If there's a single most challenging job in President Donald Trump's White House, the honor may have to go to the beleaguered communications director.
And on Friday, the White House announced that the current occupant of that role, former Fox News executive Bill Shine, has resigned from the position to take a job on Trump's re-election campaign. Shine was the fifth person to occupy the communications director role; the White House now must find its sixth candidate.
Or perhaps it won't. Trump has long been said to view himself as his own best advocate, and he consistently directs his own communications agenda (I won't use the word "strategy") from his Twitter account.
This habit may be part of the reason why his previous four communications directors — Michael Dubke, Sean Spicer (in an acting role), Anthony Scaramucci, and Hope Hicks — couldn't last long in the position. Scaramucci's tenure, though, was cut exceptionally short when he profanely attacks Steve Bannon in the New Yorker.
Trump views his style of communication as his strongest asset, one that he is not willing to compromise by adhering to some staffer's agenda. That may be why Hicks was seen as a strong fit for the role — she was widely reported to defer to his instincts and to act as positive emotional support for the president, rather than driving her own strategy.
And the president has some good reason for his confidence. He did trounce his competitors in a tightly packed Republican primary, and he defeated Hillary Clinton in the general election when conventional wisdom held that she couldn't lose. But Trump also has consistently low approval ratings and is viewed by the vast majority of the country as a dishonest crook. Even if his communications style is responsible for getting him to where he is, it is also likely to blame, in part, for his extremely precarious public standing. He would be well-advised to hand over the responsibility to a competent messenger in charge of crafting his public image in a more appealing way. But he almost certainly won't.
