'They basically have to let me win': Trump believes the media will help him get reelected
- President Donald Trump said he believes the media will help him get reelected.
- Trump also railed against The New York Times and suggested that without him, the newspaper "will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times."
President Donald Trump said he believes he will win a second term in the White House, thanks to the help of the media, according to an interview with a New York Times reporter at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
"We're going to win another four years for a lot of reasons, most importantly because our country is starting to do well again and we're being respected again," Trump told the newspaper: "But another reason that I'm going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I'm not there because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes."
Trump, as well as his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, received "overwhelmingly negative" news coverage during the 2016 presidential election, with Trump dominating headlines. Ultimately, he a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/trump-gets-way-more-tv-news-time-than-clinton-so-what/2016/09/21/719d1bac-7ea9-11e6-8d0c-fb6c00c90481_story.html?utm_term=.d66e0adef7a4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">garnered around twice as much attention from networks compared to Clinton.
Trump also projected a dim outlook for the future of The Times - as he has done repeatedly in the past. Despite being a constant target of the president's ire, the newspaper's digital business experienced 6% growth in total revenue in the third quarter of 2017.
"Without me, The New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times," Trump continued. "So they basically have to let me win."
"And eventually, probably six months before the election, they'll be loving me because they're saying, 'Please, please, don't lose Donald Trump.'"
Trump's appeal to network ratings has been widely documented, with many networks experiencing a boost from coverage of his candidacy prior to his inauguration.
"He's getting a lot of attention ... because he's Donald Trump, and you never know what he's going to say," David Bohrman, a television consultant and former CNN Washington bureau chief, said in 2015.
"It's not negligence to cover him," Bohrman said.