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Audience of One

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Audience of One

Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America

Liveright,

15 min. de leitura
8 Ideias Fundamentais
Áudio & Texto

Sobre o que é?

Donald Trump’s mastery of mass media is no recent phenomenon. He’s always been a “tube time” maestro.

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Editorial Rating

9

getAbstract Rating

  • Controversial
  • Innovative
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Donald Trump has navigated the shifting media currents of recent decades so adroitly that he won the presidency. New York Times critic James Poniewozik offers an insightful, nonpartisan analysis of Trump’s rise, fall and rise, from real estate mogul to failure to reality-show star to political powerhouse. Is Trump a genius at mirroring the narcissism of television, or is he simply so narcissistic that the cameras can’t stop focusing on him? In the end, the answer doesn’t really matter Poniewozik argues. What matters is that Trump has parlayed “tube time” to his advantage at every turn. 

Summary

Donald Trump was raised with television, and cultivated celebrity from a young age.

Throughout his career, Donald Trump has been both an avid consumer of mass media and a ubiquitous presence within it. He has adapted readily to shifting media trends and mastered the art of exaggeration and self-inflation. He casually referred to himself as New York City’s “largest developer by far” in the same way a greasy-spoon restaurant would claim to have “The World’s Best Burgers.” No one really believed the boast, but the details didn’t matter as much as the overall impression: “Trump” became synonymous with success.

Trump was born in 1946, just as the television age dawned. In one formative moment, when he was a six-year-old boy, Trump watched his mother as she raptly watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth on television. It was an early lesson in television’s power to transport and enthrall the viewer. Trump was not alone in witnessing this culture transformation, but his rich-kid childhood set him apart from most of his peers. His father, Fred Trump, was a real estate developer – a path his son would also follow. Fred may not have ...

About the Author

James Poniewozik has been the chief television critic of The New York Times since 2015.

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