Hillary Clinton might have been more prepared for Donald Trump’s vice presidential rollout than Donald Trump.
In the crucial moments after Trump announced he had chosen Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate with a tweet on Friday, Clinton’s campaign sprang into action, while Trump’s team missed several opportunities to capitalize on its own news and be the first to frame the narrative around the new partnership.
Within 15 minutes of Trump’s initial tweet, Clinton responded with a video outlining a point-by-point case against Pence.
A minute later, her campaign posted the same video, but with Spanish subtitles. By 11:15 am ET, the campaign was out with a one-page graphic showcasing Pence’s views on hot-button issues such as abortion, taxes, immigration and gay rights.
Like the video, this was also translated into Spanish.
Just after noon, Clinton’s campaign blasted a series of mass-texts to supporters announcing Trump’s decision with a fundraising request that let donors give as little as a dollar with a tap on their phone.
Meanwhile, her research team dumped anti-Pence research on its website and through the campaign’s “The Briefing” account. By 1:30 p.m., Clinton’s allies representing Congress, labor, Latino voters and the pro-abortion rights and gay rights movements held a joint press call to make the case against Pence.
The two starkly different strategies are indicative of the culture within the rival campaigns. While Clinton is running a more traditional operation, complete with carefully vetted and controlled messaging and a large staff, Trump’s approach is far more personality driven and unpredictable. For many, his shoot-from-the-hip strategy is a major part of his appeal, but his campaign’s failure to capitalize on significant moments of the campaign such as this could reduce his ability to raise money or reach voters as effectively as past campaigns for the White House.
Click here to continue reading…
SOURCE: Chris Moody
CNN
BCNN1 WP 