Borderline Personality Trump and the Uses of Press Myopia

Every president wants favorable media coverage. Most feel a surprising level of grievance when they don’t understand. Donald Trump is unique in using the powers of his office to force news organizations to bend to his will. But when does it go beyond friendly or complacent coverage, or when does it always give the president the benefit of the doubt? A few days ago at the gym, I watched the soon-to-be-gobbled CNN do a story on gas prices with an energy industry analyst. They are not the only ones talking about the price of gas. But the tone of the segment seemed out of sync with many other news articles. It occurred to me that what Trump wants, distinctly, if not solely, is some kind of self-preservation as much as good coverage or a flattering attitude. in itself. He governs the country through a kind of maniacal cajoling that is at war with short-term memory and feeds on its ability to keep as many people as possible obsessed with the super-dramatic crisis of the moment without remembering that it was preceded by an endless litany of other crises bearing a similar mark.