Article in The Guardian by Editors, 3/7/25
Headline: “The Guardian view on Trump and media: attention is power. Can Democrats grab it? – Editorial”
Subhead: “The presidency is no longer just a ‘bully pulpit’. It’s become part of the disinformation machine”
“Donald Trump won the White House not with money, though he spent plenty of it, but by dominating the conversation. He hasn’t stopped campaigning. He uses attention to bolster his political power, and uses his office to make sure that everyone keeps watching.
“He was barred from leading social media platforms after the January 6 attack on the Capitol, but four years later, their owners attended his inauguration. Many of his key hires appear picked for their media presence as well as their ideological bent and sycophancy. Tuesday’s interminable address to Congress was garnished with the kind of wild claims or outright lies that he knows take off on social media. . .”
“. . .Like a social media algorithm made flesh, the president himself serves up an endless but unpredictable (and increasingly extreme) stream of material. It keeps admirers coming back for more and overwhelms critics, who don’t know where to focus. . . ”