Trump’s
war with the media is a cornerstone of his strategy
“Fake News!” “Fake News!” “Fake
News!” “Dishonest Media!” “Dishonest Media!” “Dishonest Media!” These slogans are now boilerplate in
President Trump’s tweets, (still) campaign rallies and press conferences.
His attacks on the press began
in earnest during the primary debates when he slammed Megyn Kelly for asking “tough”
questions. They escalated during the
general election campaign when he dangerously incited his rabid supporters by
pointing to the caged-in pens reserved for media at rallies and decrying that “they
are the most dishonest people on earth.”
This loathsome behavior
continued throughout the month after his inauguration and as recently as this
past weekend tweeting that the media “is the enemy of the American people” and
continuing the assault on the press at his comfort food campaign-style rally in
Melbourne, Fl.
What gratitude! #hocopolitics
In rather simplistic terms, the
media, who he assails, made Trump. Because if his different style (many would
say absurd) and his willingness to go beyond normal boundaries in discourse,
the media took to Trump like seagulls to a pile of trash.
They never let him out of their sight
and followed him to each and every campaign event with the expectation or hope
that something outlandish would be said that would make for interesting coverage
especially on TV, which would boost ratings.
Rarely were they disappointed.
The upshot of this focus on
Trump was that the other primary candidates were starving for similar
attention, and for the self-proclaimed billionaire, Mr. Trump received oodles
of free press while his opponents had to spend.
President Trump who gets his
information from “the shows” eschews mainstream media except for FOX News, the
unofficial media partner of the Republican Party, and also from such places as Breitbart News, Gateway Pundit, and InfoWars.
For someone who
calls the mainstream media dishonest, Trump and members of his Administration
hypocritically traffics in conspiracy theories and blatant lies. From his assertion that his crowd size at the
Inauguration was much larger than observed estimates to the ranking of his
Electoral College victory as the greatest since Ronald Reagan, Trump cares
little about facts, truth and honesty.
The media took to Trump like seagulls to a pile of trash.
Then there are
the fabricated stories he purveys, such as some unspecified horror going on in
Sweden (nothing occurred), or his counselor’s mentioning the Bowling Green
Massacre (no such event), or his press secretary’s description of the terrorist
attack in Atlanta (he meant Orlando since the two cities are so close—400 miles
apart).
Why has he unleashed these
non-stop attacks on the integrity of the press while his own statements are so
frequently false? Anytime Trump’s weaknesses or
worse are described in the media, even if they are totally accurate, he angrily
charges “fake news” simply because he doesn’t like it or it makes him look bad. Discrediting Trump’s image is considered a
sin that requires a strong rebuke; self-preservation is his number one
priority.
There is more. Let’s go back to the primaries. The supreme marketer was aware that if you
repeat something often enough, it will stick, especially with his base. “Lyin’” Ted, “Little” Marco, “Low Energy” Jeb
were monikers that helped destroy the candidacies of Cruz, Rubio and Bush, respectively—Trump’s
chief rivals.
Come the general election, “Crooked”
Hillary took over, and his campaign narrative was built around that label. Again, it worked, though many other factors
were part of the mind-boggling upset.
Bring on the press. The “failing”
New York Times, “Fake News” CNN, “Dishonest Media”—repeat, rinse, spin and
repeat. It will stick, and it is vital
for Trump and his presidency to discredit the media for two reasons.
One, the media fact-checks his
statements and tweets and they are often false, inaccurate or exaggerated,
made-up, or out-and-out lies. He hates
to be called out though it’s the press’ duty as stated in the First Amendment
to keep the three branches of government accountable to the people, and the
press is that vehicle.
Second, it is my belief that if
there are any serious investigations into the Trump campaign’s relationship
with Russian intelligence officers prior to the election and there are findings
that Trump and/or his campaign staff were in collusion with the Russians, Trump’s
presidency could be in jeopardy.
By discrediting the media ad nauseum, if and when these
revelations come to light, he will have built a safety net of sorts and deny
any such findings by blaming the press for the disclosures. People will
discount those reports, because he is banking that the oft-repeated charge of “fake
news” will resonate and the public will see him as a victim.
That may be his best strategy because
much of his base will support him and blame the “dishonest media” for having an
anti-Trump agenda. Will it work? Time
will tell.
In the meanwhile, the press
needs to be vigilant and hold firm against these charges. The First Amendment’s Freedom of the Press
must be protected for the sake of our country.
“If you want to preserve — I’m
very serious now — if you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to
have a free and many times adversarial press," Senator John McCain said on
Meet the Press this past weekend. “And
without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties
over time. That’s how dictators get started.”
Yes, that’s how dictators get
started.
