The Role of Media: Entertainment in U.S. Politics

In Chapter 6, the book suggested one reason for Donald Trump’s election in 2016 was his ability to entertain both in the past as the star of a reality TV show and on the campaign trail with bigger than life promises and personality. It is interesting to consider the role of entertainment in American politics. How was Donald Trump able to gain so much coverage and garner so much quiet support amidst the outrage that many of his comments amassed? The role of the news media is especially relevant. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both received enormous amounts of news coverage for scandalous quotes and actions. The footage and audio of Trump’s “locker-room” exchange with Billy Bush dominated the media for days during October 2016. Similarly, Clinton’s email scandal was discussed near constantly leading up to and through the 2016 election. The difference in coverage of these scandals is unrelated to the coverage by the news media. The difference lies in the nature of the controversies and the candidates’ responses to them. The email server scandal created mass outrage, and many, including Clinton herself, believe it be one of the causes for Trump’s win in the election. Since it was regarding her role in previous administrations, Clinton struggled to brush off the email scandal. As a result, it was a very relevant element of Clinton that voters needed to consider. Trump’s comments, on the other hand, were undoubtedly offensive and though there was a negative response from the population, these comments ultimately did not hurt Trump or his campaign.

Both of these controversies were covered by the news media, but the response of the public differed. While some of the difference can be accounted for in the fact that Clinton’s scandal was a matter of national security, it is also necessary to consider Trump’s entertainment factor. The comments he made, as well as much of his campaign platform, strayed from the political correctness that has become standard. His unapologetic and authentic demeanor and personality even in, and perhaps even especially, in the face of criticism were seen by many as an entertaining and refreshing step away from the usual political landscape. While Clinton tried to escape the email scandal by proving her competency, Trump embraced his lack of political experience by entertaining people with his unique and fearless attitude. While both candidates received attention from the news media, Trump was more successful able to manipulate and use the news media to his benefit than Clinton was able to. Because of his background in entertainment, Trump successfully piqued the public’s interest. When coverage of Trump aired on TV or was featured in a newspaper, it was inherently more interesting and entertaining than any coverage of Hillary Clinton and her private email. It is because of the news media that entertainment factors into politics at all. Without any media outlets, there would be no incentive to entertain the populace and Trump might not have been as successful. It is interesting to consider the role of the media in politics because even though both Trump and Clinton received both positive and negative media attention the effects varied for both politicians. How might the 2016 presidential election have been different without news media?

4 Responses to "The Role of Media: Entertainment in U.S. Politics"

Jacob Weis says:

March 20, 2018 at 11:06 am

Gwynna,

Great post, I thought that you raised some interesting points. I believe that the media played a huge part in the 2016 presidential election, and will continue to play a role in future elections. The point you made about trump in regards to his ability to manipulate and use the news media to his benefit more than Clinton was able to was true in my mind. Trump was great at catching peoples attention, whether it was positive or negative he was always in the limelight. An important thing that I must add is that this concept of attracting attention will be even more apparent in the future. With technology developing, the direct access to formal and informal advertisements increases endlessly. I predict that future presidents will have mastered this craft of advertising their name even more so than today. Media is a vital aspect in today’s generation and I believe that gaining mass attention through an emotional connection within news media, social media or whatever the platform may be will be seen with the popular vote.
Elizabeth Curland says:

March 20, 2018 at 1:23 pm

Gwynna,
I enjoyed reading about your topic of entertainment in regards to the 2016 election. Trump’s tendency to tweet for entertainment shows his ability to effectively catch the attention of the American people, and ultimately, boosted his chances of election success. Trump’s quick and unsupervised tweets have become his standard means of messaging the American people. During the election, Trump even called out Hilary for needing an entire team of people to come up with one tweet, while he just freely tweeted on his own desire. Though entertaining during the election, as president, Trump’s tweets have now started to threaten American safety. This was especially the case when Trump ignorantly responded to Kim’s threat of North Korea’s nuclear launch button.

From what we’ve discovered, even though Trump is now officially our president, the White House has still made limited attempts to control and monitor Trump’s tweeting. So even though it now threatens our safety as a nation, it’s clear that Donald Trump will never stop being himself, and therefore, will never be silenced.
Carlin O'Neill says:

March 20, 2018 at 1:42 pm

Thanks for the post, Gwynna. I think that this is interesting because it makes me question whether or not the media was aiming to entertain the viewers or actually deliver informative reports on the candidates. To determine if entertainment or reporting was the motive behind the coverage of the election, I think that looking at the motive of the media companies is essential. They are driven by profit, and as you say Donald Trump’s scandals were much more entertaining and therefore would have likely garnered more views. From this standpoint, it can be said that coverage of Donald Trump’s scandalous “locker room talk” would entice viewers much more, so more outlets would run stories on it and more people would be exposed to the entertainment factor of Donald Trump. I also think that maybe stories like the locker room talk case could have been a means from distracting the public from Trump’s political inexperience, while Clinton’s mishandling of her email accounts while in office explicitly showcased an instance in which she underperformed in her post. This may have elicited feelings among the public of Clinton’s potential inadequacy to be POTUS. Seeing Trump in the media more as this abrasive and entertaining character in the news media, versus seeing Clinton portrayed as untruthful and political by other outlets, could have definitely played a role in the outcome of the election.
Austin Marsilia says:

March 21, 2018 at 5:06 pm

Gwynna,
You mention some interesting points that trace back to the 1960 election. In 1960, the presidential debate between JFK and Richard Nixon was the first to be televised. This debate allowed the 70 million viewers to acquire a visual picture of their candidates, creating a media presence for each man. The concept of media presence is one you touched on when discussing Trump’s success. It is important to note that during the 1960 presidential debate, Nixon looked tired, older, and nervous, while JFK appeared confident and youthful. This comparison can be made between Trump and Clinton during the 2016 election. Trump was able to dismiss criticism confidently and redirect the public’s attention away from his actions due to his status as a political outsider. Subsequently, Clinton was not able to redirect the email scandal away from her campaign due to her lack of credibility as a career politician. It is important to note the media’s constant coverage of Trump in a mostly negative light. Despite vast criticism of Trump, his name was constantly in the news, giving him free advertisement and status among the voters. Your post is well written and outlines many key points in the chapter and why Trump won the 2016 election. However, I would have liked to see a comparison between the role of media in previous elections and the 2016 election.

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