On Friday, the White House announced that communications adviser Bill Shine was leaving — shuttled off to Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign for an amorphous job that sources familiar with the move acknowledged was not part of any sort of broader, planned strategy related to the President’s reelection bid.
While Shine, the White House and the Trump campaign all said the right things, it was immediately clear to anyone paying even the slightest attention to this administration that Shine’s departure was the result of a desire by Trump to be rid of the longtime Fox News Channel senior staffer.
The reporting quickly confirmed this reading-between-the-lines. Reported CNN’s White House team on Friday:
“Shine’s effectiveness inside the West Wing came with mixed results and it was unclear how much he was able to change the White House’s communications strategy. One source close to the White House told CNN that Trump had questioned Shine’s judgment on a number of issues in recent months, from the midterm election to the government shutdown.”
That Trump soured on Shine — and that the campaign job is seen as a graceful exit plan for a man who helped build the conservative TV giant on which the President still heavily relies — is, in many ways, predictable.
After all, Shine is the sixth person in Trump’s 2+ years in office to either be named to or occupy the role of communications director. (Shine never technically held that title, but his responsibilities within the White House were largely aimed at strategic messaging.) Trump views no job as more important — given his relentless focus on how the media is (and should be) covering him — and, therefore, keeps a very close and critical eye on whoever has the job. While Trump is easily displeased with subordinates, his patience level with those entrusted with shepherding his brand is almost nonexistent.
So some of this turnover is to be expected. But Shine was supposed to be different. He was no junior-level political staffer. Instead he was a senior executive at Fox News credited, at least in part, with turning the network into a ratings juggernaut by focusing it on the stories — and angles — that the allegedly liberal mainstream media missed or ignored. Shine was also a close associate of Fox’s Sean Hannity, one of Trump’s most ardent defenders even on a network full of them.
On its face, Shine’s addition to the White House back in July 2018 made all the sense in the world. The reality TV President was bringing on an executive producer from his favorite network to help him grow his image and brand amid an onslaught of Democratic attacks and “fake news” media.
It didn’t work out that way. While Shine was generally described as a genial presence within the walls of the White House, he left no real footprint. This paragraph, again from CNN’s White House team, sums up Trump’s problems with Shine nicely:
“Trump had been down on Shine for at least a few months, believing him ineffective and not what he’d hoped for when he hired him, according to people familiar. Shine’s role basically became the person who adjusted the lighting and focused the cameras, and he showed no ability to shape a narrative or communications strategy.”
“Adjusted the lighting and focused the camera.” Oomph.
Shine may or may not deserve the derision that Trump seemed to direct his way. But what’s abundantly clear from this latest move — not to mention the Spinal Tap drummer-level of turnover in the position — is that Trump views himself not only as the star of this greatest of reality shows (as he conceives of the presidency) but also as the only person who can truly produce a show of this magnitude.
Again, from the CNN White House team: “Trump, who often has unrealistic expectations of what his staff can accomplish, had complained about Shine privately at times, noting he hadn’t received better coverage since he hired him.”
If any of this surprises you, you haven’t been watching closely enough. Trump believes deeply that he is not only the best political product on the market but also the most equipped salesman, marketer, brand manager and social media adviser to move that product to the public.
Shine never really stood a chance.
