Why is Donald Trump attacking the media?
The American president revealed on Twitter a recent meeting with A. G. Sulzberger, boss of the "New York Times", to "speak about the vast quantities of fake news which are published by the media". The American president is targeting in particular the mainstream media critical of him, described as "enemies of the people".
Analysis by Thomas Snégaroff, historian and teacher at Sciences-Po.
"He rides on the rejection of the elites to which the mainstream media belong"
Donald Trump is riding on the rejection by some Americans of all the constituted elites of which the mainstream media are part. These Americans believe that the media, for reasons not entirely fair, do not fully deliver the information or that they do so in a biased manner. The president is part of a hostile media trend that has been gaining momentum since the early 2000s in the United States, with the emergence of the internet and social media. Criticizing the media, for him, is therefore taking advantage of a grassroots movement in American society and the electorate.
Another factor, like most of his predecessors, Donald Trump needs an enemy to present himself as the defender of American democracy. However, and this seems paradoxical insofar as the independent media are supposed to be part of democracy, Donald Trump has succeeded in conveying the idea that the media are today "the enemies of the people", an obstacle to democracy. . Donald Trump presents himself as the defender of American democracy against the media.
Finally, Donald Trump refuses any criticism or questioning of his policy. The media, like all naysayers who offer a different narrative, are stumbling blocks for anyone who wants to present himself as the greatest president in US history. The American president is looking for a head-on fight with the media, a fight he thinks will emerge victorious. According to a recent poll, 88% of its supporters trust it to provide them with the most reliable information, compared to only 8% of mainstream media. Donald Trump captured a deep feeling and he managed to make a political argument out of it.
The idea of mastering information is as old as propaganda. The competition between the narrative of power and that of the media has always existed. The novelty is that supporters of Donald Trump are taking up his side against that of the media, perceived not only as incompetent or fallible, but as liars, driven by political interests or ulterior motives.
The mainstream American media, such as the New York Times and the Washington Post, have understood that Donald Trump is setting a trap for them if they play a purely ideological game by becoming partisan media. CNN is succumbing to it by becoming an opposition media and therefore inaudible. Others try to be as rigorous as possible in their investigations and in the analysis of the facts, avoiding falling into Donald Trump's provocations so as not to fuel the cultural war on which he feeds. The ethical standards of the media remain high in the face of a president who tries to drag them down.
