Donald Trump’s love for media shenanigans and all things performative is well established by now. He cannot seem to get over his Apprentice days, and thus it is now really not surprising to see how he treats his own Presidency more like a television show than a real political job with actual real-world consequences.
Talking about Trump’s performative tendencies, even as the President of America, Michael Wolff, the author of Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House told Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles, “It’s really more helpful to think of him in terms of being an actor than in terms of being a politician. In his courtship of the audience, in his own egomania, in his desire for attention.”
He then referred back to an interview he had with Trump in 2016, which later served as the material for his book as well, and said that when he had asked Trump why he wanted to become the President, his answer came swiftly. Wolff added, “He said, without missing a beat, and as though this was a perfectly normal goal, ‘To become the most famous man in the world.’”
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Trump’s motivation did not change after he became the President, and thus, Wolff said, “he didn’t read, he didn’t listen, but you could talk to him through the television.” Interestingly, this quality of Trump led to him prioritizing TV presence and loyalty over proper qualifications as he started to give important White House positions to people who would perform well on screen.
The only thing Trump has been concerned about while assigning roles to his loyalists is how well they can sell what they are saying on a screen. Fox News benefitted from this situation, and according to Eric Bolling, former Fox host and Trump supporter, “As for vetting, with Fox talent, Trump can simply watch clips for proof of loyalty.”
Given how Fox News became Trump’s favorite media outlet since he knew it was his safe space where he would not be asked uncomfortable questions, Wolff said that it meant “everybody had to have a relationship with the people at Fox News.”
He further added, “The people at Fox News would then echo what the White House wanted them to say so that Trump would hear this and, and he would listen and appreciate and understand, because it was on television. A very closed circle was being created. He was running a White House that was largely a reality television show. And the television itself was supplying him with much of the script for this show.”
Richard Stengel, former Time managing editor and Obama official, weighed in on the subject and said, “His highest praise is ‘central casting,’ and that’s what TV is all about. It’s not whether you can do the job, but whether you can play the role.”
It should be noted here that Roger Ailes, the Fox News founder, was a close friend of Trump and, in his words, the President was “that kid whose parents never pulled him away from the television.”
Reaction: Micheal Wolff describes how Trump feels about his sycophants and it’s truly spot on. pic.twitter.com/SZsXCaWotA
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Therefore, he grew up fascinated with TV, and that fascination never faded even as an adult. When he was put on trial for 34 convicted felony counts, Trump wanted him to be defended in a way that was like on television. Explaining Trump’s frame of reference, Wolff said, “He wants Perry Mason. He wants the guy who goes in and wins every case. He wants Roy Cohn, who he elevated to the guy who has won every case. He sees this just in terms of performance. He wanted television lawyers. It was his entire reference. Everything is about television.”
For someone so obsessed with television, Trump is naturally a person who worships ratings as well. In one of his books, Wolff mentioned that Trump was always obsessed with Nielsen ratings, adding, “His measure is always a popular audience measure. He’s kind of like a comedian working. He just throws out stuff, throws it out, throws it out.
He then added, “and you can see him measuring the response. And when he really gets the response he likes, he just repeats it and repeats it and repeats it. To judge him as a politician… you’re not going to get it. You’re not going to understand what’s going on here.”
Trump’s fascination with television has clearly shaped the way he views politics and its impact on the world. His love for it made him host the Kennedy Center Honors with disastrous ratings and it would be interesting to see how he responds to the same as a person whose measure of success essentially happens through numbers.
