Jaci Clement: Media, pols getting Trumped by The Donald

As Appeared in Long Island Business News, Aug. 21, 2015

To be sure, the dog days of August are among the slowest in terms of news. Historically, it’s been August providing us with plenty of sleepy evergreen stories, like back-to-school features examining children’s backpacks, ad nauseum.

But now August has run into presidential candidate Donald Trump, and it’s the gift that keeps on

giving. Suddenly, August is interesting.

From a media perspective, what’s happening in politics right now is fascinating. From a leadership perspective: It’s downright horrifying.

So let’s stick to the media side of things.

By now you probably know 24 million people tuned in to watch the Republican debate on FOX, making it the most-watched primary debate in television history, according to Nielsen. (Just for comparison’s sake, only 3.5 million watched Jon Stewart’s final Daily Show.)

Trump claimed victory — of both the debate and the record-setting audience. He credits his name recognition.

Put another way? The media very well may be what lands Trump in the Oval Office.

Since the debate, it’s been nonstop nonsense Trump coverage: Will he apologize to Megyn Kelly? Why won’t he apologize to Megyn Kelly? What does Rosie O’Donnell have to say about what The Donald said about Megyn?

Leading up to the debate, of course, the media already had plenty of fodder to work with. Time Magazine came out with the Donald Trump Insult Generator –just put your name in, and you, too, may be insulted with the best of ‘em. NPR tracked the ‘best insults of Donald Trump’s latest campaign speech.’ (If you missed it, Lindsey Graham’s a stiff, glasses won’t help Rick Perry look smart and the governor of Texas is ‘vicious.’ And of the media: simply ‘dishonest.’)

Here’s what’s so fascinating about all this: The media is letting him get away with it, which is making him an even bigger star. It would actually behoove candidates with low-to-no name recognition to be insulted by Trump, just to catch a ride on the coat tails of fame.

So strong is the Trump brand that he has been afforded a chance few, if any, on the debate stage have been offered: He’s intentionally turned politics into entertainment. He may be a billionaire, but he knows how to resonate with the American public, and he sure as heck knows how to provide the media with a soundbite.

In a world where an audience pays attention to the first six words you say, Trump may be exactly what we need right now to get the American public off the couch and into the voting booth. He may be our single greatest hope to turn around voter apathy — and that may be what’s happening here, based on those primary debate numbers.

 

Clement is CEO and executive director of the Fair Media Council, headquartered in Bethpage.