Trump’s 'media manipulation' for 'twisted purposes' may be finally catching up with him: journalist

07 April 2023

One of the many things about former President Donald Trump that his critics find troubling is his inflammatory attacks on the media, which he has repeatedly slammed as "the enemy of the people" and providers of "fake news." Trump's detractors see that as evidence of his authoritarian nature, stressing that a free press — whether it is conservative outlets like The National Review and The Bulwark or liberal/progressive publications such as Mother Jones, The Nation and Slate — is vital to democracy's wellbeing.

But for all of Trump's anti-media rhetoric, the ex-president also has a long history of getting journalists to publicize his activities. That "manipulation" of the media for "twisted purposes," journalist Margaret Sullivan argues in an op-ed published by The Guardian on April 7, could become his downfall in The State of New York v. Donald J. Trump.

On Tuesday, April 4, Trump was arraigned on 34 criminal counts in that case. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. has been investigating the Trump Organization's financial activities and alleged hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. Meanwhile, Trump is also facing two criminal investigations being conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and special counsel Jack Smith and one by Fulton County Georgia DA Fani Willis.

"As a reality TV star, as a would-be business mogul, as a political candidate and as president, Donald Trump always counted on the news media to do his bidding," Sullivan explains. "When he said 'jump,' he expected reporters to respond: 'How high?'…. Over decades, he got the attention he craved…. He called himself 'a ratings machine,' and for once, he wasn't lying. But now — and finally — that manipulation may have come back to bite him."

Sullivan continues, "The Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg's charges, detailed publicly on Tuesday, may never put Trump in jail, but after a grand jury indictment, they already have resulted in making him a criminal defendant. That's a shameful first for a former U.S. president, though Trump is wearing it like a badge of honor — and an opportunity to raise millions of dollars."

The journalist goes on to describe a practice known as "catch and kill," which has been used with tabloid publications like the National Enquirer and was — according to Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen — used to suppress allegations that Trump had extramarital affairs with Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. "Catch and kill" is when a publication obtains exclusive rights to a story but agrees to kill it.

"To kill the stories required the cooperation of AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, as well as that of Trump's fixer Michael Cohen in 2015," Sullivan notes. "David Pecker, the publisher, agreed to look out for negative stories and let Cohen know about them before publication. Cohen, as we know, did the dirty work and has paid a price."

Sullivan adds, "That's ugly. It’s not how the press is supposed to work. But it’s very much in keeping with Trump’s longtime failure to see journalism as anything but a way for him to garner the adoring attention that he yearns for…. After so long of watching Trump use the media for his own twisted purposes, the DA’s words — and the focus of his charges — give me a measure of hope that there finally will be a price to pay.”

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