Donald J. Trump has the media right where he wants them.
In his crosshairs. At the center of public policy debates.
Make no mistake, the president of the United States is demonstrating his amazing skill at playing the media like a cheap fiddle.
What hasĀ been fascinating to watch is the discussion over this weekend about the media reporting of inaugural crowd size and the attack-dog performance of press secretary Sean Spicer. He went right after the media in the White House press room. The media took the bait and have launched into an amazing discussion of what many reporters call “small things.”
Yes, the media keep insisting that Trump has lowered the level of discussion to issues that don’t matter — such as inaugural crowd size estimates. The media keep talking about it, however, as if it does matter.
How does the president benefit from all of this?
The Republican Party base that held Trump up while he insulted his way to the GOP nomination and then to the election hates the media’s guts. The base is Trump’s essential audience. He seems to not give a damn — no matter what he says — about representing the entire country. He’s still in campaign mode and he’s going to play to his base as long as is humanly possible.
The media are going to allow it as long as they keep tussling with the president over “small things.”
Meanwhile, many of the rest of out here in the vast stretches of this still-great nation are hoping Team Trump will develop some kind of working relationship with the media that cover it.
These first couple of days seem to portend a rocky ride.
Which might be just to Donald J. Trump’s liking.