Petulant Trump is a Creation of the Media
For better or worse, Mr Trump has benefited from media coverage all his life. He threw spanners in the works attempting to dislodge Obama’s credentials for running as a candidate. Obama had his eye in him and eventually threw shade at him in White House party. This may not have jilted Trump but rather encouraged him to replace Obama and undo his legacy. This is the problem with giving any attention to the likes of Trump.
As president, Trump brought out those for and against him within the media circles to cover his every move. There are those who fact checked him, others believed his every word. Some lived in the center on whether to believe he is a truth teller who occasionally tells lies or vice versa. What the media ended up is covering every tantrum which collectively saturated the whole ecosystem with doubt about who is telling the truth. The idea Trump can get away with anything was brewed.
The media calling out Trump for his denial of election results sounds hollowing helpless. The man will never change even when it matters. Because he has survived this way and gotten attention doing it. Trump loves attention. Besides the presidency, it was the greatest gift that Americans gave him when they elected him in 2016.
Whether it’s the silliest of mistakes or achievement, Trump was covered and it didn’t escape any reporter. It was either leaked to CNN or Trump let you in if you were Fox News.
It is at the backdrop of this obsession to cover and jam the airwaves with Trump that has brought us to this uncomfortable place. The media became beholden to Trump that if you didn’t report about him, you would lose something. Ratings are a big deal in the US. What you needed to know about Trump going to the 2020 election was already out there. With minds made up, we didn’t need more of this man.
While the media went along way to cover Trump, it’s what was tolerated that makes us demand that media should have done better. Celebrity Trump was shoved in the gutter for his nonsense, President Trump on the other hand was tolerated for his nonsense. The antics of Trump went further into his presidency and brought the childish bits that were constantly dismissed as ‘Trump being Trump’. The obsessive scrutiny remade Trump as this big baby who just cried for what he wanted. What they didn’t address is that this big baby, would put everyone at risk when a pandemic came along, which he did.
The ‘Trump said' model that media outlets adopted and some then debunked as lies often left people divided on what’s truth because of the importance the media gave to his every word. The obsession with how many lies he has told, repeated or invented not only emphasized Trump as liar-in-chief but made many expect nothing worse than the lies. And Trump has taken these media escapades as carte blanche to dig-in beyond the lies, and infuriate more people. The downside of all this coverage whether you believe Trump or not is that he has not seen the STOP sign. Saying enough or there will be consequences.
Trump petulance will persist even after he has left office. The question will be whether the media will run after him to 'see what he is up to' and consequently prep him for a second term in 2024. Trump can do whatever he does in Twitter, but should not be allowed to take over the airwaves especially if he will no longer be making decisions on behalf of the United States. I would say give the man a blackout. At least the media will have learnt from it’s mistakes. After all, the media should make that transition from Trump to Biden. No one I know will be Trump-sick. It’s like that petulant child who finally sleeps.
Again, Trump loves attention, it’s time to deny him that attention. He can golf all day, or hide in a hole, no one cares.
Disclosure: I will not be writing about Trump after January 20.
