Every morning I check out the opinion page of the New York Times. Above is a screen capture of the page as I saw it this morning. I have circled all of the articles focused on Donald Trump. Some of the uncircled articles may have a similar focus. I can’t tell just from their slugs. You can click on the image for a large version if you need it, God help you.
If you have any questions about how the United States found itself staring the prospect of having Donald Trump elected president in the face, look no farther.
I have tagged this post journalism, politics, and show business. I think that says it all.
You are shifting the blame here. Trump was a joke candidate who could have easily fizzled. The media didn’t make him. The voters in the GOP did. He’s their creature.
They didn’t make him. They just promoted him. And as to blame I think there’s plenty to spread around.
Promoting is what happens when you win. I don’t see what else they could have done. Virtually every mainstream pundit bent over backwards in their assurances that Trump was a joke. It’s not like there was this huge acceptance of him as a candidate.
In the Minnesota governors race in 1998 we had two lousy candidates to pick from. They were boring, unlikable, and were selling the same old rehashed tripe. In came Jesse Ventura. What he lacked in substance he more than made up for with a powerful and colorful persona. He said outrageous things and the media loved reporting it. Nobody in the media really took him seriously. Media outlets were selling plenty of content just reporting what the guy did and said. A majority of the voters in the state thought he was a clown, but the 35% who liked him, loved him. Media types asked, why piss on a third of our subscribers or viewers by being critical of this god given gift to ratings. The other candidates didn’t want to alienate a third of the electorate by calling them stupid. In the end we got Governor Ventura.
One of the things I’ve noticed (which I wouldn’t have before I started working from home) is that during large blocks of time during the workday, MSNBC will be showing large uninterrupted blocks from Trump rallies. I usually have the TV on in the other room muted, so I’m mostly seeing this passing through with that sort of deja vu feeling. I don’t know if the other news channels are doing this. Clearly he is entertaining and just as importantly I suspect the networks (or at least MSNBC) want free content.
One thing I’ve wondered though is whether Trump supporters, undeterred by his various offenses against human dignity and decorum, are more likely to have seen “long editions” of these rallies instead of the polemic cuts that serve as discussion points on the evening news shows. There is often a balance to his rhetoric:
* Now, I like Ted Cruz, he’s a nice guy and we have a lot in common, but he’s Canadian. I don’t know what he’s going to do about that. Nice guy though.
* Repeat after me: Build the wall. (etc.) Mexico pays. Now, I have a lot of Hispanic supporters, they love me, and I love them. Did you see that poll? We’ll get to that in a moment.
More generally, Trump is always talking optimistically. People horrified by his candidacy think he’s doom and gloom, and don’t seem to get that it would be an evil drinking game to take a shot for each time he says: “It’s going to be wonderful.” “You won’t believe how good things will be.” “It will make your head spin.”
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/trump-and-the-republican-open-letter-on-foreign-policy/
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/republicans-cant-stand-frauds-except-when-they-can/
You could’ find a similar angle here about Romney at the time.
Historically, whichever candidate painted the brightest picture of America and its future has prevailed in the general election. It’s one of the many problems with the Hillary Clinton candidacy.
Her retort to Trump’s “make America great again” didn’t work for Carter when Reagan’s slogan was “make America great again” and I doubt it will work against Trump.
Trump’s unfavorable is higher than Clinton’s (no small feat). One has to overlook a great many pieces of the Trump puzzle in order to find his version of America positive.
MM: I agree that Trump’s unfavorable are appreciably higher than Clinton’s, but i do think something has to give.
In the 2004 election George W. Bush was underwater up until May with a 51% disapproval rating. His ratings slowly improved until he was above 50% approval at election, but it slid consistently after that. I always thought his approval-rating was artificially inflated by the public’s decision that they ultimately would rather him to be President than Kerry and they temporarily increased their approval numbers to avoid the cognitive dissonance.
Clinton’s numbers are more likely to improve than his, but I think there will be a temporary boost for at least one of them by September or so.
You all who thought I was just crazy or being silly promoting my girl. Who is laughing now? Nicki Minaj would be no worse than Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, and President Minaj would look a whole lot better doing it.
Now, she is Ms. Minaj to all you haters. @Icepick can call her Nicki.