Trump defeats the media daily.
And I get the feeling he could knock them out, but instead he chooses to prolong their agony.
I used to do that in fights, when some “tough guy” found out he was in over his head after finally getting me to fight him.
You see that “look”, when a person knows they bit off more than they can chew. But instead of just finishing their pansy asses, occasionally I would just “bitch slap” for a bit.
You just shouldn’t piss off people who are trained to fight. And when it comes to politics, Trump may be the most seasoned political pugilist in American history.
So when Carl Bernstein advised the media to selectively edit Trump’s press conferences, I knew the media lost it.
https://twitter.com/MarkDice/status/1064670672838782976
Bernstein and the rest of the media know, they don’t exist without Trump.
We’ve documented many cases where the media finally admitted this. I actually thought it was their first step to journalistic sobriety.
POS Media: “I am the media, and I am an anti-Trump, anti-America piece of sh*t!”
Journalistic Hack Anonymous class: “Welcome piece of sh*t media.”
Back in Oct, Ted Koppel mocked CNN’s Brian Stelter for saying the media doesn’t need Trump.
Video: To consternation of @BrianStelter, Ted Koppel contended during 10/1 Kalb Report @PressClubDC: “You would be lost without @realDonaldTrump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.” Stelter: “Ted, you know that’s not true. You’re playing for laughs.” #NPCLive pic.twitter.com/XGZl9yNzqh
— Brent Baker ?? (@BrentHBaker) October 3, 2018
Fox News reported it as follows:
Journalism legend Ted Koppel mocked CNN’s Brian Stelter to his face on Monday, telling the “Reliable Sources” host that “CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump.”
While on stage for a National Press Club panel discussion, Koppel attempted to make a point that many media executives admit Trump is good for ratings, as viewers on both sides of the aisle tune in to see the round-the-clock drama unfold.
Stelter responded by asking, “That means what? If ratings are up, that means what?”
Koppel – who anchored ABC News’ “Nightline” for 25 years and has been a working journalist for over four decades — quickly answered.
“The ratings are up, it means you can’t do without Donald Trump. You would be lost without Donald Trump,” Koppel said as Stelter shook his head in disagreement.
“Ted, you know that’s not true,” Stelter said.
“CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Donald Trump,” Koppel said as the audience laughed.
And Koppel isn’t the only one.
The New Republic wrote of the relationship between Trump and CNN, and how it all began.
Jeff Zucker has turned CNN into a Trump reality show.
The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating profile of Zucker and CNN under Trump. There are plenty of juicy details in it—including the fact that Trump considered giving exclusive rights to his inauguration to Fox News, suggesting he’s incapable of thinking about politics outside of his own base. But the biggest takeaway is that Zucker realized in 2016 that the network’s programming should revolve around Trump’s star. Here are two telling paragraphs:
It’s hard to imagine that either Trump or Zucker would be where he is today without the other. Trump’s foray into reality TV gave Zucker a prime-time hit when he badly needed one; now, Trump’s foray into politics has given Zucker a big story when he badly needed one. It’s a symbiotic relationship that could only thrive in the world of television, where the borders between news and entertainment, and even fantasy and reality, have grown increasingly murky….
As Zucker sees it, his pro-Trump panelists are not just spokespeople for a worldview; they are “characters in a drama,” members of CNN’s extended ensemble cast. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you have Jeffery Lord or Kayleigh McEnany,’ but you know what?” Zucker told me with some satisfaction. “They know who Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany are.”
CNN understands they need Trump. However, they remain solidly anti-Trump.
That said, CNN dare not take Bernstein’s advice. If they believe they can selectively record Trump press conferences then parse them later for their own purposes, the network is delusional.
