Plus: The independent journalist who’s changing childcare in Minnesota; Allison Worldwide leader moves on after 25 years.
On Sunday, just one day after the U.S. arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the morning show rounds to message the regime change.
Rubio insisted on “Meet the Press” that the media was “fixating” on President Donald Trump’s comments that the U.S. would run Venezuela.
“It’s not running — it’s running policy, the policy with regards to (oil blockades),” Rubio said.
Just hours later, his boss undercut him.
While aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump seemingly intentionally provoked his audience of reporters to ask a question he knew would raise eyebrows.
“And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” he teased, according to the New York Times. When a reporter asked that question, Trump responded: “It means we’re in charge.”
A White House statement later Sunday said there was no contradiction between the remarks of the two men and that the administration will “will continue to diplomatically engage” with Venezuela’s leadership.
Why it matters: The incursion into Venezuela will have far-reaching effects for citizens of that nation, expats abroad and foreign oil and gas companies who Trump has signaled will soon enter the market, which had formerly been controlled by the state. But for now, let’s focus on the communications impact of these competing statements.
Trump is no stranger to a communications impact that directly contradicts messaging put out by his subordinates. Even early in his first term, way back in 2017, The Guardian reported on Trump’s habit of saying the exact opposite of what his top brass said on topics ranging from the firing of James Comey to political tensions with North Korea.
This is not how most organizations function. In a more common structure, leaders will work with their department leads and communications functions in order to unify around one message delivered with many voices. Ultimately what the boss wants usually wins the day, but that’s often decided in conference rooms before the first person speaks publicly.
If you find yourself in a similarly volatile organization where plans are changed on the fly, consider a more unified communications strategy. If the CEO or another top leader wants to be the key voice on a topic, let them. Once that person speaks, then surrogates can be deployed in support and echo of those comments, rather than vice versa.
Otherwise, you risk introducing dissonance into the process that muddles the message and raises questions about what the actual plan is. In this case, Venezuela finds itself uncertain who is leading which aspects of the nation. The energy companies Trump hopes will move into the oil-rich country face uncertainty about who they should be listening to. That could jeopardize the administration’s long-term goals in the nation.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- In the last week of 2025, a 23-year-old independent journalist released a video on alleged childcare fraud in Minnesota. The video, now seen by more than 115 million people on X and another 2 million on YouTube, has sent shockwaves through the state. All federal childcare funding in Minnesota has now been frozen. The fallout is so intense, it likely contributed to Gov. Tim Walz’s decision to end his reelection bid for a third term. The man behind it all, Nick Shirley, was making prank videos on YouTube just six years ago. He also was far from the first person to report on the allegations: Local outlet KSTP reported in early 2025 on fraud investigations; in May of last year, CBS News also uncovered fraud in the system. But it wasn’t until Shirley, who in the last two years has shifted to political content, reported on the issue that it became amplified by conservative influencers eager to find examples of Somali immigrants potentially engaged in fraud in a blue state. From there, it reached the ears of the White House and became a major flashpoint. As CNN correspondent Hadas Gold put it: “But in today’s modern media environment, it’s the right figure – with the right following and with the style that resonates with the audience hitting at the right time – that can make all the viral difference.”
- Chick-fil-A is coining a new portmanteau to describe its approach to its 80th anniversary marketing push: newstalgia. “We’ve thought about this as a way to celebrate our heritage with customers who’ve been with us, potentially for decades, for all 80 years, or whether they’ve been with us for eight days or have never tried Chick-fil-A before,” Khalilah Cooper, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand strategy, advertising and media, told CNBC. In effect, that means a full-court press in the media, including in Friday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl football game. It also involves a heavy merchandising strategy, including retro collectable cups and cow plushies. Three thousand people who purchase the cups will win free Chick-fil-A for a year. The strategy shies away from the current prevailing fast food strategy of deep discounts to lure inflation-weary customers to their door. Instead, it seeks to activate those who already love the brand to show off their pride through merchandise, deepening brand affinity while making them into walking billboards to recruit new fans. The plan only works because of the 80 years of brand equity – but it might help set the restaurant up for 80 more years.
- Game manufacturer Hasbro scored a quirky hit in the Wall Street Journal with a story about how it’s training the next generation of corporate leaders with a board game. Dubbed “Toy Tycoon,” the game pits up-and-coming managers against one another to see who can best simulate running two of the company’s brands. The game follows a two-day crash course on business from CEO Chris Cocks to set them up for success. Both the practice and the well-placed WSJ hit are a clever piece of employer branding: this isn’t just a company that makes games, they live and breathe them at every level.
- In personnel news, Jonathan Heit, co-founder and CEO of Allison Worldwide, has announced his departure from the company after 25 years. “It’s hard to articulate what this company and team have meant to me,” Heit wrote on LinkedIn. “Helping shape this agency through every stage of its growth has been a defining experience in my life and so incredibly rewarding.” Heit said to expect news on what’s next for him in 2026.
Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.
The post The Scoop: Trump, Rubio reveal the dangers of mixed messaging from leaders appeared first on PR Daily.
