(Opinion) Like him or not, I think we all can agree that President Donald Trump, for whatever reason, continuously grasped the attention of many different media outlets in 2017.
Each morning, Trump would set the tone for daily news coverage by tweeting. CNN, Fox News, CBS, MSNBC, etc. would foam at the mouth in anticipation for the President to send out a tweet dissing someone or discussing the problems America faces. Whatever the topic of those tweets, the mainstream media would cover it in full and offer analysis from many different commentators throughout each day.
This has become the standard for cable news. It’s a constant battle of left versus right and is never ending.
Individuals from all over the country, whether they identify as independent, left-leaning, or right-leaning, would tune in to their preferred outlet to find out the latest on Trump. This increased ratings tremendously, whether those specific news outlets want to admit it or not.
Right-wing commentators would almost always rush to defend Trump against the left, while left-leaning commentators would almost always rush to trash the president for whatever he may have tweeted. Even before he took office, news outlets began splitting. It became the battle of networks. If you favored the president, you were assumed to watch Fox News. If you disliked the president, you were assumed to watch CNN.
Time and time again, President Trump has blasted cable news networks and media outlets for challenging his ability to lead the American people by referring to them as “FAKE NEWS.” Over time, this phrase has been popularized by people who dislike a particular network, particularly CNN.
Shortly after taking office, Trump lashed out at cable news networks and other media outlets by saying they were “the enemy of the American people!”
The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2017
While cable news has always been relevant, I feel as though Trump boosted viewership tremendously within his first year in office. Trump gave cable news a voice in 2017. A voice that extended to all walks of life in America.
Think about it. When you turn on the television to any news network, who are they covering?
It is almost always Trump or his administration. What Trump has to say matters. Whether it is how many scoops of ice cream he receives or how many Diet Cokes he consumes each day, cable news is always nearby to cover it. Whether they are attempting to smear Trump or increase his credibility, cable news continuously covers the Trump administration.
The way I see it, nothing will change for 2018.
Trump will continue to tweet and the media will continue to talk about those tweets.
While most cable news networks will continue to show bias, you are sure to find them covering Trump daily within 2018.
Without him, what would they have to report on or be upset about?
He is their voice and they know that.
Kyle Morris is a senior at the University of Alabama and a Yellowhammer News contributor. He also writes for The Daily Caller.
Follow Kyle on Twitter: @RealKyleMorris
