Save Us from the Ubiquitous Trump Reality Show
One would have thought that once Donald Trump became the presumptuous and presumptive Republican nominee, you wouldn’t have to hear more about him until the presidential debates. Instead, Trump has turned into the ubiquitous and daily reality show, covering full time the three cable news networks: CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. They see this as of great public interest, and may be making a fortune from this.
But it is not only the cable networks, it is also the political newspapers: The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Huffington Post, among others, and national magazines.
The Kardashians used to be the dominant reality show, but there were a dozen of them and their spouses to carry on the newness. Trump does have important associates that come into play, like his campaign managers, his nomination opponents, Reince Priebus, head of the Republican National Committee, Paul Ryan, and other important Republicans. Now the news has recordings of a Trump imitator called John Miller, who read his mind about his girlfriends. We need to find John Miller again to find out what Trump is really thinking about issues today.
I am writing this because as an audience we have to break the addiction to every tidbit about Trump that actually has no content about real policies. Even his policy statements are immediately walked back and then later turned into mere suggestions. This means breaking our habit of watching a news summary from our favorite network: Fox for conservatives, MSNBC for liberals, and CNN for those who can’t make up their minds, just as CNN can’t. We also have to break from our favorite newspapers, and try to concentrate on our hobbies or our local news only. Instead of a Stop Trump movement, we need to form a movement to Stop the Ubiquitus Trump Trivia Show.
Obviously the news media would be crossing itself to interview psychologists who could help viewers break the Trump habit. Plus, it is unpredictable how serious the Trump news withdrawal symptoms could be. Also sitting in your favorite comfy chair and watching Trump news helps you catch up with your sleep, and can be healthy. Some viewers’ involvement with the Kardashians has lasted for years. We’ll have to see whether viewers eventually tire from Trump Trivia and find other entertainment.
If Trump is defeated in November, six long months from now, will that end the show? Certainly John McCain and Mitch Romney disappeared after their non-elections, not becoming party leaders. At worst, Trump’s value, in his name, will greatly increase. He will undoubtedly get more TV shows, possibly on all cable news channels as well as broadcast TV. His continual criticism of Clinton and other politicians will be in demand.
If Trump becomes president, we will have daily changes and surprises for four or eight years. While Trump will go along with some sort of party unity and big tent approach now, when he assumes the presidency, he will become his own leader. He seems to pick unconventional advisors in the fields in which he has done so. He considers himself the leading expert in foreign affairs and other fields. The response of foreign leaders to his off the cuff suggestions also engenders TV and press coverage. Continued tussles with Congress and the Republican split itself will generate continuous news. None of the networks risk displeasing Trump, since he may cut them off from interviews, and even turn against their newscasters, as has already happened. Even after he leaves office, the effect of his radical policies will live on.
A major effect of his policies would be the result of losing four or eight years of progress studying, mitigating, and adapting to climate change. There also will be the cost of increased damage from natural causes. This has already begun today with his drafting Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, an oil and gas producing state, to draft his energy policy. Rep. Cramer is not only a climate science denier, but has claimed that the world is cooling. This usually results from taking the extreme upward temperature fluctuation of 1998, an El Niño year, as a starting point. Ted Cruz (if you remember him), had the same view, but was never questioned on it in all of the debating. Too nerdy an analysis, I imagine. Trump needn’t concern himself with the climate analysis, since it is all a Chinese plot. Actually, I don’t remember the Chinese contributing much to climate research, compared to the US and European countries.
Trump told coal miners in West Virginia that he would boost coal production. But if his policy is drafted by a natural gas fracker, it will make more natural gas available, drive down its price, and put more coal miners out of work. See what I mean by being addicted to Trump news.
