Did Donald Trump’s Tweets Imperil a Marine Jailed in Mexico?
Family and friends working to free former Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi in 2014 were advised not to attack Mexico for imprisoning him. But that didnt stop Trump from doing just that.
TIM MAK
09.07.16 1:00 AM ET
In the early days of his flirtation with the GOP base, Donald Trump fired up conservative supporters to rally them to free former Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi from a Mexican jail.
It was one of the Republican nominees biggest causes back in 2014, and one that seems all-too-familiar now: a populist, off-the-hip messaging campaign, using forceful rhetoric to pressure Mexico. Trump hammered the point home on social media, and further capitalized on goodwill when Tahmooressi was freed by cutting a $25,000 check to his family. But Trumps bombastic efforts actually made it harder to free the jailed Marine, say two individuals who worked closely on the effort to free Tahmooreesi.
The wave of anti-Mexico populism that sprung up on the U.S. side of the border over this case was very much not helpful. Whether it actually prolonged his confinement is unknowable, said Jonathan Franks, who worked as the Tahmooressi family spokesman during the ordeal. Getting people fired up for the sake of it isnt strategically effectiveone needs to get people fired up around a message that furthers the goalthose finer points of strategic communications seem utterly lost on Trump.
It is a real-life illustration of the damaging effects of Trump's Twitter diplomacyand a warning of how future negotiations might be undermined by a theoretical Trump White House.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/07/did-donald-trump-s-tweets-imperil-a-marine-jailed-in-mexico.html