give you the numbers. This is where theater and reality diverge. Trump's administration claims 200,000 deportations since the inauguration. Sounds impressive, right, but only 10,000 of those were voluntary self-deportations. And there are still 1.4 million people with final deportation orders who remain in the country. The visuals suggest overwhelming success, but the numbers don't back it up. That's the campaign, folks. That's the theater. But here's the thing. Is it working? That's the question we have to ask, because if people believe the theater more than the reality, then the theater becomes the reality.

Molly McPherson:

Now let's look at the counter-narrative, the no Kings movement. With no more kings, no more, okay, no more singing Molly, I promise and I have to start with this Whoever came up with the no Kings as the slogan is a messaging genius, because it does exactly what good PR should do it connects to something people already know and feel emotionally connected to. I may be the only person who hears no Kings from Schoolhouse Rocks, and if you're still singing it in your head. I'm sorry, but I honestly don't think that's where it comes from. The movement started on Reddit, which is where a lot of these grassroots movements begin now. It was created by someone who feels millennial, elder, millennial. He describes himself as an engineer by day, with a degree in marketing and a fascination with virality. Notice that Marketing background fascination with social media, virality. This person understands how messages spread.

Molly McPherson:

The numbers are impressive. February 5th, their first protest had 72,000 participants. April 5th, they claimed 5.2 million participants, and now so, at the time of recording, it will be tomorrow's protest, on Saturday, june 14th. They have over 2,000 planned events nationwide 2,000. That's not a protest, that's a movement.

Molly McPherson:

But here's what makes this different from other recent movements it's not just one demographic, it's not just women with pink hats, it's not just one racial group. It's everyone coming together under one umbrella and, strategically, they're being very smart about the messaging. They're using constitutional language, rule of law, democracy. They're timing it with Flag Day. They are reclaiming the flag. They're making a big push for it to be peaceful protests, not riots, because here's what they understand Trump wants people to protest in Washington DC. He wants the footage. He wants to be able to say look at these protesters attacking the very military that's protecting you. But the no Kings movement is doing something brilliant they're telling people not to go to DC. Don't give them what he wants. Don't feed the beast. In fact, last Friday on my got under his skin by attacking the ego. So it's exactly what they're doing again to Trump and, frankly, it's genius.

Molly McPherson:

So what are we really watching here? We're witnessing classic PR war tactics on both sides and they're using Edward Bernays' playbook again. Whether they realize it or not, trump is deploying what Bernays would call an quote invasion narrative Save the country from dangerous outsiders. The imagery is carefully curated Mexican flags waving from the California protests, palestinian flags, anyone who can be framed as others, or threatening no King's is using what Bernays would recognize as revolutionary symbolism. But they're being smart about it. Instead of resistance and saying this is the resistance which sounds reactive and angry, they're using no Kings, which sounds patriotic and foundational.

Molly McPherson:

One campaign is about order and strength and military power. The other is about freedom and democracy and constitutional values. But here's the crucial difference Trump's campaign is centralized. Everything flows through him and his administration. The no Kings movement is decentralized no single leader, no single point of failure, and historically, decentralized movements are much harder to stop. The framing couldn't be more different. Trump's campaign uses fear, invasion, chaos, the need for strength. No King's uses hope constitutional values, democracy, the promise of America. We've seen this before Hope elected Obama, fear elected Trump the first time.

Molly McPherson:

The question is, which emotion is stronger now? So what can you do with this information? How do you avoid getting swept up in the manipulation? First, recognize the techniques. When you see that dramatic footage of ICE raids, when you see social media posts from DHS, from ICE, ask yourself what am I not seeing? What's the full context? What emotion is this designed to trigger in me? When you see those revolutionary symbols and patriotic language, ask the same question what's the real goal here? What action am I being asked to take?

Molly McPherson:

Second, look at the numbers, not just the imagery. The most compelling footage doesn't always represent full reality. Third, understand that both sides are trying to get you emotionally invested. That's not necessarily bad. Emotions drive action and sometimes action is necessary. But make sure you're choosing your emotional investment consciously, not just reacting to whatever imagery is put in front of you. And finally, remember that in a democracy, your attention is power. Where you focus your attention, what you share, what you talk about. That's how you vote every single day, not just in elections. Both of these campaigns want your attention, both want your emotional energy. Both want you to feel like you have to choose a side. Maybe the real power is in understanding the game being played and choosing consciously how or if you want to participate. The success of these campaigns won't be measured by the loudest voices or the most dramatic footage. It will be measured by numbers how many people show up, how many stay home, how many take action. But regardless of which side you're on, or if you're not on either side, the real victory is in understanding how public opinion is being shaped.

Molly McPherson:

Once you see these PR strategies at work, you can't unsee them Now. This analysis, as I mentioned earlier, came from one of my live chats with my Substack community. If you enjoyed this format, I host these conversations regularly on both Substack and YouTube. I love to break down the PR strategies that I spot as current events unfold. You can find everything at prbreakdownmedia, that is a website that's based on Substack, or you can follow me on Substack at Molly McPherson. I've got exciting conversations coming up, including one with Dr Abby Medcalf and another with media training experts Warren Weeks and John Peranek. Both of them are my favorite media guys, both from Toronto. Plus, I'm launching a new tool it is a beta launch for my Substack members that applies these PR frameworks to real world messaging. If you want to be a part of that beta launch, then head on over to my Substack, become a member and then you will get all the information you need. Become a member and then you will get all the information you need. Thanks for joining me this week into our deep dive into the messaging wars.

Molly McPherson:

As I mentioned again, I'm recording this the day prior to the no Kings protests and birthday celebration for the army and President Trump. So remember this in a world full of spin, the truth is in understanding how the spin works. Until next time, let's all keep breaking it down. And no more kings, no more kings, no more kings. Okay, I'll stop.

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