Marilyn Salenger private collection
Once Donald Trump became president, his complex relationship with the media became inseparable from the news of the day. Trump has always been a man who loved the media spotlight while at the same time being conflicted about the role it played in his life. He often courted the New York City media going so far as to plant news stories about his personal or professional life when it suited him, and the media played along when it suited them. A rather cozy affair until it wasn't. Those days are now over.
The White House is a stage not easily played, and freedom of the press is an amendment not taken lightly in Washington, D.C. A substantial group of journalists take their work quite seriously understanding they are charged with being the eyes and ears of our country. Questions are asked that produce answers that the public has a right to know.
Politicians may not always like the press, but most understand reporters have a job to do. As president, Trump now views that job as a target to be used without discretion whenever it works to his advantage. The issue is not what he calls fake news. It’s that he can't stand criticism or anybody looking into his business. So media bashing is part of Trump’s play of the day.
What began on the campaign trail as a way to rev up his audiences, has translated to a declaration of a White House war on the media. His overt and very public disdain for journalists reached a peak when he called them "the enemy of the people". That’s a statement generally reserved for tyrants.
Trump purposely and strategically plants seeds of distrust with the words he uses in his rants against reporters. It's a sad and rather pathetic maneuver if it wasn't so dangerous. It’s become another weapon in his arsenal of distractions from the real substance at hand.
No matter whether it’s global conflicts or congressional investigations, the president remains committed to distraction and making headlines via his new favorite form of media, Twitter. At a news conference last month with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump talked about how he can use Twitter to his advantage saying, "I can get around the media when they don't tell the truth. I like that".
The "truth" according to Trump is not, however, always the truth. He's no longer operating behind the closed doors of Trump Tower, but in the very public house that belongs to all of us. And we're not as dumb as some may think us to be.
According to a newly released report by Pew Research Center, Americans feel that the current relationship between Trump and the news media is hindering their access to political news. It's apparently not making people happy or feeling reassured, and these views cross almost every demographic group:
Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans feel the relationship between Trump and the news media is unhealthy and that the ongoing tensions are impeding Americans’ access to important political news. 88% of Democrats say the relationship is unhealthy, as do 78% of Republicans.
If nobody else in Washington is crossing party lines, it's important to know the public is, at least for now, taking the lead. That's the most reassuring news I've heard in a while.