WATCH: Michael Knowles Explains What The Republicans Can Learn From Elvis

In today’s episode of The Michael Knowles Show, Michael explains how Elvis’s comeback in 1968 has some lessons for the Republican Party.

“On this day in history in 1968, Elvis Presley staged his comeback special on NBC, and I think that there are some similarities between Elvis and the president, obviously, but I think that Republicans can learn a lot from that Elvis special in 1968,” says Knowles.

“They had this idea for a comeback special, and what his manager Tom Parker was for was that it just be one of these Andy Williams playing Christmas carols on TV, really boring,” he continues. “That would have been awful. There was a younger executive, a young director at NBC, 26 years old. Steve Binder, and he had a different idea for the comeback special. It was going to be unplugged, raw, honest. There were going to be people all around him…”

Video and transcript below:

On this day in history in 1968, Elvis Presley staged his comeback special on NBC, and I think that there are some similarities between Elvis and the president, obviously, but I think that Republicans can learn a lot from that Elvis special in 1968.

They had this idea for a comeback special, and what his manager Tom Parker was for was that it just be one of these Andy Williams playing Christmas carols on TV, really boring. That would have been awful. There was a younger executive, a young director at NBC, 26 years old. Steve Binder, and he had a different idea for the comeback special. It was going to be unplugged, raw, honest. There were going to be people all around him.

The way they found this, he came with this idea, is he walked into Elvis’ dressing room one night, and he was just kind of jamming with his friends, and he said this is it! This is the special. This is what you want. The most famous scenes from this special are just Elvis playing around with his friends. People on stage, sitting around, looking up at him, very casual, very authentic. Even the moments where it’s really big on stage, it’s Elvis alone, vulnerable. Not crowds, people around him, not crazy lights around him. Just really intimate, really authentic.

This is what the GOP can learn from Donald Trump. What Donald Trump did is he took away all the contrived glitz and glamour, and he made his campaign as authentic as it can be. He talked directly to the American people. His main mode of communication is a direct line to the American people on Twitter. It’s not the super specially produced campaign ad.

The Republican party should understand this, we are winning. The conservative movement has talked and stirred something within the American people. The public opinion polls all show this. The public agrees with the GOP on the vast majority of issues. Even on fake news. I mean the majority of people, the vast majority of the American people agree on immigration. You’ve got this woman who won, the Socialist, in Queens. She says we want open borders, we need open borders. We need to abolish immigration law enforcement.

We’re speaking to the American people. You don’t need to do a soft shoe about it. You don’t need to dance around and scream and shout. The message will win. You have to communicate it authentically, and the 1968 special really made me think about it. Because if Elvis had tried to come out and try to do some big crazy show, no one would have cared. They would have said oh this is sad, he’s trying, oh this is sad.

But instead he just comes out and he’s raw and he’s himself.

That’s how we’re going to win in the midterms, that’s how we’re going to go through the right gate of Janus and move the country in the right direction.

Speak honestly, because people aren’t stupid.

Watch more of The Michael Knowles Show here.