January 24, 2017
Former Pennsylvania Gov. and Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell made no secret of his opposition to President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, throwing his hat behind Hillary Clinton and serving an active role in producing last July's Democratic National Convention.
It stands to reason that Rendell would have some tough words for Trump, who enters the White House with a 45 percent disapproval rating and an ambitious agenda whose details remain nebulous.
Appearing this weekend on MSNBC, Rendell questioned why the Trump administration is even spending time fighting with the media about attendance at his inauguration last Friday. Taking combative stances when people aren't even likely to remember the context will only detract from building public support on key initiatives, Rendell said.
That doesn't mean the former governor was naive about Trump's popular appeal. In August, during the 2016 campaign, Rendell acknowledged that "reports of [Trump's] political death are very premature" and that his outbursts could help him reach the White House. But that was a presidential campaign. This is the presidency.
If the administration doesn't learn to pick its battles with the media, Rendell says the blowback will be fatal: "You're going to kill yourself; you're going to drown in your own bile."
Trump is scheduled to visit Philadelphia on Thursday for the congressional Republican retreat, where lawmakers are expected to solidify an agenda to act on Trump's political priorities.
