Donald Trump: The Man And The Myth

[Donald_Kirchner]

So the supposedly "liberal" media give the most coverage to Mr. Trump?
We will need to think about that.
The real big question that I consider under-reported is the matter of Mr. Trump not being aligned with conservative on issues of abortion, same-sex marriage, religious liberties, and the need for a personal faith. How a man who does not even know how to say "Second Corinthians" gets all the adulation from "evangelicals" is a great mystery to me.

If Donald Trump wins the nomination, and with great hope I still use the word "if," he'd best shout out a big thank you to Fox.  He doesn't need to spend a dime of his own money, Fox has carried the campaign for him.  And, they are hardly liberally media!

That's curious. Fox has been called a shill for Marco Rubio.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/ted-cruz-media-coverage-marco-rubio/2016/02/10/id/713682/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/19/media/donald-trump-marco-rubio-fox-roger-ailes/

Trump's coverage and publicity has been extensive across all major media.

[peter_speckhard]

The Federalists has done several articles about how the mainstream media simultaneously grouse about Trump while obsessing over him and giving him free coverage. If I remember correctly, after one debate they checked all the major news websites and next day newspapers and discovered Trump got more coverage than any other candidate by something like a 10-1 margin.

[Fletch]

For your enjoyment.   A rather bleak statement on Trump voters intelligence by this writer; they are much like Luther's view of enthusiasts.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/jacobs/the-trump-litany/

... F

[Keith Falk]

So the supposedly "liberal" media give the most coverage to Mr. Trump?
We will need to think about that.
The real big question that I consider under-reported is the matter of Mr. Trump not being aligned with conservative on issues of abortion, same-sex marriage, religious liberties, and the need for a personal faith. How a man who does not even know how to say "Second Corinthians" gets all the adulation from "evangelicals" is a great mystery to me.

On the chart there were only GOP candidates and - almost hands-down - Trump is the most liberal of the bunch.

[Charles Austin]

While the other candidates slog on with repetitive and generally boring rhetoric, babbling and murmuring over and over the same vapid ideas and attempts at "policy," Mr. Trump blows horns, tosses hand grenades, egotizes himself and is generally outrageous. And people seem to be listening to him.
Decades ago an editor told me if a foolish man is babbling (even on important topics) and no one is listening, you have no obligation to cover him. But if that foolish man is babbling and people are listening and responding to him then you are obligated to take note.
It would not be hard to ignore Mr. Trump's outrageous screechings and rude language. But should the media not note that people are listening and apparently following him?

[SomeoneWrites]

I thought this was fun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnpO_RTSNmQ

John Oliver did a lengthy piece on him.

[Terry W Culler]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

[Brian Stoffregen]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

And yet, folks in this forum continue to talk about him.

[James_Gale]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

Ironically, voting for Trump helps the New York Times, NBC, and the rest of the media.  Trump is a ratings bonanza. 


Nate Silver tweeted that Marco Rubio "made 3 above-the-fold headlines at nytimes.com in January.  2 of them were about his boots."   


Even the legacy media outlets focus more on the superficial crap that we buy regularly in "reality" shows and celebrity web sites.  Rubio (and most of the other candidates) spoke incessantly over many months about policy, and the media ignored him (them).  When Ted Cruz made fun of Rubio's boots, the New York Times reported the mockery above the fold on page one.  Trump's entire campaign has been of the boot-ridicule variety.  And the media have covered every bit of it in nauseating detail.


If anyone is wondering why Rubio (and to a lesser extent, Cruz) is now unleashing tabloid insults at Trump, it's not hard to understand.  At this very late moment, it's the only way to get media attention.


All of this says much more about the electorate than it does about the candidates or the media -- not that anyone is off the hook.

[Michael Slusser]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

Ironically, voting for Trump helps the New York Times, NBC, and the rest of the media.  Trump is a ratings bonanza. 

Here is a collection of other media comments from last August--before Trump's appalling consistency had been demonstrated--that puts the blame where it perhaps ought to be: not on the "liberal media" but on Fox News:
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/08/11/media-watch-fox-news-reap-what-it-has-sown-with/204886

The Daily Beast: Fox Has "Only Got Themselves To Blame" For Trump.

The Atlantic: Fox Is "Reaping What It Has Sown" With Donald Trump's Popularity Amid Attacks. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf described how Fox News was "reaping what it has sown" after years of instructing its viewers to mistrust media attacks against Republican politicians and to trust the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin

Rolling Stone: Fox News "Finally Tries To Call Off The Smug Monster It Created." Rolling Stone noted how in July, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus "called Trump to personally beg him to 'tone it down,'" while "Fox News was promoting the hell out of Donald Trump"

Salon: "It's Hard To Destroy A Monster Of Your Own Creation." Salon writer and former Media Matters employee Simon Maloy detailed how "Fox helped give Donald Trump political relevance and championed his campaign -- and then tried to take him down"

Trump Has Received More Airtime On Fox News Than Any Other GOP Candidate By Far. According to a Media Matters report detailing the amount of coverage Fox News gave each of the Republican candidates since the beginning of May, Trump has received more airtime and made more appearances than any other Republican primary candidate. He was given 4 hours and 45 minutes of airtime over 31 appearances on Fox, easily beating out Mike Huckabee, who received 3 hours and 21 minutes of airtime, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who appeared 28 times

Extended quotations are given from each of those outlets. And this was back in August 2015.

Peace,
Michael

[mariemeyer]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

Ironically, voting for Trump helps the New York Times, NBC, and the rest of the media.  Trump is a ratings bonanza. 

Here is a collection of other media comments from last August--before Trump's appalling consistency had been demonstrated--that puts the blame where it perhaps ought to be: not on the "liberal media" but on Fox News:
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/08/11/media-watch-fox-news-reap-what-it-has-sown-with/204886

The Daily Beast: Fox Has "Only Got Themselves To Blame" For Trump.

The Atlantic: Fox Is "Reaping What It Has Sown" With Donald Trump's Popularity Amid Attacks. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf described how Fox News was "reaping what it has sown" after years of instructing its viewers to mistrust media attacks against Republican politicians and to trust the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin

Rolling Stone: Fox News "Finally Tries To Call Off The Smug Monster It Created." Rolling Stone noted how in July, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus "called Trump to personally beg him to 'tone it down,'" while "Fox News was promoting the hell out of Donald Trump"

Salon: "It's Hard To Destroy A Monster Of Your Own Creation." Salon writer and former Media Matters employee Simon Maloy detailed how "Fox helped give Donald Trump political relevance and championed his campaign -- and then tried to take him down"

Trump Has Received More Airtime On Fox News Than Any Other GOP Candidate By Far. According to a Media Matters report detailing the amount of coverage Fox News gave each of the Republican candidates since the beginning of May, Trump has received more airtime and made more appearances than any other Republican primary candidate. He was given 4 hours and 45 minutes of airtime over 31 appearances on Fox, easily beating out Mike Huckabee, who received 3 hours and 21 minutes of airtime, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who appeared 28 times

Extended quotations are given from each of those outlets. And this was back in August 2015.

Peace,
Michael

My husband and I subscribe to home delivery of the NY Times. There is much in the Times with which I strongly disagree, particularly same sex-marriage and abortion.  At the same time they provide the most complete coverage of world wide events of any paper in our area.

If the Times were to report more favorably on Clinton than Saunders, they would be faulted. Note that an editorial last week called on Clinton to release the tapes of her speeches before Wall Street banks.  Neither articles or editorials are giving her a pass. 

If the Times would intentionally report unfavorably on Trump there would be cries of their "liberal" bias.  They are reporting on the debates as they take place and are not giving Trump more time than they are giving to Clinton. 

Last week a regular Fox program interviewed a Southern Baptist pastor from Houston who openly claimed to speak for Evangelicals. He proceeded to state why Evangelical  are for Trump.  Listening to him explain why Trumps private life had no bearing on why Evangelicals could support the man made no sense to me as an evangelical Lutheran.  I resented that Fox gave this man the right to speak up in support of Trump.

Worth reading in the Business section of today's Times in article reports on how European papers are responding to the possible nomination of Trump.  What they once thought was a joke is now a feared reality.

Marie Meyer

[LutherMan]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

Ironically, voting for Trump helps the New York Times, NBC, and the rest of the media.  Trump is a ratings bonanza. 

Here is a collection of other media comments from last August--before Trump's appalling consistency had been demonstrated--that puts the blame where it perhaps ought to be: not on the "liberal media" but on Fox News:
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/08/11/media-watch-fox-news-reap-what-it-has-sown-with/204886

The Daily Beast: Fox Has "Only Got Themselves To Blame" For Trump.

The Atlantic: Fox Is "Reaping What It Has Sown" With Donald Trump's Popularity Amid Attacks. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf described how Fox News was "reaping what it has sown" after years of instructing its viewers to mistrust media attacks against Republican politicians and to trust the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin

Rolling Stone: Fox News "Finally Tries To Call Off The Smug Monster It Created." Rolling Stone noted how in July, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus "called Trump to personally beg him to 'tone it down,'" while "Fox News was promoting the hell out of Donald Trump"

Salon: "It's Hard To Destroy A Monster Of Your Own Creation." Salon writer and former Media Matters employee Simon Maloy detailed how "Fox helped give Donald Trump political relevance and championed his campaign -- and then tried to take him down"

Trump Has Received More Airtime On Fox News Than Any Other GOP Candidate By Far. According to a Media Matters report detailing the amount of coverage Fox News gave each of the Republican candidates since the beginning of May, Trump has received more airtime and made more appearances than any other Republican primary candidate. He was given 4 hours and 45 minutes of airtime over 31 appearances on Fox, easily beating out Mike Huckabee, who received 3 hours and 21 minutes of airtime, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who appeared 28 times

Extended quotations are given from each of those outlets. And this was back in August 2015.

Peace,
Michael

My husband and I subscribe to home delivery of the NY Times. There is much in the Times with which I strongly disagree, particularly same sex-marriage and abortion.  At the same time they provide the most complete coverage of world wide events of any paper in our area.

If the Times were to report more favorably on Clinton than Saunders, they would be faulted. Note that an editorial last week called on Clinton to release the tapes of her speeches before Wall Street banks.  Neither articles or editorials are giving her a pass. 

If the Times would intentionally report unfavorably on Trump there would be cries of their "liberal" bias.  They are reporting on the debates as they take place and are not giving Trump more time than they are giving to Clinton. 

Last week a regular Fox program interviewed a Southern Baptist pastor from Houston who openly claimed to speak for Evangelicals. He proceeded to state why Evangelical  are for Trump.  Listening to him explain why Trumps private life had no bearing on why Evangelicals could support the man made no sense to me as an evangelical Lutheran.  I resented that Fox gave this man the right to speak up in support of Trump.

Worth reading in the Business section of today's Times in article reports on how European papers are responding to the possible nomination of Trump.  What they once thought was a joke is now a feared reality.

Marie Meyer

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/29/business/media/donald-trump-elicits-shock-and-biting-satire-in-europe.html?ref=business

[Dan Fienen]

To a great extent people get the candidate that they want.  It is all well and good to blame For News or the New York Times for creating Trump by their extensive coverage and to a certain extent it becomes a self perpetuating phenomenon, the more he is covered the more people are interested in him and the more he will be covered.  Still, if a large group doesn't get interested, the candidate won't get much coverage.  Look at Jeb Bush.  He had a well funded, professionally staffed campaign, but he never could get the Interest going and faded from view.  God help us, a lot of people resonate to his mixture of bullying, conspiracy theorizing and populist posturing.  Many people are liking that or the media would long ago let him fade into the obscure joke that some of us wish he were.

[Donald_Kirchner]

Donald Trump is indeed a creation of the liberal media.  Were they not covering everything he said, wrote or thought about, his bubble would have burst already.  As it is, America loves nothing better than sticking it to the NY Times and NBC

Ironically, voting for Trump helps the New York Times, NBC, and the rest of the media.  Trump is a ratings bonanza. 

Here is a collection of other media comments from last August--before Trump's appalling consistency had been demonstrated--that puts the blame where it perhaps ought to be: not on the "liberal media" but on Fox News:
http://mediamatters.org/research/2015/08/11/media-watch-fox-news-reap-what-it-has-sown-with/204886

The Daily Beast: Fox Has "Only Got Themselves To Blame" For Trump.

The Atlantic: Fox Is "Reaping What It Has Sown" With Donald Trump's Popularity Amid Attacks. The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf described how Fox News was "reaping what it has sown" after years of instructing its viewers to mistrust media attacks against Republican politicians and to trust the likes of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin

Rolling Stone: Fox News "Finally Tries To Call Off The Smug Monster It Created." Rolling Stone noted how in July, Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus "called Trump to personally beg him to 'tone it down,'" while "Fox News was promoting the hell out of Donald Trump"

Salon: "It's Hard To Destroy A Monster Of Your Own Creation." Salon writer and former Media Matters employee Simon Maloy detailed how "Fox helped give Donald Trump political relevance and championed his campaign -- and then tried to take him down"

Trump Has Received More Airtime On Fox News Than Any Other GOP Candidate By Far. According to a Media Matters report detailing the amount of coverage Fox News gave each of the Republican candidates since the beginning of May, Trump has received more airtime and made more appearances than any other Republican primary candidate. He was given 4 hours and 45 minutes of airtime over 31 appearances on Fox, easily beating out Mike Huckabee, who received 3 hours and 21 minutes of airtime, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who appeared 28 times

Extended quotations are given from each of those outlets. And this was back in August 2015.

Peace,
Michael

My husband and I subscribe to home delivery of the NY Times. There is much in the Times with which I strongly disagree, particularly same sex-marriage and abortion.  At the same time they provide the most complete coverage of world wide events of any paper in our area.

If the Times were to report more favorably on Clinton than Saunders, they would be faulted. Note that an editorial last week called on Clinton to release the tapes of her speeches before Wall Street banks.  Neither articles or editorials are giving her a pass. 

If the Times would intentionally report unfavorably on Trump there would be cries of their "liberal" bias.  They are reporting on the debates as they take place and are not giving Trump more time than they are giving to Clinton. 

Last week a regular Fox program interviewed a Southern Baptist pastor from Houston who openly claimed to speak for Evangelicals. He proceeded to state why Evangelical  are for Trump.  Listening to him explain why Trumps private life had no bearing on why Evangelicals could support the man made no sense to me as an evangelical Lutheran.  I resented that Fox gave this man the right to speak up in support of Trump.

Worth reading in the Business section of today's Times in article reports on how European papers are responding to the possible nomination of Trump.  What they once thought was a joke is now a feared reality.
D
Marie Meyer

I thought Rev Jeffress gave a fairly good analysis of why evangelicals would support Trump in his analogizing to why they would vote for Reagan in 1980. I didn't resent Fox News in the least for allowing Jeffress to voice his opinion.

BTW, they're using a different definition of evangelical, but you know that.

[Norman Teigen]

This just  in from The New Yorker magazine.  Trump candidacy ended when  POTUS endorses him. 

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-derailed-by-obamas-endorsement