How television shaped a president and divided a nation
The author delves into Donald Trump's media mastery and its impact on American politics.
Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America
By James Poniewozik
“Television made Donald J. Trump the man palatable as Donald J. Trump the president.”
That’s the line that ran through my head after finishing Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America. The wide-ranging, detailed book explores how Donald Trump's rise to political power is deeply connected to his television persona and the evolution of media. In fact, he argues that the medium’s demand for drama and spectacle helped to shape Trump's public image and, later, his political strategy.
What I’d never thought of: Television has had a large role in creating a fragmented American culture that left echo chambers and polarization in its wake. Additionally, Trump's media savvy, writes the author, which was honed early in his career, allowed him to stay relevant, kept him in the spotlight, and made it possible for him to continually influence public discourse.
A few points I found interesting
Reading Audience of One reminded me of two things I’ve heard a lot over the last eight years:
“I didn’t know a lot about Trump until he ran for office and I went back and watched The Apprentice. I said to myself, ‘That’s who we need to run our country right now.’”
And…
“I watched Trump on The Apprentice but never saw him running for president. Then I thought ‘Maybe he’s just what we need in this country—someone who’ll say to China, ‘You’re fired.’”
Those four sentences are parts of actual conversations I’ve had dozens of times since 2016. In both, I can now look back and see the roots of the tree that was planted by television before being watered and fertilized by social media.
Poniewozik wrote expertly of the interplay between Trump, media, and politics:
Television: The Apprentice, he wrote, helped Trump hone his skills in creating suspense and delivering catchphrases that captivated audiences. (The section on Trump’s goal of keeping the red light on is, pardon the pun, illuminating.)
“Donald Trump had one friend who stuck by him his entire campaign, one partner who never left his service. When he spoke, he spoke to one audience. He spoke to the red light. The red light on top of the TV camera said that the machine is on.”
Culture: The media has a long history of fostering polarization, he writes, while singling out cable news networks like Fox News, which tailor content to reinforce viewers' preexisting beliefs and further divide the audience.
Trump’s understanding of the media: His days of manufacturing narratives and manipulating the NY media to tell the story he wanted told about his so-called empire was ready-made for becoming a central element of his political strategy. Trump, writes the author, has always long understood TV’s need for constant content, and he’s made a pastime of keeping the cameras trained on him.
What I enjoyed most
I went over and over the parts of the book related to the role of social media, specifically Twitter, played for Trump, as it allowed him to bypass the myriad gatekeepers in traditional media and communicate directly with his throngs of fans online.
Trump's use of social media allowed him to craft and disseminate his messages without filter, amplifying his voice and shaping public discourse in unprecedented ways.
Poniewozik discusses Trump's use of Twitter as a direct channel to bypass traditional media, ensuring he remains a constant presence in news cycles.
“Past American leaders used the media to forge a bond with their audience … Social media added another element essential to someone who wanted to create a sense of blood bond with his following, to convince them they were all part of one mighty body, of which he was the head. It allowed political followers to believe that they were doing more than watching and listening to their leaders, but that they themselves—by tweeting and retweeting and adding their digit to someone’s follower count—had helped to create that leader, that they were invested in his project. That an offense to him was an offense to them, and that his victories were their vindication.”
Who should read the book?
Even if you’re not like me in enjoying books that detail the rise of former Pres. Trump, specifically regarding the circumstances that made his presidency possible, you’ll still enjoy Audience of One for its exploration of how the former president’s mastery of television and social media, coupled with his celebrity status, fundamentally altered the dynamics of American politics, contributed to the fracturing of public discourse and the further polarization of society.