Condi Rice: Trump's Messages Should Be More Thoughtful, Use Twitter Less
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she’d like to see President Donald Trump rely less on Twitter and more on remarks that come “from a place of thoughtfulness.”
In an interview aired Sunday on “Meet The Press,” Rice said she’d like the president “first and foremost speak in the language of unity, the language of empathy” amid the protests that have erupted in the wake of the police-involved death of George Floyd.
“I've heard the president talk about the resilience of Americans,” Rice said. “I'd love to hear more of that. Twitter and tweeting are not great ways for complex thoughts, for complex messages.
“When the president speaks, it needs to be from a place of thoughtfulness, from a place of having really honed the message so that it reaches all Americans.”
She said that advice applies to America’s elected leaders in general.
“I would love to hear this from our leaders in Congress on both sides of the aisle. I would love to hear from mayors and from governors and from others,
” she said. “Leaders at this particular point need to do everything that they can to overcome, not intensify our divisions.”
Rice said she believes Trump “didn’t know that historical context” when he tweeted the phrase “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“I would say think about the historical context before you say something, because it is a deep wound,” she said. “And the presidency is special in that regard. People look to the Oval Office as we've looked to the Oval Office throughout our history for messages,
for signals. And as I said, the president has used some language that I really very, very much admire, like the resilience of the American people.
“Just be careful about those messages. I'm not advising the president, but if I were, I would say let's put tweeting aside for a little bit and talk to us, have a conversation with us. And I think we need that. And I think he can do it.”
