The expected "burst of legislating and power-stretching" from the new administration and Congress could put corporate America's penchant for silence to the test.

Why it matters: There's a recalibration happening as executives navigate how and when to address socio-political issues in the era of Trump 2.0.

State of play: Instead of being caught flat-footed like they were the first time, teams are gaming out several approaches, according to the experts Axios spoke to.

• Proactively, most are anticipating how specific policy promises — like those related to immigration, health care and trade — might impact their business or affect employees, and how best to address it.
• Teams are also preparing for reactive scenarios — such as how to respond if they get roped into a culture war, used as a political football or singled out in an X post.
• Other considerations are whether peer companies are engaging, internal leaders can align on one message, and the company or executive has some authority on the issue and something meaningful to add.

Flashback: Trump's 2017 travel ban prompted nearly 100 tech CEOs to ask the courts to block it, and several issued public statements in opposition.

• "CEO criticisms of President Trump did not remain limited to differences over policy," says Matthew Kohut, managing partner at KNP Communications, pointing to Trump's comments following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• "After Trump's remark that there was 'blame on both sides,' Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier announced he was leaving the administration's American Manufacturing Council. Others followed, and the council collapsed as a result," Kohut added. 

What they're saying: The precedent set in the first Trump administration could make things more complex for leaders this time, says Selena Strandberg, founder of The Know, an enterprise software company that helps executives understand stakeholder sentiment on pressing global issues.

• "Some of the topics we're keeping an eye on going into January are discussion topics that were very hot with employees previously and have not been executives' immediate concerns, but I would suspect that they might come back to the top again," she told Axios.
• "Some companies are going to change their course, and I think it's more about having a very clear justification for why you came to that conclusion and making sure that justification is communicated across channels — particularly to employees."

Yes, but: Some experts think employees don't carry as much weight as they once did.

• "The conditions that existed in the 2016, Trump 45 era are important to remember," says Anne Marie Malecha, CEO of Dezenhall Resources.
• "Money was cheap, people were expanding their businesses at a rapid pace, and there was a really tight labor market, so companies were worried about losing their workforce and wanted to keep employees happy, so to speak. It gave vocal employee bases significant leverage. That's not where we're at now."

The bottom line: It's hard to predict what the exact policies of the new administration will look like and who they will impact, so time is best spent establishing the process for how and when to get involved.

What to watch: The White House could return to governance by tweet — or X post— which will require another level of scenario planning for those with government contracts or big brands that have recently been in the political crosshairs.

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Case in point ... 👇🏻

Businesses must work with Washington, which could come with challenges or internal backlash.

Why it matters: Because employees historically serve as the loudest stakeholder group, government affairs and internal communications teams need to work closely as new public policies take shape.

What they're saying: In recent years, internal communications moved from human resources into the broader communications function, and government relations have become more integrated with comms through the rise of corporate affairs.

• "What we're recommending to our clients is to start un-siloing your government relation function from both internal and external communications... Because there might be scenarios where the policy changes are disruptive enough that internal comms needs to engage, while also taking into account that the way they engage can impact how lawmakers view the company," says Ryan Nickel, senior vice president at Lox Sixteen.

Zoom in: Communication teams might also have to address how the company is spending resources in Washington or collaborating with outside coalitions and trade organizations — whether it's around issues like tariffs or policies related to health, food safety and energy.

• "Effective coalition communications allow companies to present a unified message on these issues, defend against potential retaliatory measures, and influence public and political opinion," says Kara Hauck, senior vice president at Sable Strategy. 

Between the lines: Government relations teams can also help communication colleagues assess the real effects policy proposals could have on the business and its employees.

• "Traditionally, there's always a big gap between campaign promises and how they're implemented, or if they're implemented at all," Nickel says."So you really need a sliding scale to help determine what degree of pressure applied by these policies necessitates a response — whether public or internal. But regardless, you need that triangulation of decision-making between those three functions of government relations, external and internal comms."

Go deeper

News influencers — people with at least 100,000 followers on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X or YouTube who regularly post about current events — are more likely to identify with the political right than the left, a new study from the Pew Knight Initiative found.

Why it matters: 1 in 5 Americans reports getting their news from influencers, and 65% of them say these news influencers have helped shape their opinions on political, societal or global news.

By the numbers: Male news influencers outnumber female news influencers 2 to 1, and those who express a political slant are more likely to lean right (27%) than left (21%).

• News influencers from both sides of the aisle are most likely to be found on X, where 85% have a presence, per the report.
• News influencers on Facebook are three times as likely to share conservative views (39%) than liberal ones (13%) across the platform.

TikTok, meanwhile, is the only site where left-leaning news influencers outnumber those on the right.

• TikTok also has the smallest gender gap, with 50% of news influencers identifying as men and 45% as women.

Reality check: While these influencers are creating content about politics and news, only 23% of them have a journalism background or are affiliated with a media organization.

• Those without journalism experience or affiliation are more likely to use video-based platforms and monetize their content through subscriptions, donations or merchandise.
• Of note, 84% of news influencers on TikTok do not have journalism experience or work for a media outlet.

What to watch: The report implies news influencers are looking for ways to expand their reach.

• Currently, about two-thirds of news influencers are on more than one social media site and 34% connect with their audiences through podcasts, while 22% write newsletters and 6% host a Discord channel or engage with other chat platforms.

Keep reading

Ashok Sinha serves as chief communications officer of Dow Jones, the parent company of business publications like The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and MarketWatch and services like Factiva and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance.

• Why it matters: While most are familiar with the Dow Jones brands, few know the corporate story — which Sinha is hoping to change.

📍How he got here: Sinha moved to New York City after college seeking to become an actor or filmmaker and fell into entertainment PR at MTV Networks.

• From there, he held various communication leadership roles across media entities like Time Warner and Audacy Inc. before joining Dow Jones in 2023.

🏗️ How it's structured: Sinha reports to Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

• He also sits on Dow Jones' executive leadership team and oversees the global team responsible for internal and external communications for Dow Jones and its brands.

❌ The biggest misconception, he says, is that communications is just about landing press coverage.

• "The stories that we tell can no longer be dependent on just the press," Sinha says. "We have to think about it from literally every perspective— social media, events, speaking opportunities and thought leadership pieces. It is now about leveraging every possible platform to get that message out there."

🔎 Zoom in: One important message that Sinha's team helped support was calling for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was being wrongfully detained in Russia.

• Gershkovich had been imprisoned for nearly six months by the time Sinha joined Dow Jones. From then on, he supported communications efforts, working closely alongside an outside consultant and crisis firm through Gershkovich's release on Aug. 1.
• "This effort extended beyond just communications," Sinha says. "It involved engaging Evan's friends, talking to our partners, marketing and getting awareness out in what normally would have been considered competing publications, and felt well above and beyond what a normal communications campaign would have been — and for good reason."

📈Trend spot: AI's impact on the media industry and how it could change the communications function.

🧠 Best career advice he's received: If you're in a room or a meeting, you're there for a reason.

• "At the end of the day, as communications professionals, what we offer is our perspective — either strategically or tactically," Sinha says. "That's what people look to us for, so we need to be sure to voice it."

Go deeper ... Read the spotlight in its entirety.

Public relations firm Haymaker Group flipped the script this week by having communicators interview journalists on stage about the state of news and media relations.

• The audience of about 300 communicators, investors and founders heard from folks like Axios' Dan Primack, Alex Konrad of Forbes, Business Insider's Peter Kafka, NYT Dealbook writer Lauren Hirsch, and even yours truly.