Surprised no reaction from BYD owners on this forum

[webfact]

Dominating TV, Donald Trump a ratings draw
By DAVID BAUDER

NEW YORK (AP) — Opinion polls are one thing, but Nielsen numbers speak more loudly to television executives: Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's ability to pull in viewers makes him catnip for news programs and wins a level of coverage that feeds on itself.

NBC's "Meet the Press" had its biggest audience in more than a year for its Trump interview on Aug. 16, leading that show's biggest competitors — ABC's "This Week" and CBS' "Face the Nation" — to feature phone interviews with the New York businessman this past Sunday.

After CNN turned Jake Tapper's interview with Trump into a prime-time special last week and earned its best ratings at that hour in a month, the network repeated it two nights later. Two Trump interviews on Sean Hannity's Fox News Channel show this month both brought in around 2.2 million viewers, well above his typical audience.

Trump is generally considered the biggest reason why Fox reached a startling 24 million people for the first GOP presidential debate earlier this month — the most watched program in Fox News history. That instantly made him a big "get" for TV producers, and the media savvy ex-reality show host has eagerly played along.

Keenly aware of his drawing power, Trump suggested in a Time magazine interview that he could ask CNN to pay $10 million to charity for his participation in the next GOP debate.

"He's getting a lot of attention that he should get because he's doing so well in the polls and he's getting a lot of attention because he's Donald Trump, and you never know what he's going to say," said David Bohrman, a television consultant and former CNN Washington bureau chief.

"It's not negligence to cover him," he said.

Aware of that drawing power, cable news outlets cover Trump events with an intensity the other 16 Republican candidates can only envy. A town hall meeting in New Hampshire last week drew live coverage. CNN and Fox News both cast aside regular programming Friday to pick up Trump speaking at a rally in Alabama.

Trump's unpredictability is a bonus. His critical comments about Fox's Megyn Kelly for her debate questions, made during an interview with CNN's Don Lemon on what would normally be a sleepy August Friday night, put that show in headlines for the entire weekend.

Viewership during the seven call-in interviews that Trump has given to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" since June 18 rose 22 percent from what the talk show averaged 10 minutes prior to his call, the Nielsen company said. On July 24, the size of the audience jumped 47 percent in only a few minutes when Trump spoke.

Danny Shea, editorial director of The Huffington Post, compared the attention news networks are giving to Trump to CNN's non-stop coverage of the missing Malaysian airliner last year. He was on "Morning Joe" last week to defend HuffPo's declaration that it would only cover Trump's candidacy in its entertainment section, a decision that grows harder to defend with each new poll.

"There's an open secret that (Trump's campaign) is a joke and a spectacle," Shea said, "and by going wall-to-wall on it you're just legitimizing it."

Morning Joe co-host, Joe Scarborough, rejected the argument that Trump had more ratings than news value. During off-the-air meetings, "nobody ever says, 'OK, Donald Trump is great for ratings.' What we say is, 'what the hell is going on? Can you believe this? What is happening?' He is a very real story, and the longer he stays in front, the more of a story he's going to be."

In past campaigns, the media's "invisible primary" gave bursts of early attention to candidates before voters settled things, to which Gary Hart, Howard Dean, John McCain, Jimmy Carter can attest. None matched Trump for attention, said Thomas Patterson, acting director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Only two months ago the GOP had a shapeless field of candidates, and now the non-Trumps are so starved for attention that some will struggle to survive until voting begins. Bohrman said Trump is getting a level of attention he normally doesn't see until spring of an election year, when nominations are all but decided.

"It's kind of a 'no time for losers' policy in the newsroom," Patterson said.

Trump frequently mixes it up with the media, often through Twitter. Sometimes he's playful, like suggesting that "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski be paid more than Scarborough. Often he's quite serious, and his reaction to Fox's Kelly struck some who heard it as offensive.

At the Alabama rally, Trump asked the audience what they thought of cable networks. Fox got cheers and MSNBC boos, making the latter network's decision not to televise the speech live fortunate.

At this point, it's hard to tell how much attention Trump is receiving because he's a frontrunner, and how much is because producers know he'll provide a reliable ratings bump.

"At the end, does it really matter if both are valid reasons for covering him?" Bohrman said. "There's not a lot of other compelling stuff on television now. It's the reality show of the season."


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-08-25

[ezzra]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Edited August 24, 2015 by ezzra

[AlexRRR]

Yes lets hope so, we don't need a show man running the biggest economy and war machine around, and lets hope that other Bush gets buried in the process as well....dont need a 3rd generation Bush banging war drums.

[Pimay1]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

I have bookmarked this page for future reference.

[Saharat]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Respectfully, I believe you to be wrong. Americans are becoming, ever increasingly, or even terminally, fed up with tow-the-line politicians.; as evident by the outcome of all, somewhat, trustworthy polls. Also, America is, once again, heavily trending towards more of a Libertarian type ideology. Many stood helplessly while Ron Paul was massacred in the previous election, with paid help from the MSM, by both parties. Those same forces, the establishment, are again hitting with heavy hands, but aiming for Trump. I don't think he will fade. I like the possibility of a businessman heading the office, as long as he/she doesn't start to show the same greedy characteristics of a man like ...... Thaksin Shinawatra.....

[khwaibah]

[Praematura]

Trump is appealing to the masses who typically are uneducated so they don't care about policy. But he's also appealing to people who are sick of politicians being bought as he has his own money. Let's face it we are all sick of politicians regardless of where we are from. That being said without policy planks the masses will be the only ones supporting him and the masses generally don't vote in high numbers.

[MaxYakov]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

The last I heard about Trump's wardrobe was when he was in a temporary financial bind years ago and his creditors (or financial advisers) wanted him to cut back on his $3,000 business suits.

What do you bet that he didn't follow the advice?

Like it or not, I'd bet that he will continue to be well-attired as President.

[MobileContent]

Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. I really don't give a damn if Donald Duck becomes President.

[geriatrickid]

Trump will be a kingmaker. It will be an entertaining primary and I will be delighted to see Trump get rid of Graham, Santorum, Rubio, Paul, Cruz and Perry.

[blazes]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Respectfully, I believe you to be wrong. Americans are becoming, ever increasingly, or even terminally, fed up with tow-the-line politicians.; as evident by the outcome of all, somewhat, trustworthy polls. Also, America is, once again, heavily trending towards more of a Libertarian type ideology. Many stood helplessly while Ron Paul was massacred in the previous election, with paid help from the MSM, by both parties. Those same forces, the establishment, are again hitting with heavy hands, but aiming for Trump. I don't think he will fade. I like the possibility of a businessman heading the office, as long as he/she doesn't start to show the same greedy characteristics of a man like ...... Thaksin Shinawatra.....

He already is (showing etc).....or rather, has done all his godforsaken life.

Why single out TS, btw? There are, literally, thousands of rich bastards around the world who have become rich by exploiting others as ruthlessly as this idiot Trump has done.....

[NeverSure]

[Seastallion]

It's all about the TV ratings!

It does not auger well for America or the world.

[Usernames]

8b7d54be-e2d8-4098-a641-355391771196.jpg

Oops, you forgot to include the photo of Neil Kinnock, er, uh, I mean, Joe Biden.

[Seastallion]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Respectfully, I believe you to be wrong. Americans are becoming, ever increasingly, or even terminally, fed up with tow-the-line politicians.; as evident by the outcome of all, somewhat, trustworthy polls. Also, America is, once again, heavily trending towards more of a Libertarian type ideology. Many stood helplessly while Ron Paul was massacred in the previous election, with paid help from the MSM, by both parties. Those same forces, the establishment, are again hitting with heavy hands, but aiming for Trump. I don't think he will fade. I like the possibility of a businessman heading the office, as long as he/she doesn't start to show the same greedy characteristics of a man like ...... Thaksin Shinawatra.....

The difference being that Ron Paul is a true statesman and visionary. Trump is just trailer trash dressed in a $3000 suit.

[Bakseeda]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Lets hope not, he gets my vote all the way..... Donald where's your troosers...!

[Steely Dan]

Trump is appealing to the masses who typically are uneducated so they don't care about policy. But he's also appealing to people who are sick of politicians being bought as he has his own money. Let's face it we are all sick of politicians regardless of where we are from. That being said without policy planks the masses will be the only ones supporting him and the masses generally don't vote in high numbers.

Yes Trump is the protest vote against dishonest politicians bought by behind the scenes donors. Like him or loathe him I suspect he actually believes in policies he announces.

[DiamondKing]

Donald is the Man and is EXACTLY what the USA needs he is a Multi Billionaire self made which means he knows business and a country is a business,he speaks thetruth is blunt and straight forward,

WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR for America

I hope he makes it all the way

[up-country_sinclair]

When will the Trump fanboys grow up? Hopefully before it's too late.

There is no substance to any of the positions he's taken.

As far as I am concerned a person is not a "self made billionaire" if they inherit a reported $200 million.

Trump is an aggressive cancer metastisizing within the GOP.

[Thakkar]

When will the Trump fanboys grow up? Hopefully before it's too late.

There is no substance to any of the positions he's taken.

As far as I am concerned a person is not a "self made billionaire" if they inherit a reported $200 million.

Trump is an aggressive cancer metastisizing within the GOP.

Shaddup! Trump is a master negotiator. It was a very savvy business deal he did when he inherited a big bag of money from his daddy. He did it all by his self, and he did it with so much class, it would make your head spin.

T

[uksomchai]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Respectfully, I believe you to be wrong. Americans are becoming, ever increasingly, or even terminally, fed up with tow-the-line politicians.; as evident by the outcome of all, somewhat, trustworthy polls. Also, America is, once again, heavily trending towards more of a Libertarian type ideology. Many stood helplessly while Ron Paul was massacred in the previous election, with paid help from the MSM, by both parties. Those same forces, the establishment, are again hitting with heavy hands, but aiming for Trump. I don't think he will fade. I like the possibility of a businessman heading the office, as long as he/she doesn't start to show the same greedy characteristics of a man like ...... Thaksin Shinawatra.....

The difference being that Ron Paul is a true statesman and visionary. Trump is just trailer trash dressed in a $3000 suit.

I'm sorry but " trailer trash " as you call Trump don't make the type of money this man has made. savvy, well versed in negotiating hard nosed businessmen do though.

What has the typical American politicians worried to death is that trump has been buying these guys to get what he wanted for decades and they know that he knows how things work even if the stupid public doesn't quite grasp it.

A politician will promise something and then the money men lobbyists will drop a big fat cheque into their laps and the deal vanishes and so does the promise. This is a politician that can't be bought by the usual suspects and that gets them worried. very worried indeed

Him becoming President makes him the CEO of the USA which to me means he will put the interests of the USA first unlike the rest of the mealy mouthed politicians

[flamesfan]

When will the Trump fanboys grow up? Hopefully before it's too late.

There is no substance to any of the positions he's taken.

As far as I am concerned a person is not a "self made billionaire" if they inherit a reported $200 million.

Trump is an aggressive cancer metastisizing within the GOP.

Shaddup! Trump is a master negotiator. It was a very savvy business deal he did when he inherited a big bag of money from his daddy. He did it all by his self, and he did it with so much class, it would make your head spin.

T

Yeah, only filed for bankruptcy 3 times!! Great business man who has stiffed many other businessmen out of a shit load of money! What an idiot!!

[Pimay1]

Trump is a oddity in the political arena, the proverbial bull in the china shop if you like, sending all

pundits to review what they know about political and presidential hopefuls in the race for the much

coveted office, Trump will not last, once the curiosity wears off, the king with no cloths will be revealed

for all to see and he will fade away into the place which he came from with a big grin on his face,,,

Oops.