Trump's Press

Trump’s Negative Press?

Perhaps the NYTimes is not a typical example of the US press about reports about President Trump’s doings, but if not, it is still an important contribution to the media’s view of him. There are two things to note, both important. First, the Times articles, both reports and opinion pieces, are almost all of them negative, with some of the latter, quite vehemently so. I don’t recall ever seeing such strong—negative!—language used about someone of the stature of an American president.

   On the other side, however, there is very little reaction to this bad press and apparently no effort to combat it. I considered a number of reasons for this reticence. First, Trump doesn’t respond to it, because he doesn’t read or even peruse what the Times or, say, the Washington Post have to say about him. Those papers are not part of his homework.

   Second, his various underlings are surely aware of what I am pointing to and more. But they have no motive to bring this “bad news” to the attention of their boss. No motive, no action.

   A third possibility is that Trump is fully aware of the “bad” press he is getting. But it bothers him not at all. Rather, he accepts it as part of the persona he wants to present to the public.

   How this plays out with the American public remains to be seen. The likes of the NYTimes do not represent them. It probably won’t be known until the midterm elections, if then.