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The Conflict Is the Point

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Playbook: “In an era with low trust in institutions, widespread frustration with politics and deep cynicism about Washington, how do you continue to win when you’re the party already in power? By continuing to brand yourself as the outsiders — and picking fights that try to underscore that.”

“More than most politicians, Trump innately grasps a reality that drives our modern moment: Attention means power, and conflict generally means attention. Trump’s ongoing MAGA revolution in Washington has concrete policy goals, but it has an overarching political one, too: driving a message that frames their actions time and again as those of outsiders going to war against the status quo.”

“That’s the throughline that connects a seemingly disparate array of stories right now.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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