Trump's Fake News Strategy

As you know, Li’l Donnie Trump is quite often in a snit over the press. He constantly demeans and defames journalists with terms like “lying”, “failing”, “corrupt” and, of course, his favorite “Fake News”. 

 

The term “Fake News” was first brought to prominence in relation to Russian efforts to interfere in our electoral process but the promulgation of fake news stories to discredit Hillary Clinton and promote Donald Trump. “Fake News” applied to completely made up stories originating from persons or groups with no journalistic credentials. 

 

Trump immediately seized on the term for any news story he didn’t like.

 

Why does he do that?

 

Donald Trump is an egomaniacal, thin skinned, petulant man-child asshole. 

 

If you’re looking for more than that,  CBS journalist Lesley Stahl has something to share.  

 

According to Stahl, Trump told her that he continually “discredits” and “demeans” the press for a very specific reason: to sow uncertainty about the media so that “no one will believe” negative stories about him.

 

The “60 Minutes” reporter recalled what happened when she and her boss met with the then president-elect at Trump Tower after in late 2016. Trump eventually started bashing the press in front of them.

 

Stahl spoke up to Trump, saying, “‘You know, that is getting tired. Why are you doing this? You’re doing it over and over. It’s boring and it’s time to end that.’ And he said, ‘You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.’” 

 

So basically Trump copped to a strategy of carpet bombing the press. With no regard to specific stories or targets, just continually demean and deride all the press all the time so that whenever they do a story he doesn’t like, his followers will not believe it. If Trump paints the press as “lying”, “failing”, “corrupt” and  “Fake News” all the time, then he destroys their credibility with those who would still support Trump. Negative stories are just like all the other stories: “Fake News”.