In 2016, the news media fell over itself to cover everything he did, this time it's making it worse
When Donald Trump descended a golden escalator in June of 2015 and announced his plans to run for president, the news media covered it. But, from that moment, it wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. Was Trump’s announcement absurd? Comical? Serious? Was this entertainment or a new form of politics?
Despite being confused by Trump’s political persona, one thing was clear in those early days: The media might not have known how to cover Trump, but it was going to do it endlessly anyway. From then, going forward throughout his 2016 run and his first term in office, the media effectively used the same playbook. Cover every single thing Trump did, whether idiotic, terrifying, disruptive, disgusting or dangerous. Cover empty podiums awaiting him at rallies. Cover every tweet. Cover every outrageous comment. Cover it all. Cover it all the time.
The disproportionate news coverage of Trump catapulted him, without question, into being taken more seriously as a viable presidential candidate and likely played a significant role in his election. Thomas E. Patterson at Harvard Kennedy School found that Trump received far more coverage than any of his rival candidates during the 2016 primary, despite the fact that he raised less money and had no political experience. According to Patterson, the unequal coverage of Trump was due to the fact that Trump delivered spectacle and controversy, a combination designed to increase ratings. As one network executive put it, “[Trump] may not be good for America, but [he’s] damn good for [us].”
