Donald Trump’s recent late-night Truth Social post featuring a racist AI-generated video of Barack and Michelle Obama wasn’t just offensive, according to Yale leadership scholar Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. It was strategic.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a longtime Trump critic who wrote the new book Trump’s Ten Commandments, joined Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov on the “Raging Moderates” podcast to explain why moves like these are deliberate attempts to distract the public.
“People think wrongly that these are impulsive decisions,” Sonnenfeld said. “These are deliberate strategic devices.”
Shifting Focus From Epstein, Affordability, and Health Care
Sonnenfeld argued that Trump routinely turns to provocations like this to shift attention away from damaging headlines.
In this case, he pointed to the growing scrutiny around Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, as well as broader issues like affordability and health care failures.
“He’s just looking for ways to change the subject,” Sonnenfeld said, referring to Trump’s various stunts, including past comments about Venezuela and Greenland.
Tarlov brought up the renewed controversy around Lutnick, who had previously claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2005.
However, Senate testimony and records now suggest he continued interactions with Epstein for years, including a lunch on Epstein’s private island.
“This guy’s reputation is in the sewer,” Sonnenfeld said. “He has overtly lied.”
Sonnenfeld predicted Trump might eventually cut Lutnick loose, saying he often distances himself from associates who become a liability.
But he noted this also risks opening the floodgates for broader scrutiny of Trump’s other ties and controversies.
Trump’s Style: Divide, Distract, and Dominate
Sonnenfeld explained that Trump thrives on centralizing power and sowing division.
One tactic he describes in his book is the “wall of sound,” referencing the Phil Spector production technique, where a barrage of noise overwhelms the listener.
Trump, he argues, uses a similar flood of controversies to exhaust the public and media.
“Even though it comes out angry as a midnight post … people think wrongly that these are impulsive decisions,” Sonnenfeld said.
Trump has used distraction consistently, including threats of sanctions against Greenland or floating military action in far-flung countries.
Sonnenfeld called these examples of Trump trying to keep the conversation off domestic issues.
“Using race is always a last resort of scoundrels, and he’s not above that,” he added.
Why CEOs Are Staying Quiet
Sonnenfeld, who regularly convenes Fortune 500 CEOs, said many business leaders are afraid to speak out against Trump.
He cited examples of Trump attacking top executives at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, and Harley-Davidson.
“They’re afraid. You can’t act alone,” Sonnenfeld said.
Then he pointed to the aftermath of Charlottesville, when Ken Frazier, then CEO of Merck, resigned from Trump’s advisory council.
That triggered a wave of exits by other business leaders, effectively dismantling the councils.
The Power of Collective Action
Sonnenfeld emphasized that real accountability won’t come from name-calling or waiting for Trump to self-destruct.
It will require organized pressure and cross-sector resistance.
“You don’t make any progress calling an alcoholic a drunk,” he said.
“Getting past the finger-pointing and trying to figure out what we do about it, it’s collective action. That’s how you take down a bully.”
He said CEOs care about what stakeholders think, including clergy, unions, universities, and consumers.
But many of these institutions, especially in blue states, have been too quiet.
“They need to hear from those other people,” he said. “They work for us. Tell them so.”
Sonnenfeld stressed that business leaders remain among the most trusted figures in American life, even as trust in media, academia, and government has declined.
He believes that pressure from the public could still prompt them to act.
“These people are the pillars,” he said. “Social capital is as important as financial capital.”
Bottom Line
Trump’s provocations, including the Obama video, aren’t just about stirring outrage.
They’re about controlling the narrative and escaping accountability.
And unless a broad coalition of leaders and everyday people speaks out and acts together, Sonnenfeld warns, the cycle of distraction will continue unchecked.
IMAGE CREDIT: ”Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.