Donald Trump being a gift to American democracy is the idea put forward by a video from YouTuber Evan Puschak, a.k.a. Nerdwriter1. It’s an interesting argument that how the rise happened of the most-talked about candidate and GOP frontrunner in the race has a benefit to democracy as a whole.
A couple interesting quotes – though I highly encourage you to watch the whole video above.
“We know why the news works like this … In America, indeed in the global economy, everything always has to grow. The news, especially cable news, has a vague interest in keeping its dependence on capitalist incentives under wraps. Even though everyone knows that ratings to a large part determine the news, news organizations have to tout their journalistic integrity even if it’s only a formality. And this might just be the gift that Donald Trump is giving to all of us.”
and..
“..the Trump phenomenon strips away the false righteousness of the news media. When Trump does something outrageous, CNN doesn’t cover it by choice, but because they are forced to do so. The Trump phenomenon strips away the false righteousness of politicians, too. Trump has co-opted political language and employed it to such a ridiculous and shameless degree that its emptiness is laid totally bare. And lastly, Trump strips away the righteousness of us, the American public. The second GOP debate was the highest rated program in the history of CNN.”
The entertainment factor applies to why Trump gets tons of coverage – 23 times as much as Bernie Sanders. Think back to the Michigan primary – and even though Sanders won here, the media couldn’t keep anything going except all Trump all the time. It’s like Trump running for office has given every network a contract with a hot new reality show.
To close, here’s a quote Les Moonves, head honcho of CBS, made after the video above was created.
“Man, who would have expected the ride we’re all having right now? … The money’s rolling in and this is fun … I’ve never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It’s a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.”