The Rocky Marriage of Trump and the Media, Whose making Money on this Reality TV Show

It was said by Risk Santorum, a former republican congressman and CNN commentator and Trump surrogate, that under former President Barack Obama race relations had gotten worse, that somehow he was responsible for the racism which pervades much of the rhetoric of U.S. American cultural wars and politics. His fellow commentators pushed back hard on his outrageous claim.  It seems that the commentators/surrogates which support and defend their partisan ideology are hell bent on being extreme in their viewpoints and perspectives choosing to spout the most absurd talking points possible.  Now and then the host of the show whether on MSNBC, CNN, or even Fox News will hold the commentator/surrogate accountable such as Don Lemon, Alisyn Camerota, and Chris Cuomo on CNN or Chuck Todd, Chris Hayes, Joy Reid and Chris Matthews on MSNBC and Chris Wallace on Fox, but for the most part I find that the majority of hosts do not hold the commentator/surrogate accountable for their absurdities.  It’s like, they want them to come back for another interview so they don’t go too hard on them. Holding the Trump commentator/surrogate accountable regardless of the network is not their strong suit.
Of course I remember during the campaign season how the networks never held Trump or his surrogates accountable for the outrageous stuff he or his surrogates would spout off even if it were about Mrs. Clinton, such as pizzagate, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/01/01/chrissy-teigen-fights-back-after-twitter-user-drags-model-into-the-false-pizzagate-conspiracy-theory/?utm_term=.538add9604af. In fact, the networks gave Trump more free airtime than any other candidate in political history.  According to a New York Times article dated March 16, 2016, entitled “$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Donald Trump” written by Nicholas Confessore and Karen Yourish, Trump got $2 Billion worth free media, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html.  In another article written by Emily Stewart of TheStreet, an online magazine which focuses on Wall Street, Donald Trump received over $6 billion worth of free media as of November 2016, https://www.thestreet.com/story/13896916/1/donald-trump-rode-5-billion-in-free-media-to-the-white-house.html. I suspect the reason why he got the free airtime was because the networks, regardless of their political stance stood to make millions, he would be their cash cow.  Trump made money for the networks, and still does today as president.  Face it, Trump was a bonanza, a jackpot for networks.  There is an implicit motto, “Who cares about America, just give us the money."  It may also be that "America is money and money is America." Either way, its a sad and unfortunate commentary.

Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference in February of 2016, CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said of Donald Trump's presidential run: "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS." https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/cbs-ceo-les-moonves-clarifies-donald-trump-good-for-cbs-comment-229996  Fact is, a divided America, one confused and dazed, racially and sexually charged, verging on a constitutional crises, with rumblings, at times, of a second civil war, the networks are making a killing, financially. Of course Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley doesn’t think a second civil war will happen but there may be some serious unrest, https://www.wyomingnetworknews.com/a-second-american-civil-war. Its all about the money and the racial and sexual strife which inflicts the body politic. Though it may be unhealthy for the country and its citizens its good for newspapers like the New York Times and networks like CBS and their sponsors.  

Leon Lazaroff of TheStreet,wrote an article entitled, Trump May Hate 'The Media' but Newspaper Stocks Are Rolling, writes, “While Trump's jabs at The New York Times (NYT)  have tempered since he met with top editors on Nov. 22, the newspaper company's stock price has been on a torrid rebound, more than 14% since the Nov. 8 election, helping to pare its 2016 decline to 4.6%” https://www.thestreet.com/story/13909414/1/trump-may-not-like-the-media-but-newspaper-stocks-are-on-a-roll.html.  

Josh Enomoto of Investors Place, wrote a piece entitled, “4 Media Stocks That Will Win BIG on Fake News Accusations.” In it he writes, “It’s no surprise that “Mr. 45” hates big media stocks like CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS). Trump’s contempt for the media establishment was well-confirmed during the three presidential debates. He openly complained about bias, and accused the moderators of throwing softball questions to his rival Hillary Clinton. And I’m telling you, that was media gold for companies like CBS. Sure, publicly they complain. Privately, CBS is hoping for another fake news outburst — and they’ll get it! The issue with CBS and other media stocks is that apparently, nothing fazes or will ever faze Donald J. Trump. People thought that Charlie Sheen was winning in relation to his insane antics.

He doesn’t even come close to Trump. In fact, “The Donald” is so good that he turned a Super Bowl blowout to the greatest comeback of all time. Efforts to rip him at the Oscars led to their biggest public embarrassment of all time. The Donald also saved CBS stock from falling into obscurity. Last year, between the beginning of April to the start of September, CBS dropped more than 5% in the markets. This was in sharp contrast to its amazing rally from earlier in 2016. But then Trump stepped in. First, there were the controversies, then the debates. And when the unthinkable happened, CBS soared to the moon. ”Surely, they will not admit it, so I’ll say it for them. Fake news has been awesome for CBS and media stocks.”  https://investorplace.com/2017/02/4-media-stocks-win-big-fake-news-nyt-cbs-nws-fox/

It would seem that the media and Trump are made for each other. They may pretend to have a stormy relationship but the reality is that both are making money on their rocky marriage, this, regardless of political perspective.  Of course there is nothing new here, its been this way for years, its just more overt with high drama.  That said, once this reality TV show is over, one where the republic and its democracy would seem to be at risk, “Will the American people ever have a healthy tension with their government again?” I tend not to think so since this reality TV show has revealed ever more, the ugly, putrid underbelly of the United States. At the conclusion whether through impeachment or election, there will need to be an assessment of the damage which occurred to the republic, its democracy and institutions. Of course the media will have center stage in this investigation.

I do wonder though, since Trump is the Great White Hope for the 63 million people who voted for him, the majority of which are republicans, will a congress, controlled by republicans, primarily a party for those who support Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda, have the moral courage and fortitude to look beyond the partisan leanings of power and authoritarianism, to the real hard matters regarding the oval office and a president who sees himself as a president above the law as he has absolute authority to pardon himself.” This is an interesting opinion, a hell Mary pass, if you will, revealing his guilt in the matter of the 2016 election.  He is basically admitting guilt and in this his standing in this case would seem to be in jeopardy. Chuck Grassley, senior senator from Iowa, when asked about the ludicrous idea by CNN correspondents Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb, said, “If I were President of the United States and I had a lawyer that told me I could pardon myself, I think I would hire a new lawyer, he then abruptly walked away.

It is a commentary on the political history we find ourselves living through that a President of the United States would not only come up with some seriously foul and ludicrous thinking, but that he could pardon himself, this as a blatant disrespect and disregard for the U.S. Constitution. That said, once #45 is out, media companies stand to lose a significant amount financial support, their cash cow will be gone.

I wonder who will they give free media airtime to next?