Trump is searching for a new reelection slogan
President Trump never seemed to like “Keep America Great” anyways. Also in this week’s issue:
Biden’s now a big spender on Facebook
What makes D.C.’s Black Lives Matter street art so powerful
Space Force has expanded its trademark application
Yours,
Trump is searching for a new reelection slogan
Credit: Trump campaign store
Don’t expect to hear “Keep America Great” or “Sleepy Joe” as much going forward. The Trump campaign is figuring out a new slogan and messaging and those phrases aren’t likely to be used as prominently in the future, some Trump advisors told the Washington Post.
Trump has been lukewarm about “KAG” from the beginning and Yello reported last month that he had stopped using the phrase. So what’s going to replace “Keep America Great”?
Trump himself said in May it would be “Transition to Greatness,” but he has also tweeted phrases like “The Best is Yet to Come” and “The Reawakening of America.” This morning alone he tweeted several possible slogans in all caps, as if testing out their engagement.
“When the president decides, there will be a new slogan and there will be new ads,” one Trump advisor who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Post.
Trump’s expected campaign trail comeback
Credit: C-SPAN
The Trump campaign is reportedly ready to restart campaign rallies in the next two weeks, according to Politico. While the campaign could face criticism for holding rallies during the pandemic (new coronavirus cases are currently increasing in 21 states), Trump advisers believe the recent protests will make it harder for liberals to speak out against Trump’s campaign trail return.
“Americans are ready to get back to action and so is President Trump,” campaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement. “The great American comeback is real and the rallies will be tremendous.”
Last month, the campaign was considering possible alternatives to crowded arenas, like holding rallies at drive-in theaters or other outdoor venues where attendees could observe social distancing guidelines. Trump’s last rally was on March 2 in Charlotte, N.C.
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Biden’s now a big spender on Facebook
Screenshots of recent Biden campaign Facebook ads asking supporters to sign on to “condemn Trump”
The Biden campaign is now spending big on Facebook. Like way big. In the past week as protests against racism have been held across the country, the Biden campaign spent $5.2 million on Facebook ads. By comparison, the Trump campaign spent $1.2 million in the same time period, according to Facebook’s Ad Library.
The New York Times found that on Thursday alone, the Biden campaign spent $1.6 million on Facebook ads, which is more than three times Trump’s single-day spending record on the platform. Overall the Biden campaign has spent about as much on Facebook in the past several days as it did in the first ten months of the campaign.
Facebook’s Ad Library shows that the campaign has spent more than $47,000 on recent ads asking supporters to “condemn Trump.” Many of these ads include photos from Trump’s photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church last week. Clicking these ads takes users to a page with text that says Trump “fuels violent hatred and white supremacy in our country” and asks users to enter their contact information.
Biden digital director Rob Flaherty tweeted that 1.2 million people joined the campaign’s mailing list between June 1 and 7.
What makes D.C.’s Black Lives Matter street art so powerful
The District of Columbia found itself at odds with the federal government last week. Federal law enforcement and military that the District didn’t ask for were on streets that aren’t under federal jurisdiction. Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a formal request to Trump asking for officers to be withdrawn on Thursday, and on Friday, she took matters into her own hands, even if just symbolically.
The stretch of 16th St. north of the White House was renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza,” and the words “Black Lives Matter” were painted in giant yellow letters between K and H Streets.
“Mayor Bowser wanted to use art to make a statement at the site where peaceful protestors were attacked to create a photo op on Monday,” Bowser’s chief of staff John Falcicchio said in a statement provided to Yello.
The mural was the work of Murals DC, a city-funded program within Washington’s Department of Public Works, according to Falcicchio. A group of eight artists proposed the design, which was approved by Bowser “who appreciated the subtle yet powerful boldness of the mural,” Falcicchio said.
Work began on the mural at about 3 a.m. Friday and by around 6:30 a.m., letters were measured and sketched out and the first letter was being painted in. Onlookers soon asked to help, and additional rollers and paint pans were brought in for volunteers. It was finished eight hours later, when Bowser came by around 11 a.m.
Images of the mural ricocheted across the internet and Rep. John Lewis called it a “powerful work of art.” The words — along with an image of D.C.’s flag — reclaimed the street with a statement aimed directly at the White House.
Written in a simple sans-serif typeface, it was a message meant to be read from above. Although Federal Aviation Administration restrictions prohibit flying anywhere near the White House, Apple Maps promptly updated their satellite image of the street.
That the mural was written in yellow paint typically used for street markings gave the words all the weight of traffic commands. Straight through only, no U-turns, Black Lives Matter.
The paint job got a mixed response in Washington, with Black Lives Matter DC calling it a “performative distraction” and Rose Jaffe, a local artist known for her Ruth Bader Ginsburg mural on U St., telling the Washington Post it was “a little bit of a photo op” and she wanted action, even as she helped paint it. The following day, a group of activists added “Defund The Police” as their own coda to the mural.
Still, it resonated across the country. Yellow street messages became a public art format, with “Black Lives Matter” written in Sacramento and Oakland. In Raleigh, N.C., a group painted “End Racism Now” in yellow, while in George Floyd’s hometown of Minneapolis, the names of victims of police brutality were listed down Chicago Ave.
These aren’t murals you can casually snap a photo of on the ground. They take up entire blocks of public streets, speaking in declarative terms about black lives and racial justice. The size of these murals speaks to the scope and urgency of the problems they address.
Space Force has expanded its trademark application
Credit: U.S. Space Force
The Air Force office of general council first filed a trademark for “Space Force” in March 2019 for clothing items, Yello reported last year, but it’s since expanded. In a filing dated May 20, 2020, the Air Force filed trademarks for a host of Space Force items, including:
airplanes, helicopters, and space vehicles
clocks, key chains, lapel pins, tie tacks, and watches
books, business cards, calendars, decals, greeting cards, notebooks, postcards, posters, and stationery
backpacks, briefcases, duffle bags, and gym bags
beer mugs, shot glasses, and travel mugs
bedspreads, comforters, throws, and towels
golf clubs, playing cards, plush toys, toy airplanes, cars, and other vehicles
cigarette lighters
Despite Defense Department guidelines against political fundraising off military branches, the Trump campaign is still selling branded Space Force merch in its campaign store. However, it recently added new space-themed items — “Make Space Great Again” hats and shirts — which seem like they might be safe from a cease-and-desist notice if the DOD ever sends one.
Credit: Trump campaign store
In other Space Force trademark news, the Hollywood Reporter found Netflix submitted “Space Force” applications around the world as early as January 2019, two months before the USAF.
Why Pinterest-ready Black Lives Matter illustrations are so popular
Credit: @courtneyahndesign/Instagram
The ugliness of police brutality and racial injustice in 2020 has resulted in unrest, activism, and pretty Pinterest-ready illustrations that use a distinctly Millennial aesthetic of cartoons, hand-drawn lettering, and lots of pink. ICYMI, I wrote for membership subscribers about why these illustrations resonate so much. You can read my story here.