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15 Recent Fails From the White House Press Department — a Transgender Publicist’s Retrospective

We’re gonna do a quick read with notes; let’s begin.

  1. White House App Hits №1 in News and Cracks App Store Top 20 as Americans Tune Out Fake News

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Americans care more about the country’s future than about App Store ratings. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

2. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK TOGETHER WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF GREENLAND

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Now, someone here doesn’t understand how capitalization and title character counts work, and I’ll say someone because, if you’ll notice, this administration doesn’t sign off on their work like real publicists do. Let’s keep it moving. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

3. White House Access Is a Privilege — Not a Right

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

This sounds more emotional and less from a presidential position of strength, I’d say. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

4. WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: President Trump Delivers Historic Victories for America’s Hunters, Anglers, and Outdoorsmen

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Oh ok so now the implementation of pronouns only because it’s attached to stereotypical masculine people. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

5. Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Reinvigorates America’s Hunting Heritage

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

I’d love to understand how factually this person has reinvigorated anything. Go ahead, wow me. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

6. RESTORING AMERICAN SALTWATER ANGLING AND RECREATION

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Again, America’s priorities on full display here, right? Must’ve been a slow fake news day, huh? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

7. REINVIGORATING AMERICA’S HUNTING HERITAGE

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Can we not keep the computer’s Caps Lock on people? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

8. President Trump’s Top 250 Victories For People of Faith

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

No one gives a shit about this. How about not take us into unnecessary wars? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

9. Trump Dividend: America Is Winning — and Americans Should Win With It

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

This reads more like a bitch trying to manifest a feeling rather than stating anything of reality; don’t you think? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

10. Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Responds to Canada’s Retaliation

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Did they include the part where this moron takes complete ownership for insulting an entire nation? I’m gonna guess not. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

11. EXCLUDING CERTAIN CANADIAN PRODUCTS FROM IMPORTATION INTO THE UNITED STATES IN RESPONSE TO CONTINUED DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES WITH RESPECT TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

For fuck’s sake, is anyone over there familiar with grammar and capitalization? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

12. President Trump Secures the Biggest Oil Deal in World History

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Again, this isn’t an oil company we are all living in; it’s a damn country. Who writes this crap? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

13. Ten Times Extreme Liberal Democrats in Congress Put Their Dangerous Agenda Ahead of the American People

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Your bias and lack of administrative accountability are showing, yet again. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

14. President Trump Was Right: America Controls the Strait of Hormuz

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

Again, this reads more like a little bitch trying to manifest what they want reality to be as opposed to actually living in it. — Dylan Thomas Cotter

15. NEVER SURRENDER: Karoline Leavitt’s Historic Tenure as White House Press Secretary

TRANSGENDER PUBLICIST’S FEEDBACK:

This and all the above-mentioned government press release titles here read as if they were written by an incel who has never experienced life nor taken a single English class. How much money do you think taxpayers contribute to the salaries of the most unqualified people running this country? — Dylan Thomas Cotter

In Conclusion

The press department; you know the ones who never sign their own press releases? I’d say we as citizens are not getting our money’s worth here, regardless of how much we pay this unqualified, out-of-touch group of ‘individuals’, because the cost of this level of ignorance is far too substantial.

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from this administration:

“Transgender for everybody”

Now you see that’s the only thing they’ve said correctly.

Just think how well they’d do with a transgender man in charge there; the thing is, no self-respecting transgender person would align themselves with this group of unintelligent, self-serving, hateful people who are terrible at what they claim to do professionally.

Some of us can’t be bought, but we can be diplomatic and compromise, so yes, I’ll give it to them:

“Transgender for everybody”

Wish I thought of that one.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

ABOUT DYLAN THOMAS COTTER:

Rebel with a cause, driven by authenticity, self-expression, and liberation for all.

Rev. Dylan Thomas Cotter is a strategist, public relations leader, and brand communications executive with more than fifteen years of experience at the intersection of entertainment, media, and technology.

Cotter is known for securing numerous Tier 1 (top-tier) and Tier 2 media placements across key markets including but not limited to:

The Associated Press, Fortune, Playboy, GQ, Rolling Stone, ABC News, Out Magazine, The Advocate, Pride, Inked Magazine, Real Simple, VICE, KTLA, Reader’s Digest, Mashable, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Life UK, Newsweek, Men’s Health, Parade Magazine, Betches, U.S. News & World Report, Women’s Health Magazine, Women.com, South China Morning Post, Truthout, MIC, The Manual, Curl Magazine, International BusinessTimes UK, TechRound, GB News, The Irish Star US, The Mirror US, Daily Express U.S., MSN, AOL, UNILAD, Morning Honey, News9Live, Business Times, ClickOrlando, News4JAX, East Bay Times, Newsday, Midland Reporter-Telegram, El Paso Inc., SRN News, WRAL, Marietta Daily Journal, Yahoo, YourValley, Henry Herald, Times Union, TheIndependent, INkl, Netscape, WSB Radio, Taylorville Daily News, The Seattle Times, FOX Illinois, The Gazette, Stamford Advocate, New Haven Register, CT Post, Lakeland Today, SFGATE, WSLS 10, NC News Online, Courier News, Delco Times, The Republic, StarBeacon, Daily Journal, Temple Daily Telegram, The Toronto Star, WJTV, Winnipeg FreePress, KFOR, TribLIVE, The Hour, KTAR, WTOP, Daily Press, MyStateline, SeattlePI, NewsChannel 20, The Mercury News, Oskaloosa Herald, The Korea Times, MyNorthwest, Greenfield Reporter, Antigo Journal, Voice of Alexandria, Union-Bulletin, Gwinnett Daily Post, WBAL, WVNews, YourSourceOne, WINK News, Mankato Free Press, Audacy, Goshen News, KRQE, HNG News, CBS 17, FOX 40, KSNT, Western SlopeNow, FOX 44 News, KDVR, News 13, WGN Radio, NVDaily, MyMotherLode.com, The Hamilton Spectator, Daily News-Record, The Washington Times, KTVO, DailyIndependent, WFMJ, Fine Day Radio, WSB-TV, Local 10, Messenger-Inquirer, Click2Houston, The News-Item, KSAT, OA Online, KIRO 7, The Sun Chronicle, KARK, RiverBender, Laredo Morning Times, San Francisco Chronicle, The News-Times, CTInsider, Beaumont Enterprise, Manistee News Advocate, The Telegraph, Michigan’s Thumb, Chron, KHQA, The Intelligencer, EverythingLubbock, The Virginian-Pilot, MyPlainview, Your Conroe News, GMToday, WFMZ, SSBCrack News, Wenatchee World, News 10, Emirates 24/7, VIN News, Hartford Courant, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Silicon Valley, Ground News, Japan Today, The Washington Post, Boston 25 News, Butler Eagle, Livingston Enterprise, Ottumwa Courier, Dayton Daily News, LimaOhio, Guard Online, 990 The Answer, Indianapolis Business Journal, PHL17, ABC27, EDGE Media Network, Telemundo Nebraska, The Columbian, 1010 WINS, WPHT, KY W Newsradio, WB C O Radio, WBBM Newsradio, KMOX, WWJ Newsradio, KNX News 97.1 FM, WTIC, WWL, KMBZ, WILK Newsradio, WBEN, Talk 1370, WPXI, Times Leader, ABC4

His latest books, Dear Cisgender Reader Walk Beside Me: An Invitation to Understanding My Big, Exciting Gay Transgender Life and Think Like a Transgender Thought Leader, are out now.

10 Times Transgender Activist and Publicist Dylan Thomas Cotter Publicly Pushed Back Against the Incompetence of the Trump Administration

Know that at this time in history, the future well-being of my transgender community is on the line.

I will never be silent against injustice — ‘activist’ isn’t a dirty word, but ‘republican’ sure is.

Think about what someone like me places on the line every single time I use my voice in the media to speak out- that doesn’t bring in dollars and cents; that brings in awareness, so if you’re gonna be about advocating for the community and have the ability to use your voice and are in a position of privilege to do so, what’s stopping you?

I am not in a position of privilege as a gay transgender man, but I sure as hell am in a position of strategy and awareness as a transgender publicist. I fully intend to use my skill set towards my community’s advantage as often as I can to push back against the perpetuation of anti-trans media propaganda and all those who uphold it, and to call out the incompetence of those tasked with leading this nation, as currently I see no leaders of merit of any kind at the wheel.

Activists Deserve LGBTQIA+ Community Support vs. Criticism

Frankly put, if you aren’t in the lane of media activism, stay the hell out of the way of those of us who are in, trying to downplay the contributions that queer activists have historically made in this country and continue to do so presently.

If not for the ‘wild cards’ such as myself, a great many queer and nonprofit organizations that a great many privileged LGBQIA+ individuals work at today would have never come to fruition. Activists should be honored, not passively and aggressively maligned.

That said, whoever respects the hustle, drive, and consequences facing queer activists like myself who continue to use our voices in the media to speak out against injustice: we will truly see that respect reflected in the amplification of our words, our community’s collective visibility, and the financial support of LGBTQIA+ organizations dedicated to the cause.

I expect to have a larger book of PR clients; time will tell who really supports transgender activists while we are alive and not only after we have died.

Dylan Thomas Cotter’s Media Activism In Action

  1. Actually, Testosterone Doesn’t Make You More Violent via PLAYBOY

Dylan Thomas Cotter, a publicist and activist in California who has been on testosterone for more than a decade, tells me that, for him, the hormone did the opposite of what the mythology predicts. Before he started, he was mired in a depression fueled by dysphoria. Testosterone, he says, “leveled out” his temperament. It relieved his depression and “centered [his] mind, body, and soul.”

Of course, Cotter went into his transition with thorough research-backed knowledge from medical professionals and fellow trans men, which may have had an impact on how testosterone affected him.

Cotter agreed: “Aggression is not based on hormones. It’s absolutely based on agendas and personalities.”

2. 10 Signs The U.S. Press Secretary Has Lost Influence via MEDIUM

For a sitting U.S. Press Secretary to have little to no control over the national narratives disseminated by the current United States administration they serve is not what the American people expect or deserve in terms of crisis communications, public affairs, information management, and media relations.

3. Calls for ‘insecure’ Donald Trump to undergo competency test after Kaitlan Collins rant via IRISH STAR US

PR expert Dylan Thomas Cotter has suggested he should undergo mental competency testing. Speaking exclusively to The Irish Star, the expert said, “The personal attacks waged by the president upon Collins while expertly conducting her professional line of questioning is disgraceful and disturbing.

“It appears Trump has quite the level of insecurity that he himself apparently cannot contain when it comes to being rightfully questioned by female journalists on his ability to properly execute the functions of his role.”

As for what should happen next, Cotter shared, “Until there has been an accurate mental competency investigation conducted regarding the president, many of the public will continue to question why this pattern of abusive language directed at female journalists ever happened even once and why it has continued.”

He warned, “This is not normal behavior, nor is it acceptable as Collins is one of the most talented journalists in the United States. Many of us respect her body of work and can see she’s continuing to do an excellent job.”

4. Supreme Court Upholds Tennessee Law Banning Care For Trans Kids via ROLLING STONE

While the decision isn’t what Dylan Thomas Cotter hoped for, he’s not giving up. “To be a transgender American at this point in history is to be a fighter,” says Cotter, a publicist, author, and transgender rights activist. “We, as proud transgender Americans, know this will take time and are in it for the long haul. It’s important to hold on to the fact that tomorrow is a new day and there are many transgender people and allies that remain on the frontlines of fighting the good fight for all.

5. Transgender Americans, Far More Skilled In Peace Relations Than Trump via MEDIUM

Presently, to be a transgender American is to walk quite a challenging life path. To be a transgender American is to be composed, secure, patient, and elegant in a world constantly attempting to project the antithesis of your lived reality onto you.

Not a path of strength that, frankly, I see any of those in the current administration have the courage or experience to embody.

Think about it, when is the last time we’ve heard a diplomatic take on any topic from this administration in terms of public affairs in the hopes of de-escalation for the safety of our country?

6. Melania Trump ‘distancing herself’ from Donald Trump as her ‘vanishing act’ gets exposed via IRISH STAR US

Publicist Dylan Thomas Cotter suggested she could be trying to “distance herself” from her husband.

Dylan told The Irish Star, “The public, in a first for the United States, is witnessing a First Lady who is strategically positioning and publicizing herself while also distancing herself from the very man tasked with governing this country.

“That’s an interesting divergence from the historically dated patriarchal PR pattern of ‘stand by your man’ that was followed by many a First Lady throughout the course of this nation’s history.”

The publicist continued, “All that said, there’s quite a bit of power at play within any political administration, and in particular for this administration, the focus does appear outwardly to be more on personal PR and personal business ventures and enrichment than on the dedication to and efficacy of providing consistent high-level public service.”

He concluded, “The First Lady may or may not be forced to take a step back by her partner; however, if she does, it’ll only reinforce the potential of public perception that her partner, who holds one of the most powerful offices in the world, may very well be intimidated by the potential of AFAB people outshining him as we’ve also seen reflected by the many female journalists who’ve rightfully questioned the President upon both his Presidential, business and personal dealings.”

7. Is The White House’s Plan For Trans Youth Just ’Conversion Therapy Lite’via ROLLING STONE

People like Dylan Thomas Cotter — a publicist, author, and transgender rights activist — know what it’s like to grow up without gender-affirming care. For him, getting top surgery was a 14-year process. “Had I had access to the advanced gender-affirming care that now exists for transgender children, I would not have suffered so much in my life socially, physically, and mentally,” he tells Rolling Stone. “This is why transgender adults advocate so strongly for transgender children — because we know that they can and should have a better life experience than we have had.”

8. USDA Website Uses Transphobic Messaging to Blame Dems for Government Shutdown via TRUTHOUT

In a statement sent directly to Truthout, Dylan Thomas Cotter, a transgender activist and author, decried the messaging as being “absolutely wild” and a “meritless accusation to make against an entire community.”

“It is my hope that the general public has begun to see through the nonsense and assess the facts as it relates to my beautiful community. … This administration and all that champion of it should be ashamed,” Cotter said.

9. ‘As an Irish American, Kid Rock’s workout video with RFK Jr was too much to endure’ via IRISH STAR US

A clip of the Capitol Hill hearing has been shared online, with publicist Dylan Thomas Cotter responding to Kennedy’s comments. Speaking exclusively to The Irish Star, he said, “Whatever the rate may or may not have been to produce that low quality vanity content, it was far, far too much of a cost to endure viewing as an Irish American.”

He concluded, “It’s not appearing to boost ticket sales or rockstar credibility.” Cotter’s comments come after 55-year-old Kid Rock, real name Robert James Ritchie, appeared in a video with Kennedy as they showed off their workout routine.

The video, which has been shared widely on social media, showed the duo without their tops on as they pedaled stationary bikes in a sauna and engaged in a game of pickleball. They were also filmed drinking milk while sitting in a hot tub together.

10. Fighting back: How to respond to Trump’s executive order on gender-affirming care via YAHOO! NEWS

Dylan Thomas Cotter, a transgender rights advocate and publicist emphasizes community engagement. “Get connected with your local PFLAG and LGBTQIA+ centers,” he advises. “Follow trans activists and creators as we are sharing community updates as they arise in real-time.”

Cotter urges people to get involved digitally. “Volunteer with your local LGBTQIA+ friendly politicians, sign petitions, share your thoughts with the world on social media in solidarity,” he says.

ABOUT DYLAN THOMAS COTTER:

Rebel with a cause, driven by authenticity, self-expression, and liberation for all.

Rev. Dylan Thomas Cotter is a strategist, public relations leader, and brand communications executive with more than fifteen years of experience at the intersection of entertainment, media, and technology.

Cotter is known for securing numerous Tier 1 (top-tier) and Tier 2 media placements across key markets including but not limited to Playboy, The Associated Press, Fortune, ABC News, GQ, Rolling Stone, Out Magazine, The Advocate, Pride, Inked Magazine, Real Simple, VICE, KTLA, Reader’s Digest, Mashable, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Life UK, Newsweek, Men’s Health, Parade Magazine, Betches, U.S. News & World Report, Women’s Health Magazine, NursingColleges.com, Women.com, South China Morning Post, Truthout, MIC, The Manual, Curl Magazine, International Business Times UK, TechRound, GB News, The Irish Star US, The Mirror, MSN and AOL.

Cotter advises founders, artists, and executives on brand positioning, reputation, corporate social responsibility, and strategic communications. As an openly gay transgender professional, Dylan Thomas Cotter is committed to fostering inclusive, respectful, and affirming work environments.

His latest books, Dear Cisgender Reader Walk Beside Me: An Invitation to Understanding My Big, Exciting Gay Transgender Life and Think Like a Transgender Thought Leader, are out now.

When Covering Transgender Genocide and a Transgender Source Follows Up

I never thought I’d have to write this; however, here we go. Months ago, I replied to an online request for transgender sources to discuss trans genocide in the United States. Being that I am a transgender publicist and activist, I responded. The journalist I spoke with, important for context, is not a member of the LGBTQIA community and, because of the nature of the topic at hand, very bluntly put, I spoke with a cis-het white woman who transitioned from nursing into medical journalism. I’ll be the first to admit when I make an error in judgment. It was an error in judgment to speak with this journalist, and only months later did that error surface through flagrant apathy.

When covering such a life or death topic of transgender genocide and how medical professionals provide competent care for transgender patients in the United States, quite obviously the subject matter falls at the intersection of identity, human rights, civil rights and healthcare, I had found in particular this journalist not to be the best lens that this story and the future of its much needed on-going coverage to be many months after the fact and am writing this in the hopes to educate future journalists covering this beat on what not to do when a transgender source follows up with additional information regarding the evolution of the circumstances after the initial interview was published.

Again, as a publicist, I saw a few red flags in the video interview; one was asking exactly what a publicist does (and not already knowing or researching that before speaking with me). However, I chalked it up to being newer to professional journalism. Because of their connection to the medical field, I thought I’d allow them to speak with me and that I would be in good hands because all medical professionals take an oath to “do no harm.” Only later did I find out that, again, it is the same level of apathy and classism I am now experiencing in the nonprofit medical healthcare system from again cisgender white women.

That brings me to my follow-up inquiry with the journalist who wrote the original article in question; my follow-up request for an update, which was simple yet highly relevant and impactful to the future coverage of the topic, went unanswered.

For context, when I was initially interviewed, I said my nonprofit-based low-income medical care was being handled well at the time by an LGBT clinic in Los Angeles. To be clear, in the months following this coverage, that has changed substantially; so much so that you may read about that via:

Op-Ed: When LGBTQIA+ Healthcare Stops Feeling Safe: A Transgender Patient’s Story With Nonprofit Healthcare

After reading that, any person could now see why I, as an American transgender person who receives healthcare in the nonprofit system, would want to follow up with the journalist who covered this topic and provide them with that information in the hopes of protecting other transgender people who may be reading that article, and not direct them to a clinic that I no longer regard as trustworthy.

Now, you ask: what was my request to the journalist? It was very simple: not a request for a follow-up interview, just a simple ask to remove the one brief sentence containing the hyperlinked nonprofit name, as I again provided the aforementioned Op-Ed update for context.

My request as a transgender source was and is based on the fact that I would not like an article that was published months ago to live forever online and direct other transgender people to any medical institution in which I no longer have confidence regarding quality, safety, and future informed medical care for transgender people such as myself.

When a journalist reads a request like this, of course they always have a choice: reply or not; however, the reality is, from the source’s perspective, when this simple a request on such a highly sensitive topic goes unaddressed, we see you for the journalist that you are, and that’s not one committed to the beat; that’s one who wanted the accolades for writing one article regarding trans identity.

I, for one, as a transgender publicist, see it for what it is and call bullshit.

From a publicist’s perspective the follow up provided by myself as a source is in and of itself a continuation of your initial story regarding the evolution of transgender genocide in America, a journalist’s selectiveness in not simply responding as a professional and also personal courtesy as the topic at hand is of dire importance to the source communicating the update on reflects to me a few things, an insincerity of dedication to actually covering the beat at hand and how it evolves, not possessing the capacity to understand that some stories evolve into much larger ones that impact the transgender community and also an overall disrespect of the transgender source’s lived human experience and the future of their community’s coverage.

In this instance, when dealing with identity, genocide and media coverage, not responding to a transgender publicist’s minor update request in updating the story by simply removing the nonprofit’s name and hyperlink is frankly terrible public relations as a journalist because I’ll now know who never to send transgender sources to in terms of not just yourself as an independent journalist but also regarding the online nursing publication that published said article.

Failing to respond in particular here says so much, doesn’t it? It did to me.

As a publicist who is transgender, it absolutely fucking pains me to have to highlight journalistic apathy when covering transgender genocide as your beat, in the same manner I have had to shine a light on apathy regarding transgender people’s lived human experience within the classist nonprofit medical field, but here I am.

Covering the transgender human experience is not a one-and-done; we are not your portfolio piece to showcase how good of a human you think you are; this is a beat; lives are at stake.

Consider what kind of work you are putting out into the world and the real-life consequences of that work.

ABOUT DYLAN THOMAS COTTER:

Rebel with a cause, driven by authenticity, self-expression, and liberation for all.

Rev. Dylan Thomas Cotter is a strategist, public relations leader, and brand communications executive with more than fifteen years of experience at the intersection of entertainment, media, and technology.

Cotter is known for securing numerous Tier 1 (top-tier) and Tier 2 media placements across key markets including but not limited to Playboy, The Associated Press, Fortune, ABC News, GQ, Rolling Stone, Out Magazine, The Advocate, Pride, Inked Magazine, Real Simple, VICE, KTLA, Reader’s Digest, Mashable, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Life UK, Newsweek, Men’s Health, Parade Magazine, Betches, U.S. News & World Report, Women’s Health Magazine, NursingColleges.com, Women.com, South China Morning Post, Truthout, MIC, The Manual, Curl Magazine, International Business Times UK, TechRound, GB News, The Irish Star US, The Mirror, MSN and AOL.

Cotter advises founders, artists, and executives on brand positioning, reputation, corporate social responsibility, and strategic communications. As an openly gay transgender professional, Dylan Thomas Cotter is committed to fostering inclusive, respectful, and affirming work environments.

His latest books, Dear Cisgender Reader Walk Beside Me: An Invitation to Understanding My Big, Exciting Gay Transgender Life and Think Like a Transgender Thought Leader, are out now.