(Hill) – “President! You’ve spoken about some of the violence that’s happening at dealers,” a reporter cried to President Trump as Tesla, standing next to Elon Musk, parked near the White House lawn earlier this month. “Some people say they should be labeled domestic terrorists.”
“I’ll do that,” Trump inserted. “They’re damaging to a great American company, so if we catch someone doing it, we’re going to stop it.”
A few days later, Trump’s FBI launched a task force dedicated to investigating and referring to suspected prosecutors in a series of cases protesting Musk at Tesla dealers across the country.
This was one of several cases in the first three months of Trump’s second term, when a cry or proposal from media members took action directly from the president.
This is a trend that several Washington Press Corpse reporters and national political insiders said this week that Hill has emphasized Trump’s focus on reporting. It also highlights how Trump will lead to new efforts and new news cycles to take action to generate additional headlines.
“We’re able to get reporters to mention something straight to him on camera and then start the entire news cycle,” said a White House correspondent. “It’s unclear whether Trump actually doesn’t know some of this in advance or whether he’s publicly ignoring his ignorance for tactical reasons.”
News addict Trump regularly shares feedback on cable news segments and homepage stories in official statements, social media posts and camera conversations with top aides.
In recent weeks, the president has developed the habit of reporters asking which outlets work before deciding whether to accept the question. If reporters work at outlets where Trump appears to have been wronged, be prepared to be ignored or insulted.
But increasingly, questions from a more friendly outlet called out in the direction of Trump aren’t just catching the president’s eye. They made him act.
“The astronauts who helped you save from space didn’t get overtime benefits,” Fox News correspondent Peter Doucy told the president during the Oval Office Gagle last week. “Is there anything the administration can do to make them perfect?”
Trump, who seemed amused by Doucy, responded with a smirk, saying, “No one ever mentioned this to me!”
“If I have to, I’ll pay it from my pocket, okay?” he told Doucy. “I get it for them… I like it. I’ll get it.”
As of Friday afternoon it was unclear whether Trump had done well with his promise to pay the astronauts. The White House did not immediately respond to the hill investigation seeking confirmation.
The Trump administration also elicited Secret Service protections for Hunter Biden, the former president’s son, after being asked earlier this month if former government officials and their families needed such security privileges.
“What he sees on TV and what he’s asked by the media definitely affects how he reacts to things and how he makes decisions,” said Peter Roge, a political scientist at George Washington University. “He has defined himself for decades with his television and popular persona. He first thinks in media terms, like a television producer who translates television into policy.”
Media hopes to leverage “Trump’s uplift” in reviews and audiences to devote more resources and airtime to the new administration.
Some of the faces of “new media” on the White House grounds have created a regular habit of asking boxing and partisan questions right away to get answers from Trump.
Many of these reporters believe they are creating their own sound bites or video clips to ask the commander questions and elicit answers or promises to their actions, according to journalists at more mainstream outlets.
“It appears they’re testing the limits of what he reacts,” a national Republican strategist told Hill. “And on Trump’s side he uses answers to shouting questions. He uses answers to shouting questions, as some of these decisions could land in terms of public response.”
Other observers suggested that Westwing staff would at least plant or at least suggest that they would plant members of Pools Pool, trying to have problems before Trump’s mind.
In an interview earlier this year, Doucy said background conversations with Biden’s White House staff were essential to his reporting.
The White House declined to comment.
“When you ask politely with a smile on your face, I’m always trying to get a response from him,” another White House correspondent told Hill. “Given the access drama unfolding in all of this, it seems like a lot of reporters are taking that approach.”
The White House is trapped in a legal battle with the Associated Press over its decision to ban wire services from Key West Wing Space via the “American Bay” Stylebook policy.
Getting Trump’s attention is a whimsical game, and anyone who has worked around the president can say, and sometimes the best way to listen to him is to go through the mouth of a reporter.
“He tends to respond quickly to things that touch his brand and legacy, especially now that he’s in his second term,” the Republican strategist said. “Especially when framing is somewhat important or questioning his authority or popularity. They tend to rise to the top of his radar.”
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