October 6, 2016 | No Comments
“PUTIN & TRUMP … Political Bromance Is Brewing” — with the two men surrounded by floating red hearts — is the cover story of the debut issue of the American Enquirer, a flashy, tacky tabloid with the slogan “News That Makes America GREAT.”
The 16-pager is a project of David Brock and his Correct the Record, a super PAC that is spending millions to support Hillary Clinton and try to torment Donald Trump.
Artwork inside includes Pinocchio, a mushroom cloud, Richard Nixon, Donald Duck (“THE DONALD IS DUCKING QUESTIONS ABOUT TAXES”) and the logo of the real National Enquirer.
Brock plans to send autographed copies to Trump at Trump Tower, and to longtime Trumpo adviser Roger Stone.
A flippable digital version is posted at www.americanenquirer.org.
“Trump wants a tabloid campaign, and he would be a tabloid president,” Brad Woodhouse, president of Correct the Record (CTR), told POLITICO. “So we said: ‘Let’s make a tabloid.’”
Woodhouse said the project “represents somewhat of a closing argument for CTR about Trump,” and said the Enquirer was “David’s brainchild, as a way to push back on the politics of scandal and personal destruction.”
“We were thinking of some way to give lift to some of the stories that have been reported, but are part and parcel of who Donald Trump really is,” Woodhouse added.
Correct the Record is printing a few thousand copies, mainly for distribution to reporters and the group’s supporters. The tabloid will be given to journalists at Sunday’s debate in St. Louis, and will be sent to campaign travelers and embeds, plus anchors, producers, editorial and opinion writers.
“We’ll make a big push in the St. Louis media market before the debate, so local news coverage of ‘Tabloid Trump’ greets him and his team when they arrive this weekend,” Woodhouse said. “We will email digital copies of this to hundreds of thousands of Americans and promote it to millions more on our social platforms.”
Woodhouse said his group may publish additional issues, perhaps with a theme like Trump comments about women or minorities: “Obviously, we’re leaving a lot of stuff off the table.”
Correct the Record has raised roughly $8 million since it became a super PAC in May 2015, and has about 45 employees and full-time consultants. Jennifer Granholm, the former Michigan governor, is senior adviser.
The group’s efforts have included pushback on the Benghazi and email issues. Before Clinton launched her campaign, Correct the Record was responsible for Clinton’s self-research project. Other Correct the Record websites include www.benghazicommittee.com, www.trumplies.com and www.trumpproject.org.