Donald Trump and media attention
By shamelessly flouting democratic norms and flaunting his amorality, brutality and bad faith, the American president restores pride to his humiliated electoral base, unsettles his opponents, and subverts the rules of the political game.
If the world's leading power had, since 1945, taken care to restrain itself and maintain respectability in the eyes of its own people and the rest of the world, it was because American leadership saw that as being in its best interest.
So, what political advantages does Trump gain from this constant display of vice? And in the service of what project is this perpetual transgression of the rules deployed?
As journalist Zoe Williams noted in an analysis published in The Guardian, since his first campaign in 2015-2016 and the infamously notorious tirades about Mexicans – "they are bringing drugs, and bringing crime, and they’re rapists" – Trump has demonstrated his prowess in provocation, consistently pushing the boundaries of political correctness to generate controversy and establish a presence in the media.
No longer feeling ashamed of one's situation, behavior, or ideas: For some of his white working-class supporters, Trump's rhetoric and demeanor restored the possibility of self-esteem.
This strategy proved all the more effective because he singled out the thieves of their pride for condemnation: Liberals, and dominated groups (women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+) who have received Democratic attention and a certain normative cultural standing.
Marion Dupont Le Monde 5 March 2026
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2026/04/05/why-is-donald-trump-so-mean_6752143_23.html
Mr. Trump chose senior officials who could sell the administration’s message to voters. Most have extensive on-air experience, and it shows. They consider media appearances a vital part of their jobs, not a distraction.
They want to do interviews and do them live, whenever possible. And they deliver their messages with enthusiasm and without apology. They are willing, indeed eager, to confront opponents head on.
https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2025/03/trump-revolutionizes-political.html
How Trump wields and uses attention. He’s a master at it.
Chris Hayes just wrote a great book called “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource.”
The notion now is that at every single moment when you are competing for someone’s attention, you are competing against literally every piece of content ever produced.
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and before them, Joe Biden — before the changeover, they were just terrified of an interview going badly. And Trump and Vance — they were all over the place, including in places very hostile to them.
Vance had a ton of interviews that went badly. But they were everywhere. Because they cared about the volume of attention and were completely fine with the energy that negative attention could unlock.
https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2025/01/how-trump-wields-and-uses-attentionhes.html
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