Donald Trump vs the Fourth Estate

11/22

Donald Trump's attacks on "failing NY Times" seem  incessant.  If he can win this battle by causing the NYTimes to think twice about the the tone of their news and editorial coverage, he may well believe the rest of the print media will fall in line.  Alternatively, if he can convince his base that NYTimes reporting is biased, the power of NY Times' investigative reporting is diminished.  Today's tweets saying NYTimes changed the terms of the scheduled meeting -which included and on the record session-are strongly denied by the paper: a case of he said she said at this point.

The adversarial relationships between Trump and the media will continue unabated, I believe, as Trump seeks to discredit reporting on the backgrounds of his appointees, involvement of his children in his administration, conflicts of interest regarding his businesses and the like.  Presidents have traditionally accepted the fact that their every thought and deed will be 'unfairly" treated in the media:  imagine how Obama felt about Fox News coverage for example, never mind Trump's attack on his citizenship.  I'm not sure Trump has the temperament to  recognize that such coverage is not personal: it just comes with the job.  His unwillingness to deal with the adversarial relationships with the press that come with the job explains his aversion to press conferences.  Can you imagine his response to some of the questions that certainly would be forthcoming and having these responses displayed on television?