Backlash shapes Trump messaging

Chuck Todd used two April 2026 podcast episodes to argue that Donald Trump’s team has shifted from offense to damage control after a backlash over a Truth Social “Jesus” image and a Tax Day message that landed below White House expectations. (youtube.com 1) (youtube.com 2) In the first episode, posted April 16, Todd said Trump was “in retreat” after criticism of an AI-generated image Trump shared on April 12 that appeared to depict him as Jesus healing people. CBS News and ABC News reported the post was removed by April 13 after complaints from religious conservatives and some Republican allies. (youtube.com) (cbsnews.com) (abcnews.go.com) Trump told reporters on April 13 that he thought the image showed him “as a doctor,” not Jesus, and said he took it down because “people were confused.” ABC News said the post was up for roughly 13 hours. (cbsnews.com) (abcnews.go.com) The criticism came from people who usually back him. CBS News reported objections from Riley Gaines, Michael Knowles, Ari Fleischer and Representative Don Bacon, while ABC News said even Vice President JD Vance described it as a joke rather than a serious statement. (cbsnews.com) (abcnews.go.com) In the second episode, posted April 15, Todd said the White House had hoped to turn Tax Day into a political showpiece built around larger refunds from Trump’s 2025 tax law. The administration made that case in an April 15 White House release and a Treasury statement issued April 14. (youtube.com) (whitehouse.gov) (home.treasury.gov) Treasury said more than 53 million filers claimed at least one new Trump tax break and that the average refund was above $3,400, up 11% from last year. Bloomberg reported the average refund had risen by nearly $350, which was below Trump’s earlier promise of a $1,000 boost. (home.treasury.gov) (bloomberg.com) The White House said Americans were “keeping more of what they earn,” while news coverage on April 15 said many taxpayers still did not feel a clear improvement. The New York Times reported the refund increase was smaller than the administration expected, and Bloomberg said many filers said they had not noticed much difference. (whitehouse.gov) (nytimes.com) (bloomberg.com) Todd’s argument across both episodes was that the problem was not a single meme or a single tax statistic. He said symbolic fights that once energized Trump now produce cleanup work, and pocketbook messages now compete with voter frustration over tariffs and the Iran war. (youtube.com 1) (youtube.com 2) (iheart.com) That reading is Todd’s, not a neutral measure of public opinion, and the administration is making the opposite case. Treasury and the White House both said the 2025 law is reaching tens of millions of households and producing historically high refunds. (home.treasury.gov) (whitehouse.gov) The immediate test is whether the White House can get back to a message about tax relief without another self-inflicted distraction. Todd’s episodes suggest that, in mid-April 2026, the louder story was the backlash. (youtube.com 1) (youtube.com 2)