With NFL controversy, did media play into Trump's 'distraction tactics'?
| NEW YORK
Over the past week, the news media covered a number of the country鈥檚 most pressing issues: ongoing threats from North Korea, the Senate鈥檚 efforts to dismantle Obamacare, the Trump administration鈥檚 late-Sunday-night announcement of its Travel Ban 3.0.
President Trump鈥檚 offensive quip about NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem last Friday at a campaign rally in Huntsville, Ala., however, was the story that resonated most around the country 鈥� and by far.
Many critics, however, have faulted the role the news media has played in highlighting Mr. Trump鈥檚 inflammatory style, identifying a 鈥渄isturbing symbiosis鈥� between news outlets seeking viewers in a competitive marketplace and a showman who is master of the provocative tweet. What鈥檚 lost is a deeper focus on the country鈥檚 more pressing needs, many say.
鈥淗e鈥檚 like catnip to the traditional broadcast media,鈥� says Paul Levinson, a professor of media studies and culture critic at Fordham University in New York. 鈥淲hen Trump says something like that, they probably realize that it makes things worse, but they can鈥檛 help themselves. It鈥檚 still shocking.鈥�
On Monday, reporters asked White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders whether the president鈥檚 crude statement had 鈥渢aken up so much oxygen鈥� in the news that little was now being said about his legislative agenda.
鈥淲ell, that鈥檚 determined by you guys,鈥� Ms. Sanders said, adding that the president was being patriotic and taking the lead on this issue.
After Trump鈥檚 election, a number of news organizations began to rethink their coverage of the presidency, both in reaction to the number of the president鈥檚 false factual assertions as well as his barrage of criticisms of 鈥渢he dishonest media.鈥�
Organizations such as , The New York Times, and Politico began to experiment with different kinds of headlines, signaling the president's false assertions and contextualizing his tweets. 鈥淲e shouldn鈥檛 take his bait, but that鈥檚 not the same as ignoring him,鈥� Jack Shafer, Politico鈥檚 senior media writer, who last year advocated less journalistic focus on Twitter, and the need to understand Trump鈥檚 long-developed methods of handling the media and generating attention.
鈥淭raditional media, having increasingly looked to Twitter as a source of news, it鈥檚 beginning to become what people expect, which is sad and dangerous in its own way,鈥� says Professor Levinson, noting the shrill and relatively low level of discourse that flourishes there. 聽聽
Off the presidential cuff
From the opening moments of his presidential campaign, Trump has demonstrated a remarkable ability to dominate the news media with a provocative, off-the-cuff style rarely seen before in United States politics. What might have been considered career-threatening gaffes for politicians less talented in the art of cultivating media attention, Trump has used to inflame a base of supporters that propelled him to the presidency.
鈥淚t does seem that, whether he鈥檚 thinking this out in advance or not, we have to say he really has his thumb on the pulse of his base,鈥� says Jeanne Zaino, a political scientist at Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. 鈥淭hese are the issues they want to hear about.鈥�
There鈥檚 also something deeper going on, suggests Aram Sinnreich, professor of communication at American University in Washington. Critics have often dismissed the president鈥檚 off-the-cuff riffs at such campaign rallies as But in some ways there鈥檚 an intuitive and media-savvy method in the kinds of provocative riffs Trump employs when he speaks.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 some kind of a super genius,鈥� says Professor Sinnreich. 鈥淗is brand of self-promotion just happens to fit like a key in a lock with a social media, promotional, targeted marketing environment. And the results are exponential in nature in producing rhetorical power.鈥�
鈥淵ou can watch him do it in real time,鈥� he continues. 鈥淥K, I鈥檓 going to try this riff, I鈥檓 going to try that riff, I鈥檓 going to try this riff. Oh, I got that one. OK, now I鈥檓 going to double down on that one and go to Twitter and reinforce the message. Then he sends us all spinning, and we all go scrambling to rationally analyze or critique what he鈥檚 saying.鈥�
It鈥檚 a tried and true technique often called , he says, in which marketers test variations of particular messages to see what goes viral. 鈥淚n a way, the stuff that the big data companies are now doing algorithmically, Trump is doing organically.鈥�
It also has the ability to divert attention from a legislative agenda that has produced few wins. On Tuesday, for instance, GOP senators' latest effort to overhaul the Affordable Care Act failed to make it to a vote, and the candidate Trump went to Alabama to support, Sen. Luther Strange, lost to firebrand jurist Roy Moore in the Republican runoff.
鈥淏ut he goes there to Huntsville 鈥� and he already wasn鈥檛 getting much traction in the Alabama race, or health care, or his new travel ban, which he never mentioned 鈥� and they didn鈥檛 seem to be giving him too much of a reaction early on,鈥� Professor Zaino continues. 鈥淏ut he says this about NFL players, and then all of the sudden he gets this enormous reaction.鈥�
The Huntsville speech
Indeed, the crowd鈥檚 reactions to many of the president鈥檚 well-worn riffs were bordering on the tepid last Friday.
The president touted his nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. 鈥淗ow about a thing called your Second Amendment? Right? Remember that? If crooked Hillary got elected, you would not have Second Amendment, believe me. You鈥檇 be handing in your rifles,鈥� he said, pantomiming handing a rifle over.
The crowd did react, and a lackluster chant of 鈥淟ock her up!鈥� started to ripple across the crowd. 鈥淵ou gotta speak to Jeff Sessions about that,鈥� the president said.
And in touting Strange, Trump defended his efforts to pass the Republican health care bill. 鈥淚鈥檓 on the phone screaming at people, for weeks,鈥� he said.
With an eye-rolling braggadocio, the president admitted his distaste for the role, describing the process of schmoozing for votes as 鈥渂rutal, brutal.鈥�
And then it came: 鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 鈥楪et that son of a b---- off the field right now? Out. He鈥檚 fired. He鈥檚 fired!鈥� 鈥澛犅�
The crowd exploded. A buzz went through the arena. For the first time, the crowd began chanting 鈥淯SA! USA!鈥� The president beamed.
By Sunday, the topic dominated the news. Every NFL game, too, was watched closely as much for the teams鈥� reactions to the president鈥檚 quip as for the games themselves. As of Wednesday, Trump had at least 25 times about the NFL controversy, but only 4 times about the devastation in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria.聽聽
The topic began trending on Facebook and Twitter. The alt-right media personality and conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich on Facebook in which he quoted the president verbatim multiple times. 鈥淧roud Americans Stand Up,鈥� he labeled the video, calling it an 鈥渆xperiment鈥� urging users to 鈥渟hare this video if you agree with Trump's statement concerning the NFL's disrespect of America.鈥�
As of Wednesday, the video had more than 12 million views and nearly a half million shares.
鈥淲e have a president who seems to have a knack for drawing an audience,鈥� says Zaino, 鈥渁nd that makes it really tough for the news media. He鈥檚 really got no wins under his belt 鈥� and the point is, this is what he鈥檚 going to try to win on.鈥�
鈥淥ne thing the media can do better is ask, 鈥業s this the most important story of the day? No,' 鈥� she continues, adding that it can also get better at identifying distraction tactics, even as his words and actions resonate with his restive base.
鈥淵et you can say that, but when you look to getting ratings and readers, it鈥檚 a really tough thing to follow through,鈥� she says.
