Unlike possibly any other presidential candidate before him, Donald Trump knows how to manipulate the media by taking advantage of the economic pressures facing all news organizations.
Trump knows that news is a business, and throughout the 2016 campaign, he has seized on that fact to boost his candidacy and leave the reporters and editors with no choice but to saturate him with coverage.
Two things have left the media powerless against Trump: his volatile nature and his status as the Republican nominee.
By always shocking, surprising and courting controversy, Trump provided the 24-hour news cycle with an unpredictable stream of news. And the nature of him being the nominee of a major party compounds that, as that virtually everything he does is, by definition, newsworthy.
Three times Trump held the news media powerless:
1. Trump’s campaign announced early Friday that he would be holding a press conference at his new hotel in Washington, D.C., to address his long-lasting suggestions that President Obama may not be a U.S. citizen. Cable news channels broadcast most of the event live, but the Republican nominee did not speak about the so-called “birther” issue until the very end, and for less than a minute. The rest of it was filled with Trump promoting his hotel and featuring veterans who endorsed him for president. Trump also took no questions from press, leaving them howling about how they were set up.
2. In June, held a press conference at one of his golf courses in Scottland, a trip his campaign billed as an example of Trump’s experience in global affairs. The first 10 minutes of the conference were spent with the candidate lauding the course as among the world’s greatest, which again had the press fuming.
3. After winning GOP primary contests in Mississippi and Michigan in March, Trump hosted a press conference at his golf club in Jupiter, Fla., in which he rebutted a speech by 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney and news reports about Trump-branded products that either failed or no longer existed. The candidate held up what he said were products that are still produced, if only at his properties, including “Trump Steaks,” “Trump Magazine” and “Trump Water.” The episode allowed the candidate to, once again, hawk his brand.
