CNN called Trump a television addict and said that despite all of his grumbling about the network, it is where he tunes in to get his breaking news.
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Michael D’Antonio, a Trump biographer, told CNN, “Oh, sure. I think people who have been around the president for any real period of time know that he is a television addict. He is probably watching us right now because as “The Times” reported, he tunes to CNN when there’s breaking news. CNN is the strongest network in hard news, and so, as much as he might berate the network at other moments, he tunes in when he needs the facts.”
New Day co-host Alisyn Camerota prefaced her next question with:
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Here’s a tidbit from Maggie Haberman’s reporting, along with some of her colleagues. People close to the president estimate that Mr. Trump spends at least four hours a day and sometimes as much as twice that in front of a television. Sometimes with the volume muted, marinating in the no-holds-barred wars of cable news and eager to fire back. Here’s another interesting thing, Michael, I know that you can speak to. It’s just how much president trump still enjoys being — hearing his name on TV. Though, of course, he’s now the most, you know, famous, talked-about person in the world, their reporting says, “To an extent that would stun outsiders, Mr. Trump, the most talked about human on the planet, is still delighted when he sees his name in the headlines and he is on a perpetual quest to see it there. One former top adviser said Mr. Trump grew uncomfortable after two or three days of peace and could not handle watching the news without seeing himself on it.”
Everything that was discussed on CNN was true, according to the reporting. Trump is a television addict, who doesn’t read. The President gets his information from cable news. His tweeting pattern suggests that he is a person who spends much of his presidency plopped down in front of a television waiting for his name to be mentioned.
Trump’s behavior is not presidential. He is using the presidency to try to fill his insecure need for constant validation.
The entire country needs to understand the reality of the character of the person in the White House. Trump should never be normalized or accepted, and moments like the one on CNN are important for reminding the country what they are saddled with in Donald Trump.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
