The American public has been following the machinations and vituperations of Donald Trump since the manipulator of reality television came down the escalator at Trump Towers to announce his candidacy for president. For over five years, first as a candidate, then as a nominee, and finally as president, Donald Trump has operated as his own press secretary and public relations firm. He was his own head of communications. Trump spoke and reporters wrote and recorded his every word.
President Trump was the story. Donald Trump conducted the affairs of state as he wished and staff either applauded like marionettes or he tweeted them out of office. No one addressed the Fourth Estate. If the press wanted a story, they needed to ask Trump himself or look for leaks among his entourage of followers. All of his sycophants reportedly had signed “no-disclosure agreements” (NDA) concerning what they saw, read, said, or were told about decision-making in the Trump White House.
Not only his spokespersons on Fox News or those elsewhere in the Rupert Murdock universe cobbled up to Trump, but virtually every paper, electronic media, alternative media, blogger, etc. groveled to Donald Trump. They all needed to cover Trump as he wished them to, as he knew that he controlled their ability to do their jobs. Regardless of what they believed, reporters and editors felt obligated to chase after every single one of Trump’s pronouncements. The media felt compelled to feed the public all of Trump’s doings even though most of his actions were divorced from actual policymaking. Editors needed reporters to provide the audience with as much reporting as was being done by the competition.
In the course of 2016—certainly prior to his obtaining the nomination—the media gave Trump and his MAGA crowds an inordinate amount of coverage. Trump was good TV, he was provocative, he was confrontational, he was interminable, and the press wanted to cover his rallies live. Trump’s rallies were exciting and drew huge audiences both live and on television. (Had the 2020 campaign season occurred in a non-COVID-19 world, there is no doubt that Trump would have totally replicated his exceedingly effective 2016 campaign.) With the benefit of hindsight one needs to ask why the press hung on Trump’s every word, especially when so much of his rantings were false.
This experience sets the table for what Donald Trump appears to be already orchestrating. Unlike past presidents Trump is hardly going to ride off quietly into the sunset on January 20. He has already suggested that he has every intention to remain a dominant force in the public political conversation. The media, however, ought to recognize its responsibility not to permit Donald Trump to use it to keep him in the public eye.
If and when former President Trump were to do something that is actually newsworthy, it ought to be fully covered by the media. On a regular ongoing basis, however, Donald Trump’s ravings after he leaves office should be largely ignored or relegated to the back of the paper/news shows. Donald Trump should be treated like every other critic or commentator on the political events of the day. Trump may think he deserves to be the central non-Biden voice in the public eye, but he really should be disregarded until, when and if Donald Trump actually seeks to run again for President in 2024. This is not a denial of a voice in the free press. It is permitting the decision makers to determine the discussion and the critics who hold office to counter them; not a former President trying desperately to stay relevant.
Finally, the social media outlets need to restructure their operations. The fact that almost 60% of the public (and 75% of college students) reportedly receive most of their news from social media is appalling. To encourage its continuing misuse will only enable President Trump to exploit it even more. If the Trump minions were forced to address issues and national problems with op-ed columns and in-depth analyses rather than with tweets and Instagrams, the actual conversation might be worth engaging.
The responsible media hold much of the next year or two in their hands. How they cover the Biden management of the pandemic, economic dislocation, and racial unrest could well determine how the nation emerges from the darkest moment it has endured since the people of this country faced off against each other since the Civil War.
Comments