Jeffrey Blehar writes for National Review Online about President Donald Trump’s unique approach to his job.
The Trump Show has begun to take on a surprisingly predictable rhythm and familiar flow. Either that or I’ve developed a sixth sense for when Trump is content to cede the spotlight for a moment to lesser fools and when he’s about to pop his head out from behind the curtain and take over the media show himself. This week, our Ringmaster has returned.
For that really is how Trump conceives of it all: as a media circus, a grand entertainment for the masses, and one he leads like a lion-tamer, demonstrating his mastery of seemingly dangerous (but in reality docile) beasts. …
… Donald Trump truly believes he can create his own narratives by leveraging the unique powers of the presidency — and his own uncanny sense of showmanship — to dictate the terms on which the mainstream media cover his administration. The MSM will fight on his chosen political ground, not theirs.
With each new executive order, press conference announcement, Truth Social threat, abortive initiative to annex Greenland, and the like, Trump leads the media around on a leash. He sincerely believes that winning the coverage will help him win the opinion battle with the public.
Surely you have heard by now about the president’s latest provocation, only the loudest in a series of sabers he has rattled against my metropolis. On Saturday afternoon, he posted an AI image of himself as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore from Apocalypse Now, kneeling in the foreground somewhere on Lake Michigan as napalm flames burn around him and military choppers head toward the downtown Loop. “‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning . . .’ Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR [helicopter emoji x3].” (If Donald Trump is under the impression that “Charlie don’t surf,” I regret to inform him that here in Chicago, our most fervent Communists don’t have to — they own yachts.)
