# Trump works for the media, tell me I'm wrong. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 13, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674 "2019-01-13T06:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/1 "2019-01-13T06:20:22Z")
I didn’t want to hijack the Tulsi Gabbard thread, so I’m putting this response in its own thread. > [@The Tulsi Gabbard Presidential campaign thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tulsi-gabbard-presidential-campaign-thread/827665/16): > > You have to be pro war to be considered a viable Democrat. Which is also the reason the TV tells everyone to hate Trump. > > Hillary was _supposed_ to have been elected and the military industrial complex was _supposed_ to have gotten their war with Assad, Russia and Iran, but things didn’t turn out that way. Trump was ostentatious enough to deflect the media at every turn. Trump _was_ the media’s candidate. NBC lied to the people for years, building up his image as a genius businessman. Fox gave him a political platform. CBS _admitted_ they backed his candidacy _knowing it would wreck the country_. That’s three networks who _made_ him, and made him President. Since the first episode of his little game show, _he has always worked for them._ In the Pit because I’m calling out NBC & CBS for lying about what they have done to US politics. I’m not wedded to it being a Pit thread, but it seemed appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/2 "2019-01-13T06:25:14Z")
> [@](#): > > CBS admitted they backed his candidacy knowing it would wreck the country. I’d like to read more about this, if possible. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/3 "2019-01-13T06:28:31Z")
_But, but, they exposed Scott Pruitt!_ Did they? Who broke that story? Did TV news care? If the TV news even cared, they could have torpedoed his nomination. His inverted ethics weren’t a secret. They let Betsy DeVos and Wilbur Ross skate while they talk about Trump’s tweets. Why do they choose the inconsequential? Because it keeps the news focused on slap-fights and not crimes. Trump is the star of the show. Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert nip at his heels, but their employers want Trump right where he is. Who’s the face, who’s the heel? Depends on whom you root for. The conglomerate just wants ratings. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/4 "2019-01-13T06:30:59Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’d like to read more about this, if possible. Cite? Les Moonves now says it was a joke. [https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/cbs-ceo-les-moonves-clarifies-donald-trump-good-for-cbs-comment-229996](https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/cbs-ceo-les-moonves-clarifies-donald-trump-good-for-cbs-comment-229996) > [@](#): > > It was a comment that launched 1,000 campaign ads. > > Speaking at a Morgan Stanley conference in February, CBS Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said of Donald Trump’s presidential run: “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.” > > Moonves’ comment has since been cited by political pundits as proof that the media has been boosting Trump. At the Vanity Fair New Establishment conference on Wednesday, Moonves was asked what he thinks about the comment in light of how the presidential race has progressed. > > “It was a joke! It was a joke!” Moonves said. “Then Marco Rubio put me on a flyer and said this is why the media is supporting Donald Trump. Obviously, Trump is saying something very different today.” > > Moonves said that the comment needed to be put into proper context. His answer was in response to a question about local political ad spending, not TV ratings. Well, sure. Was it just a joke, Les? ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/5 "2019-01-13T06:36:16Z")
The election was supposed to be Bush v. Hillary. Trump was a complete wild card. Nobody expected him to get the Republican Nomination much less win the election. He repeated said things that conventional wisdom should have disqualified him repeatedly. The fact he won practically defied reality itself. If this was all part of the corporate media plan then I . . . don’t even have words. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/6 "2019-01-13T06:38:31Z")
Should add that Bush v. Hillary would have been safe for the military industrial complex whatever the outcome. They are both neocons. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/7 "2019-01-13T07:01:15Z")
Didn’t we just have a thread about people not reading the OP? Please follow the instructions in the title. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/8 "2019-01-13T07:03:00Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Les Moonves now says it was a joke. > [https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/cbs-ceo-les-moonves-clarifies-donald-trump-good-for-cbs-comment-229996](https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/10/cbs-ceo-les-moonves-clarifies-donald-trump-good-for-cbs-comment-229996) > > Well, sure. Was it just a joke, Les? I see the point you’re making but I think the saying “never ascribe to malice what is better attributed to incompetence” is somewhat applicable here. The corporate media was overall negative in their coverage of Trump and the fact that it was such a circus and attracted eyeballs, and consequently add revenue, was a happy (for CEO’s & WS bankers) accident. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/9 "2019-01-13T07:04:38Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > The fact he won practically defied reality itself. If this was all part of the corporate media plan then I . . . don’t even have words. OK, just consider. The networks are gatekeepers of the Presidency. And they want their palms crossed with silver. Trump never paid them the amount of money a candidate is supposed to; they gave him free press instead. Why? Foolhardiness on their part? Or is it because he was the employee, not the client? I suggest that Trump, not Clinton, was the real candidate of conspiracy. The Deep State conspiracy theory is what, that the professionals will stay in charge and the USA stay the same? Big whoop. That’s not so much a conspiracy as it is small-c conservatism. But get the GOP candidate in the White House, and the networks can complain about him on the air even as their owners’ taxes go down. Jeb was boring, Cruz was like a creepy televangelist, and Kasich doesn’t worship money quite enough. Why not try and build your own totally media candidate? If it doesn’t work, it’s still a funny little show. If it does, you get a tax cut in the billions and a corporate-friendly FCC. Being professional media, they may even have a better idea what sells to the rubes than most pols. Trump’s campaign was planned by _somebody._ Why not his bosses at NBC? My question is, was he paid? I kind of think he was. I think “Presidential candidate Trump” was a role he was paid to play. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/10 "2019-01-13T07:42:30Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > OK, just consider. The networks are gatekeepers of the Presidency. And they want their palms crossed with silver. Trump never paid them the amount of money a candidate is supposed to; they gave him free press instead. Why? Foolhardiness on their part? Or is it because he was the employee, not the client? > > I suggest that Trump, not Clinton, was the real candidate of conspiracy. > > The Deep State conspiracy theory is what, that the professionals will stay in charge and the USA stay the same? Big whoop. That’s not so much a conspiracy as it is small-c conservatism. > > But get the GOP candidate in the White House, and the networks can complain about him on the air even as their owners’ taxes go down. Jeb was boring, Cruz was like a creepy televangelist, and Kasich doesn’t worship money quite enough. Why not try and build your own totally media candidate? If it doesn’t work, it’s still a funny little show. If it does, you get a tax cut in the billions and a corporate-friendly FCC. Being professional media, they may even have a better idea what sells to the rubes than most pols. > > Trump’s campaign was planned by _somebody._ Why not his bosses at NBC? > > My question is, was he paid? I kind of think he was. I think “Presidential candidate Trump” was a role he was paid to play. Yeah, I see what you’re saying US politics is a television show, that’s for sure. AAAANd Trump was an employee of NBC sooooooo. It’s all about the military industrial complex, and that means one thing - war. Had Clinton taken office, or in some other reality where Bush had won we would be watching a very different thing on television right now. It would be our dear commander in chief leading the way in the dread land of Syria killing those damn evildoers. So far Trump hasn’t played that game & they knew he couldn’t be relied upon to do so. They may have made some money selling Tide pods and burgers on televison as a result of Trumps nomination but they have lost untold fortunes not getting the US bogged down in another useless war. These people are more malevolent than you give them credit for. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/11 "2019-01-13T08:12:13Z")
> [@](#): > > You have to be pro war to be considered a viable Democrat. When you read something that simplistic and trite, just move on. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/12 "2019-01-13T08:41:43Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Trump _was_ the media’s candidate. NBC lied to the people for years, building up his image as a genius businessman. Fox gave him a political platform. CBS _admitted_ they backed his candidacy _knowing it would wreck the country_. That’s three networks who _made_ him, and made him President. Since the first episode of his little game show, _he has always worked for them._ Probably not in the\* literal _sense; Trump is a psychopath and works for nothing but his personal gratification. He’s also completely untrustworthy; even if they did pay him to do something he’d never actually_ do\* it, he cheats people pretty much reflexively. But he’s been a useful tool for them enhancing his ratings, certainly. And they did clearly slant coverage to keep the “horse race” going during the election. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/13 "2019-01-13T08:44:23Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > When you read something that simplistic and trite, just move on. I should have added “by the military-industrial complex”. It also explains why Sanders got railroaded. He wasn’t a neocon like Hillary and Bush. They knew they couldn’t have relied on Bernie to be a war hawk. Can you imagine Bernie being the cheerleader for blowing up schools and weddings in the middle east? I think most voters are anti-war, just misled. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/14 "2019-01-13T09:12:10Z")
(Am I alone in thinking this is some truly bonkers shit?) ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/15 "2019-01-13T09:31:46Z")
Not at all. Someone’s been reading too much in the conspiracy reddits. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/16 "2019-01-13T12:32:02Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Well, sure. Was it just a joke, Les? William of Occam got it right when he wrote “Don’t ascribe to conspiracy theories or Machiavellian cleverness what can be explained by routine human nature.” The CBS news director has to decide whether he’ll get more eyeballs with a 20-minute in-depth look, or with photos of a Kardashian and 30-seconds of amusing rants from an orange-skinned monster. It’s not a hard decision for him to make. In the olden days, news editors felt a responsibility to inform the public. Now everything revolves around maximizing the next quarterly earnings report. > [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Should add that Bush v. Hillary would have been safe for the military industrial complex whatever the outcome. They are both neocons. Some say potato, some say potahto. Some say guns-guns-guns. Some say neocon-drones-drones. Some say fed-fed-gold-gold. Whatever. > [@BlankSlate](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > You have to be pro war to be considered a viable Democrat. > > When you read something that simplistic and trite, just move on. In GD or IMHO, sure. But this is the Pit. Don’t you feel some urge to shove face-to-shit and help someone smell his own ignorance? > [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Not at all. Someone’s been reading too much in the conspiracy reddits. With CBS basing its coverage on whether Trump or Kardashian seems more amusing today, befuddled Americans can hardly be blamed for turning to “Alternate Theories.” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/17 "2019-01-14T01:29:03Z")
Folks, before you pay any attention to the crazy-person/troll’s OP, keep in mind that she’s a fucking Jew hating psycho. Just a couple of links to show what she thinks about the Jew run media: [In the media bubble that is USA! (a Jewish-owned corporation)TM, it sometimes feels like certain Zionist interests are running things for some particular interest of theirs](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17492370#post17492370) [Not in actuality sincerely anti-Jewish/anti-Semite. How could I even be? I mean, what? I grew up on (randomly selected out of a very long list of Jewish influences) lots of Isaac Asimov stories, and Marc DeMatteis comics; it’d be like cutting out part of my brain.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=726920) (I love this one. “I read Jewish authors who’s Judaism doesn’t influence their work, so it’s pure and doesn’t have “jew-ness” all over it, so I can’t be an antisemite!!!1!!”) [Stalin was hardly an anti-Semite. He did have some rude things to say about “regressive” religious-Jew culture, but he wasn’t generally against the Jewish people or identity.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12799166&postcount=41) [And a pit thread about the Jew hating neo-Nazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=726860). So anything this cuntbag says, _especially_ about the media should be informed by her earlier racist/bigoted posts. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/18 "2019-01-14T01:58:41Z")
OK - you are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/19 "2019-01-14T02:33:53Z")
**Fenris** , you have less credibility than I have on this board. It’s cute that you try to act almost like you care about minorities, though. My issues with the USA’s knee-jerk Zionist biases are beside the point. (And of course, as I came to understand after one of those posts, the USA media landscape is far less Jewish at the corporate level now than it used to be, between the multinationals and New Corp.) Even if Les Moonves is Jewish (I assume) and Trump the Rump wishes he were, I wasn’t even thinking about that. Granted, it would dovetail nicely in the minds of anti-Semites; so thank you, Fenris, that may be useful if someone wants to sell this theory to the rubes. 😉 Anyway, this thread was largely a way to drag **DJ Motorbike** out of a hijack in another thread, not that it worked. It was half-baked and not that serious. Still… I do marvel at the fact that an employee of an NBC show made himself a Fox News personality and then President based on his persona as developed on that show. I don’t mind exaggerating his fakeness and the media’s complicity for comic effect. But we live in an age where conspiracy theories about Trump \*and the KGB \*have gone mainstream. Now I wonder, if we’re going that far in the mainstream press (and we are), if there is a real conspiracy is a little closer to home. So I play with the idea. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-works-for-the-media-tell-me-im-wrong/827674/20 "2019-01-14T03:34:08Z")
(News Corp. I don’t know if that was my error or the keyboard.)