Is Trump Accommodating the White House for a New TV Show?
Caroline Sunshine has joined the White House press team. Is it a coincidence? A small Internet search shows little about her background and what the important things she has done are, but the truth is that she has arrived at the White House as part of the President Donald Trump’ press team. Caroline Sunshine, although unknown to many, has made headlines when leaving the Disney star’s factory to be part of the White House communication staff. It is really difficult to say why the star of Disney Channel's Shake It Up program has gone to a very busy and “shaky” place, especially because of the scandals in which the "boss" is almost daily involved.
The actress and also dancer of one of the most popular Disney sitcoms is known among teen series fans as well as for having reaped some singing success with her single "Roam". He also gained notoriety for playing Barbara Winslow, character of her first feature film, Marmaduke, based on the comic’s book of the same name.
However, if in the next few months the mogul’s Twins seem more childish than before, then we will know why Sunshine traveled from Atlanta to Washington. According to CNN, the Disney girl was a scholarship holder at the White House. At university, she was involved in the American Enterprise Institute and was an active member of the United Nations Model of her college. She was also an intern of the Kevin McCarthy’s office, the National Republican Committee and the Republican Party of California.
Caroline’s arrival to the White House is added to the list of characters or rather stars of the entertainment and show world. This is not a random thing, although at first glance it could be an excess of banality of the president, it is not. Just a few weeks ago and still accommodating in the White House are Larry Kudlow, former CNBC representative, now head of the National Economic Council; and John Bolton, an analyst at Fox News, as a National Security Advisor. The truth is that these characters enjoy the prestige that media provided them. It is not a secret proven theory of communication studies that those most watched people in media become opinion leaders and therefore, can suggest or be more assertive with the public than others whose image is not so broadcasted.
If we dissect, for instance, the last members of Trump's cabinet, we can see that Kudlow has occupied one of the most important positions of the current administration: the economy council. A simple reading: the changes that Trump is making in the economic sphere and the somehow “outlandish” measures that eventually cause very strong side effects need to have a strong public support. There's Larry, CNBC’s “God” in economic matters. Maybe Donald does not have much credibility, but with Larry is different, the veracity of his criteria is perse.
The same happens with“dark” Bolton. His office in the National Security is very clear. US government has conflicts with several countries in which the demagogic hostility is present in each of its approaches and unilateral measures that reinforce the idea the United States is the universal arbiter and the only nation with the right to break into the internal affairs of other nations. Bolton, a familiar face, is a personality followed by hundreds of viewers in North America who do not miss his show.
Finally, there’s “little” Caroline who holds a position in Washington and, although the actress does not have enough experience nor Bolton and Larry’s recognition, the girl has 500,000 followers on her verified Twitter account and 235,000 followers on Instagram, a considerable number for a president like Donald Trump who uses Twitter even in his most intimate moments.
My hypothesis is plain and perhaps it’s even a truism: Donald Trump is putting together a deadly trident to strike American public opinion and manipulate it at his will. We may think he simply likes banality and show business (which he actually loves) but the real thing his intelligent and calculating plan seeks to move the balance of the domestic public opinion to his favor.
Part of this strategy was revealed months ago by the late Anthony Scaramucci who after the dismissal of Michael Short announced that his interest was to hire corporate communication specialized executives and several conservative TV stars to “give a new image” to his administration and eradicate leaks.
The origin of this new strategy lies in the strained relations between Trump and media, which he considers false and hypocritical, as well as parasites, therefore his idea to fight fake news by to take hold of public personalities, eventual opinion leaders. However, the Disney star’s Caroline faces a communications team that is excessively overloaded and under a lot of pressure, particularly if they are far from allying to the media of the country and attack it frontally, an ad hoc strategy that seeks to annoy mass media.
Beautiful Caroline Sunshine may no longer have the time hours to worry about her public image or may be, all depends on the purposes for which she was called to the president's press office. She will join the long list of media stars that have entered the world of politics like Ronald Reagan, US fortieth president; and Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of the state of California. In addition, there’s Trump who has made several films and TV cameos, like the one he performed on The Apprentice.