Donald Trump’s Rocky Relationship With The Media

Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is winning. As a real estate entrepreneur, Trump is wildly successful, and as a media personality he is extremely entertaining. As a GOP presidential candidate, Trump is effectively connecting with voters, frequently gaining in legitimate polls due in part to his boisterous persona, which the cameras clearly love and the media’s diligence in covering him. This is perfectly fine in Donald Trump’s mind as long as you don’t criticize him; then you’re just being “mean.”

One media outlet found out what happens when you’re mean to The Donald when his campaign manager made room for everyone in media, except for the Des Moines Register, according to Politico.

“We’re not issuing credentials to anyone from the Des Moines Register based on the editorial that they wrote earlier this week.”

The Des Moines Register editorial that stumped the Trump, “It’s Time for Donald Trump to Drop Out of the Race for President of the United States,” said Trump disqualified himself when he “demonized immigrants” and “questioned John McCain’s war record,” calling him a “feckless blowhard.” The editorial blamed Trump for “polluting the political waters” so much so that his fellow GOP candidates “can’t get their message across to voters.” Critique seems to be Trump’s kryptonite, promising to be the reason he leaves the GOP and reenters the race as a third-party candidate.

When it comes to the media and Donald Trump, the question is never will they cover him, but how they will cover him. He’s a ratings and click-bait bonanza. And he loves every minute of it, until it doesn’t go his way. Salon reported that during a stop at MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Trump complained his name was not at the forefront of their political conversation, supporting criticism that Trump’s campaign is all about ego.

“When you were talking about Bush who, by the way is about ten points lower than me, you sort of mentioned, like, you know, ‘Can Kasich beat Bush?’ Well, you know, excuse me, what about Trump? I mean, you know, we are ten points ahead.”

Critics point to constant media coverage as the reason Trump is points ahead of Bush. The New York Times reported that in the five weeks since Donald Trump entered the presidential race, he has headlined news “an average of 22 times a day.” He has been dominating the media’s political coverage with 46 percent of coverage, crushing Jeb Bush who clocked in at 13 percent.

Trump’s elevated poll numbers says more about voters than it does the GOP. His non-cookie-cutter image resonates with people who are underwhelmed with Washington’s performance. But Trump’s candidacy is expected to fizzle following the first presidential debate, which will be the first time he’ll have to answer hard political questions in a controlled environment. Until then, the 2016 presidential campaign will continue, in part, to be The Donald Trump Show.

[Photo by David Becker/Getty Images]