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Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Media relations
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This page includes comments that Donald Trump made about the press throughout his 2016 campaign as well as key moments and incidents that shaped his relationship with the press and the media in general.
Trump and media relations
- See also: The media's coverage of Donald Trump
- On September 7, 2016, Trump’s campaign announced that it would begin approving press credential request from news organizations such as Politico, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and Univision. These organizations had previously been considered “blacklisted” by the Trump campaign for what Trump called inaccurate and dishonest reporting. Mike Pence, Trump’s running mate, said in early August that he planned to discuss the issue with Trump. In a brief statement to CNN Money about the change in status for these news organizations, Trump said, “I figure they can’t treat me any worse!”[1]
- During a rally in Ohio on August 1, 2016, Trump suggested that he might revoke the press credentials for The New York Times because it was “very dishonest” in its coverage of him.[2]
- In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt on July 29, 2016, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence said that the campaign was considering giving access to certain blocked media outlets again. “We’re going to have those conversations internally and I fully expect in the next 100 days we’re going to continue to be available to the media, whether they’re fair or unfair," he said.[3]
- Vanity Fair reported on June 16, 2016, that Trump is “considering creating his own media business, built on the audience that has supported him thus far in his bid to become the next president of the United States.” Trump owns Trump Productions LLC, and he is considering launching a “mini-media conglomerate,” according to several people close to Trump who chose to remain anonymous. A source close to Trump said, Trump is discussing the idea with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who owns The New York Observer. The source said, Trump’s rationale is that “win or lose, we are onto something here. We’ve triggered a base of the population that hasn’t had a voice in a long time.”
- Hope Hicks, Trump’s spokeswoman, responded to the rumor, saying, “There is absolutely no truth to this whatsoever. This hasn’t been even uttered. Not even thought about.” She then clarified her statement, saying, “While it’s true Mr. Trump garners exceptionally high ratings, there are absolutely no plans or discussions taking place regarding a venture of this nature.”[4]
- On the evening of June 13, 2016, the Trump campaign announced that it was revoking press credentials provided to The Washington Post because of its “incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign.” Washington Post editor Martin Baron called the decision “nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press. When coverage doesn't correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organization is banished.” He added that the newspaper would continue to cover Trump’s campaign.[5]
- Earlier in the day, The Washington Post had published an article suggesting Trump had connected President Barack Obama to the Orlando mass shooting during an interview. "Look, we're led by a man that either is not tough, not smart, or he's got something else in mind. And the something else in mind — you know, people can't believe it. People cannot, they cannot believe that President Obama is acting the way he acts and can't even mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism.' There's something going on. It's inconceivable. There's something going on,” Trump said.[6]
- When Trump was asked to explain what he meant during a radio interview with Howie Carr, he said, “Well, you know, I’ll let people figure that out for themselves, Howie. Because to be honest with you there certainly doesn’t seem to be a lot anger or passion when he—when we want to demand retribution for what happened over the weekend.”[7]
- On May 31, 2016, Trump announced that he gave $5.6 million to veterans groups, making good on a pledge he made in January. The announcement came after The Washington Post pressed Trump to reveal who received the money he raised during a campaign event, along with his personal donation of $1 million. Trump criticized the media for the inquiry, saying, "I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job.”[8]
- During the press conference announcing the donation, CNN anchor Jim Acosta said to Trump, “It seems to me you’re resistant to the kind of scrutiny that you get with running for president of the United States?” Trump responded: “I like scrutiny, but you know what, when I raise money — excuse me, excuse me, I’ve watched you on television and you’re a real beauty — when I raise money for the veterans, and it’s a massive amount of money — find out how much Hillary Clinton has given to the veterans, it’s nothing. I don’t want the credit for it, but I don’t want to be lambasted.” Trump also called an ABC reporter a “sleaze.” Trump said, “What I don’t want is when I raise millions of dollars, and this sleazy guy over here — look, he’s a sleaze in my book. You’re a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.”[9]
- On May 14, 2016, The New York Times published an investigative report based on interviews with dozens of women who worked with Trump in real estate, modeling, and pageant competitions over four decades. Some women said that he had supported their careers while others suggested “unwelcome romantic advances, unending commentary on the female form, a shrewd reliance on ambitious women, and unsettling workplace conduct.”[10]
- Trump tweeted in response on May 15, 2016, “The failing @nytimes wrote yet another hit piece on me. All are impressed with how nicely I have treated women, they found nothing. A joke!” He accused the newspaper of refusing to use women who would say that Trump had helped them.[11]
- On May 15, 2016, Reince Priebus said that “people just don’t care” about negative reports of Trump’s conduct. “The bigger question is: Between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who represents somebody who is going to bring a more efficient, accountable, effective government here in Washington?” Priebus said.[12]
- The Washington Post reported on May 13, 2016, that Trump sometimes acted as his own publicist under the names John Miller and John Barron from the 1970s through the 1990s. The article included an audio recording from a 1991 interview where Trump allegedly posed as his own spokesman. Trump denied the story on the morning of May 13, saying, “It was not me on the phone. And it doesn’t sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this? Twenty-five years ago?”[13]
- Twenty reporters from The Washington Post have been assigned to investigate Trump and “every phase of his life,” according to associate editor Bob Woodward. In an interview on May 12, 2016, Trump accused Jeff Bezos, the owner of The Washington Post and chief executive of Amazon, of using the newspaper “for power so that the politicians in Washington don't tax Amazon like they should be taxed.” Trump said that Bezos had “an antitrust problem” and was “getting away with murder tax-wise.”[14][15]
- According to Kantar Media, groups opposing Donald Trump’s candidacy have spent $67 million on advertising. The most-aired ad, “Serious,” portrays Trump as "erratic" and "unreliable.”[16]
- On January 27, 2016, The Huffington Post began attaching the following note to each of its articles about Donald Trump: “Note to our readers: Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and bully who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.” A spokesperson for The Huffington Post said, “Yes, we're planning to add this note to all future stories about Trump. No other candidate has called for banning 1.6 billion people from the country! If any other candidate makes such a proposal, we'll append a note under pieces about them.”[17][18]
- Joseph McQuaid, the publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader, which endorsed Chris Christie November 29, 2015, [19] wrote an editorial on December 27, 2015, comparing Trump to Biff, the antagonist from the Back to the Future movies. In response, Trump called McQuaid a “lowlife” who asked him for several favors. “I never thought he’d stoop to these levels where he’d do an editorial after everything he asked me to do,” said Trump. He added that he believed McQuaid was Chris Christie’s “puppet.”[20] [21]
- Donald Trump again said the media was unfairly reported on him and singled out CNN's Sara Murray in an interview with Chris Cuomo, according to an opinion piece in The Washington Post on November 4, 2015. He said, “You [Cuomo] are top notch. I don’t see it with Sara Murray. … She never reports on my crowd sizes … never scans the room and shows the tremendous crowds I’m getting.” He added that “either she’s a very unemotional person or she’s not a very good reporter, one or the other.”[22]
- According to Ballotpedia's analysis of 250 articles from CNN, The New York Times, the Huffington Post, Fox News and the Washington Post, the reporting on Trump has focused mostly on his character, his controversial comments on a variety of issues, and what he has done on the campaign trail (his feuds with members of the media and feuds with other presidential candidates), rather than in-depth analysis of his policy positions. The full study can be viewed here.
- Trump committed to boycotting Fox News on September 23, 2015, after the network canceled his scheduled appearance for the following day. He tweeted, “.@FoxNews has been treating me very unfairly & I have therefore decided that I won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future.” After Rick Lowry, the editor of The National Review and a conservative political commentator, appeared on Megyn Kelly’s show that night and said Carly Fiorina had “castrated” Trump at the Republican presidential debate, Trump renewed his battle with the network. He called for Lowry to be fined by the FCC and Fox News to apologize.[23][24]
- Trump continued his criticism of Megyn Kelly with a tweet on September 22, 2015: “Do you ever notice that lightweight @megynkelly constantly goes after me but when I hit back it is totally sexist. She is highly overrated!”[25]
- Trump's campaign denied press credentials to reporters from Huffington Post and The Des Moines Register at several events in September 2015. “I have written stories that have been critical of nearly every single presidential candidate on both sides of the aisle. I have never been treated this way or not allowed media access ever," said Huffington Post writer Samantha-Jo Roth.[26]
- In September 2015, Trump attacked conservative radio presenter Hugh Hewitt following an interview where Hewitt asked Trump several foreign policy questions he could not answer. Trump tweeted on September 5, 2015, “Why would a very low ratings radio talk show host like Hugh Hewitt be doing the next debate on @CNN. He is just a 3rd rate ‘gotcha’ guy!” Hewitt’s producer responded by tweeting, “.@realDonaldTrump @CNN Why would you tell me that it was a ‘great honor’ to come on our ‘third-rate’ show?"[27]
- Randy Falco, the CEO of Univision, released a statement on August 26, 2015, addressing Trump's ejection of Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos from a press conference on Tuesday. Falco said, “The recent treatment that Jorge Ramos received at Mr. Trump’s press conference in Iowa is beneath contempt. As a Presidential candidate, Mr. Trump is going to get tough questions from the press and has to answer them. Jorge Ramos is one of the most professional, dedicated and respected journalists I have seen or worked with in my 40 years in media. He always asks hard questions of candidates and elected officials, regardless of party or issue. Mr. Trump demonstrated complete disregard for him and for the countless Hispanics whom Jorge seeks to represent through press questions that are at the heart of the First Amendment. I remain grateful for the first-rate journalistic work that Jorge and all of his news colleagues at Univision and Fusion do to bring all points of view to the 57 million Hispanics in this country.”[28]
- During a press conference on August 25, 2015, Trump had Jorge Ramos, a Mexican-American journalist, removed from the room after Ramos pressed Trump on his immigration policy without being called on. “Go back to Univision,” Trump said before a member of Trump’s security escorted Ramos out of the room. Ramos protested, “Don’t touch me, sir. Don’t touch me. I have the right to ask a question.” Ramos eventually returned to the press event and engaged with Trump about whether it was legally possible to end birthright citizenship. During the exchange, Trump noted Ramos was from Univision, a network he sued for $500 million in June.[29][30]
- Trump renewed criticism of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly over Twitter on August 24, 2015. He retweeted a tweet calling her a “bimbo” and suggested she take another extended vacation. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes responded with the following statement: “Donald Trump's surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing. … I could not be more proud of Megyn for her professionalism and class in the face of all of Mr. Trump’s verbal assaults. Her questioning of Mr. Trump at the debate was tough but fair, and I fully support her as she continues to ask the probing and challenging questions that all presidential candidates may find difficult to answer. Donald Trump rarely apologizes, although in this case, he should. We have never been deterred by politicians or anyone else attacking us for doing our job, much less allowed ourselves to be bullied by anyone and we’re certainly not going to start now.”[31]
- McKay Coppins of BuzzFeed reported on August 9, 2015, that Trump made undisclosed contributions to Breitbart to promote his campaign and "to shape coverage.” Steve Bannon, the executive chair of Breitbart, responded to the claims, saying, “We have no financial relationship with Donald Trump as an investor, advertiser or in any other capacity at this time — nor have we ever. The insinuation that we do — or did — is a lie. Mr. Trump is a savvy and successful businessman but not the type of investor I partner with in emerging growth companies. In fact, Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign hasn’t — unlike other campaigns — bought digital advertising on our site, though we would certainly be open for business on that front as we are with every campaign from both parties.”[32]
- At the first Republican debate on August 6, 2015, Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly questioned Trump about derogatory statements he made about women in the past. Trump took to Twitter the following morning and posted several tweets about Kelly's performance. In addition to saying Kelly was "totally overrated and angry" and had "really bombed," Trump also retweeted a message from a supporter calling Kelly a "bimbo." Later that evening, Trump said during an interview on CNN, "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever." Some interpreted Trump's statement to be an allusion to menstruation, although he denied that was his intention. "I think only a degenerate would think that I would have meant that," Trump said.[33][34]
- As a result of Trump's criticism of Kelly, he was disinvited from the RedState Gathering on August 8, 2015. Several Republican presidential candidates and party insiders also attacked Trump for his comments. Bush said, "Give me a break. I mean, do we want to win? Do we want to insult 53 percent of all voters? What Donald Trump said is wrong. That is not how we win elections and, worse yet, that is not how you bring people together to solve problems. That is not the way you do it. ... Mr. Trump ought to apologize."[35][36]
- In an interview on MSNBC on August 10, 2015, Trump remained steadfast in his own defense. "The fact is [Kelly] asked me a very inappropriate question. She should be apologizing to me if you want to know the truth," he said.[37]
- Trump tweeted on August 10, 2015, he had spoken with Roger Ailes, the CEO of Fox News, and been assured he would “be treated fairly.” Ailes released the following statement about the conversation: “Donald Trump and I spoke today. We discussed our concerns, and I again expressed my confidence in Megyn Kelly. She is a brilliant journalist and I support her 100 percent. I assured him that we will continue to cover this campaign with fairness and balance. We had a blunt but cordial conversation and the air has been cleared."[38]
- The Media Research Center reported on August 4, 2015, that Donald Trump received significantly more coverage on ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2015, than any other Republican presidential candidate. With 116 minutes of coverage, Trump's take surpassed the 72 minutes dedicated to Bush and 28 minutes given to Chris Christie.[39]
- On July 22, 2015, “The Glenn Beck Program,” a conservative radio program, announced it would no longer cover Donald Trump’s campaign.[40]
- Describing Donald Trump as "a feckless blowhard who can generate headlines, name recognition and polling numbers not by provoking thought, but by provoking outrage," the editorial staff of The Des Moines Register called for Trump to withdraw from the presidential race on July 21, 2015.[41]
- On July 17, 2015, The Huffington Post announced that it would not cover Trump's candidacy as part of its political coverage and would instead cover it in their Entertainment section. "Trump's campaign is a sideshow. We won't take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you'll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette," read The Huffington Post editorial.[42]
- On July 8, 2015, The Washington Post reported that Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, called Trump for 45 minutes to discuss the harmful impact "his inflammatory comments" have had on the party and to tell him to "tone it down."[43] On July 9, 2015, Trump disputed the claim that the call was negative. Rather, Trump said, the call "was really a nice call, a congratulatory call."[44]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Trump Media Relations. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016
- The media's coverage of Donald Trump
- Presidential candidates, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump ending press 'blacklist,'" September 7, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Donald Trump suggests he may revoke New York Times’ press credentials," August 1, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Mike Pence: Trump campaign to discuss lifting media blacklist," July 29, 2016
- ↑ Vanity Fair, "Exclusive: Is Donald Trump's Endgame the Launch of Trump News?" June 16, 2016
- ↑ Associated Press, "Trump says he is revoking Washington Post credentials," June 13, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to Orlando shooting," June 13, 2016
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Trump: People Can 'Figure Out' My Comments About Obama, Radical Islam," June 13, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump says he's given $5.6M to veterans groups," May 31, 2016
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump at war with press over donations to veterans groups," May 31, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women in Private," May 14, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, "Donald Trump fires back over "lame hit piece" on women," May 15, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "RNC Chair Says ‘People Just Don’t Care’ About Reports Donald Trump Mistreated Women," May 15, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Donald Trump masqueraded as publicist to brag about himself," May 13, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Examiner, "Washington Post assigns army of 20 to dig into 'every phase' of Trump's life," May 11, 2016
- ↑ Reuters, "Trump says Amazon.com has 'a huge antitrust problem'," May 12, 2016
- ↑ Gregory Wallace, CNN, "How $67 million failed to stop Trump," March 24, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "HuffPost to publish anti-Trump kicker with all Trump coverage," January 28, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Donald Trump Tells Bill O'Reilly It's 'An Eye For An Eye' In War With Fox News," January 27, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "New Hampshire Union Leader endorses Chris Christie," November 29, 2015
- ↑ New Hampshire Union Leader, "Joseph W. McQuaid: Trump campaign insults NH voters' intelligence," December 27, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Donald Trump Calls Newspaper Publisher a ‘Lowlife’ and Assails Chris Christie," December 28, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Donald Trump reaches new level of absurdity on media criticism," November 4, 2015
- ↑ CNN Money, "The war between Donald Trump and Fox News is back on," September 23, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Donald Trump wants the FCC to fine a critical Fox News pundit," September 23, 2015
- ↑ MSNBC, "Donald Trump’s Fox feud continues: GOPer calls Megyn Kelly a ‘lightweight,’" September 23, 2015
- ↑ CNN International, "Why Donald Trump is freezing out reporters at these two outlets," September 21, 2015
- ↑ Mediaite, "Trump Rips Hugh Hewitt on Twitter for His ‘Low Ratings’ Because Of Course," September 5, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Univision's CEO just ripped into Donald Trump," August 26, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Donald Trump Gets Earful in Spanish as Latino Outlets Air Disdain," August 26, 2015
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Donald Trump Kicks Jorge Ramos Out Of Press Conference," August 26, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Fox News goes to war with Donald Trump after his 'disturbing' Megyn Kelly tweetstorm," August 25, 2015
- ↑ BuzzFeed, "Breitbart Staffers Believe Trump Has Given Money To Site For Favorable Coverage," August 9, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Donald Trump is having a meltdown after Megyn Kelly and Fox News cut him to pieces during the debate," August 7, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Hand-Wringing in G.O.P. After Donald Trump’s Remarks on Megyn Kelly," August 8, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump's 'blood' comment about Megyn Kelly draws outrage," August 8, 2015
- ↑ The Miami Herald, "Jeb Bush says Donald Trump should 'apologize' over Megan Kelly 'blood' remark," August 9, 2015
- ↑ RealClearPolitics, "Trump: Megyn Kelly 'Should Be Apologize to Me'," August 10, 2015
- ↑ NBC News, "Megyn Kelly: 'I Will Not Apologize for Doing Good Journalism'," August 11, 2015
- ↑ Media Research Center, "TV's Campaign '16 News: An Avalanche of Trump Coverage, Not Much for Others," August 4, 2015
- ↑ The Hill, "Trump coverage banned from Glenn Beck's show," July 23, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Editorial: Trump should pull the plug on his bloviating side show," July 21, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "A Note About Our Coverage Of Donald Trump's 'Campaign,'" July 17, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "GOP leaders fear damage to party’s image as Donald Trump doubles down," July 8, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Trump: RNC call was 'congratulatory'," July 9, 2015
