Donald Trump is the magician-in-chief.Trump understands better, I reckon, than any US president since Ronald Reagan how to bend and manipulate the squirrel-like attention spans of much of the new and “legacy” media to his will and advantage.
Reagan and his adept advisers relied almost exclusively on choreographing flattering set pieces for television to drive his retrograde plans and stick-handle around a prickly scandal or two.
Trump, having established his ubiquitous star via “reality TV” and countless appearances on ephemeral “chat” shows, knows full well the ways and means to inculcate himself into the American consciousness courtesy of the “boob tube”.
Still, Trump has skillfully used social media – now mostly Truth Social – to hone his trademark trick: Misdirection. Like any seasoned illusionist, he appreciates how to draw the public’s eye and ear away from what demands scrutiny.
His aim is twofold: To advance his revolutionary agenda and to obscure the damage that agenda inflicts. Advertisement
When, in early 2020, a new, lethal virus emerged and spread rapidly as the death toll mounted, Trump dismissed the COVID-19 threat, peddled unproven cures such as hydroxychloroquine, and even suggested injecting disinfectant as a possible remedy.
Trump’s bizarre provocations were deliberate and meant, in large measure, to delay and deflect thorough review of his administration’s slow, chaotic response.
Trump grasps that in the digital age, ou …
