How could a twice-impeached former president and federally indicted candidate say the most incredulous things, remain empowered and possibly win the 2024 election?

It just may be because the news media unintentionally contributes to Donald Trump’s endurance, not by covering legitimate breaking news, but by repeating tired themes, rebutting false equivalencies, and speculating about his intentions.

How could voters support a person who has said these wacky citations?

• “Our (Revolutionary) army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory.”
• “And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it (COVID-19) out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?”
• “This is a tough hurricane. One of the wettest we have seen, from the standpoint of water.”
• “Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. … I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius … and a very stable genius at that!”

Yet, Trump leads the Republican Party as its presumed nominee. Go figure. That’s what this commentary intends to do, probing his power base and innate ability to dominate the headlines.

Power politics

Trump may not be a genius as most would define the term. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a genius possesses “great intellectual ability as measured by performance on a standardized intelligence test, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.” Trump did ace “the Montreal Cognitive Assessment — a 10-minute test designed to detect mild cognitive impairment such as the onset of dementia.”

A genius also has “creative ability of an exceptionally high order as demonstrated by actual achievement …” Forbes notes that Trump did earn international status as a billionaire while building his empire and brand. But before we dub him genius, the second half of the Brittanica definition states “… provided that such achievement is not merely of transitory value or the result of accident of birth.”

In 2018, The New York Times reported that Trump often brags that he was a self-made billionaire, but “received at least $413 million in today’s dollars from his father’s real estate empire, much of it through tax dodges in the 1990s.”

Stability aside, Trump knows the pathways to power as described in Robert Greene’s 1998 influential book, “The 48 Laws of Power.” 

The association with this book began during Trump’s 2015 ascension as the GOP front-runner. In August that year, Jim Swift of the Washington Examiner mused “How far will the Donald go in 2016? If he continues to adhere to the 48 laws of power, probably further than many might think.”

Every journalist should have a copy of Greene’s book. It will affirm any number of stories written about government leaders, financial tycoons and corporate moguls. Websites have summaries. YouTube has videos.

Consider some of its laws:

Law 7: Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit. 

Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you.

Law 15: Crush your enemy totally.

Law 17: Keep others in suspended terror, cultivate an air of unpredictability.

Law 27: Play on people’s need to believe to create a cult like following.

Law 32: Play to people’s fantasies.

Law 33: Discover each man’s thumbscrew.

Law 34: Be royal in your own fashion. Act like a king to be treated like one.

Law 43: Work on the hearts and minds of others.

Granted, Trump doesn’t embody several uncited laws, including Law 4, Always say less than necessary; Law 26, Keep your hands clean; and Law 46, Never appear too perfect.

But his media image has been based on other doctrines:

Law 6, Court attention at all costs: “Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses. … Better to be slandered and attacked than ignored.” 

Law 25, Recreate yourself: “Be the master of your own image rather than letting others define it for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your public gestures and actions — your power will be enhanced, and your character will seem larger than life.”

Law 28, Enter action with boldness: “Any mistakes you commit through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold; no one honors the timid.”

When you combine these laws with Trump’s skill as manipulator, he becomes the media’s puppet master.

Self-made man or myth?

Myths are fictitious. Facts do not matter. Mythological gods were immortal and dictatorial. Greek myths metamorphosed into Roman ones. Its emperors proclaimed that they, too, were gods, beginning with Julius Caesar. When the Roman empire collapsed, rulers throughout Europe adopted the Caesarian “divine rights of kings,” culminating with James I of England, who famously said, “The state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth. For kings are not only God’s lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God himself they are called gods.” 

Trump has been depicted as “God’s chosen one.” He has even stated, “I am the chosen one.”

How could that be? Baptist News Global explains “How Trump Became God” within the evangelical movement. “The answer lies in two arguments: The desire of Christian evangelicals to have proximity to power, and how historical events become imbued with theological meaning.”

Myth-makers revise history. They overtake the news agenda and reshape the formats of reports, which often fall into these Trump categories. 

Thick and Thin: Loyalty stories.

Search “Trump” and “loyalty,” and you will find thousands of stories. At a 2016 rally, Trump administered a loyalty oath: “Raise your right hand: ‘I do solemnly swear that I — no matter how I feel, no matter what the conditions, if there’s hurricanes or whatever — will vote, on or before the 12th for Donald J. Trump for president.’” 

Polls and political stories have since emphasized this theme. In 2017, The Atlantic published “The Myth of Trump’s Loyalty,” noting how he throws allies under the bus when crises occur. Nevertheless, the vast majority of registered Republicans believe loyalty to Trump is important. Politico reports that Kevin McCarthy’s loyalty “ultimately helped revive the ousted president’s standing within the party and earned the GOP leader his endorsement for the top job in the House.”

Issue: The emphasis on loyalty affirms beliefs of Trump supporters and otherwise reminds allies about their core expectation. 

Whataboutisms: Deflecting stories.

Like the loyalty genre, you can search thousands of Trump “whataboutisms” (also see “But her emails!”). A 2017 NPR report, titled “Trump Embraces One of Russia’s Favorite Propaganda Tactics — Whataboutism,” defines the concept and its use: “President Trump has developed a consistent tactic when he’s criticized: say that someone else is worse.” 

Trump became associated with the term during his 2016 campaign. The Diplomat, an international current-affairs magazine, wrote in July of that year that a “concerning aspect of Trump’s candidacy is his tendency to use a rhetorical device perfected during the Cold War: Whataboutism.” Trump, the GOP and MAGA supporters continue to embrace this maneuver. In 2021, Salon reported whataboutism’s rise as “the last refuge for Republicans.” The San Diego Union-Tribune notes whataboutism might be Trump supporters’ “only available defense.”

Issue: Whataboutisms put the focus on others rather than on Trump, a move his lawyers and allies use to avoid answering uncomfortable questions.

Apples to Oranges: Response to Whataboutisms.

Again, you can find thousands of articles on the false equivalencies of Trump’s favorite whataboutisms. Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal depicts that in an “apples to oranges cartoon” with President Joe Biden returning a box of classified documents, stating — “Oops, I didn’t know I had these. Sorry” — and Trump stating: “They’re mine and you can’t have them!” The Hill made the same points in “The Biden papers and the Mar-a-Lago documents: Apples and oranges?” Time Magazine published a similar comparison in “The Dangerous Whataboutism in the Trump Classified Docs Case,” noting “the actions of the two men are as different as deliberately driving your car into a crowd of people and committing a fender-bender. Both acts involve cars, but the similarities end there.” 

Issue: Responses to whataboutisms repeat, in one manner or another, the original false equivalency, which may be all that some viewers remember. 

Whatifisms?: Speculation stories.

These posts often have more to do with imagination than reportage, as in Politico’s 2019 piece, “What if Trump Weren’t Nuts?” Because Trump is occasionally nuts, reporters often resort to whatifisms to fathom his policies, as in Vanity Fair’s “What If Trump Had Actually Responded to Coronavirus Like a Rational Person?” 

The genre grew in frequency after Biden won the 2020 election, as in “What if Trump Loses and Won’t Leave?” and “What if Trump Never Concedes?” To my knowledge, no major media outlet wrote, “What if Trump inspires insurrection?” The presidential election is triggering this media effect anew, as in “What Happens if Trump Loses Iowa?” and “What if Trump Wins in 2024?” 

Issue: Speculation is not reportage. It has its place in commentary but should never masquerade as news. 

There are lesser Trump-inspired genres, as in: 

• This, Then That: Legal process stories explaining indictments, court procedures, calendars and appearances, as in Bloomberg’s “When Will Trump Be in Court? These Are the Dates to Watch.”

• • Big Little Lies: Documenting Trump untruths, as in The Washington Post’s “Trump’s false or misleading claims total 30,573 over 4 years.”

• Rags to Riches: Self-made heroes as part of American myth, which Trump embraces and which media often debunk, as in the Chicago Tribune’s “Trump and the myth of the self-made man.”

There is no question that many of the above accounts deal with newsworthy topics, informing the public about important matters. But the focus here concerns whether editors realize Trump’s power plays and reverberations are dominating and homogenizing the news at the expense of other overlooked stories. This effect will only worsen with upcoming trials extending possibly into 2025 and beyond. If Trump wins the presidency and effectively pardons himself, the media gets four additional years, or several more thereafter, if he doesn’t again concede.

Reread power laws cited earlier. Trump has generated millions in donations since being indicted, assembled huge crowds at rallies, and built a sizeable lead over GOP competitors entering the presidential race. 

Is this genius?

Probably not. Trump is no Einstein by conventional standards. But he remains a mastermind in media manipulation. He often cries “witch hunt!” in response to investigations, but it is he who has cast a spell over news outlets.