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UP FRONTMonday 28 December 2015

Donald Trump: Relying on, trying to control free coverage

JILL COLVIN live commentary on cable a sprinkling of radio ads. In- co Rubio, combined. entrance, pulling up to the
Associated Press news reporters and ana- stead, Trump has logged a While other candidates open venue in his custom
NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) lysts, lashing out at news whopping 22 hours and 46 spend their time at small- Boeing 757 airplane as the
— Nobody understands outlets he feels have treat- minutes of free airtime from scale retail events interact- theme music from the mov-
the power of the media on ed him unfairly. May 1 to December 15 on ing one-on-one with voters, ie “Air Force One” blared
public perception quite like The approach is yet anoth- Fox News alone, according Trump’s campaign center- on loudspeakers. Enter-
Donald Trump. The former piece is the large-scale ral- tainment has included live
reality television star and Republican presidential candidate, businessman Donald Trump ly, where he is greeted like bands and DJs. Children
tabloid king, who has re- addresses supporters at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. a rock star by thousands are sometimes offered free
lied on free news coverage of adoring — and increas- helicopter rides.
and social media to power (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) ingly boisterous — fans. The spectacle has created
his presidential campaign, The events are often held a legion of Trump fans who
is uniquely obsessed with er aspect of Trump’s unorth- to a tally by Media Matters in arenas and convention attend one event after the
how the news media por- odox campaign. As other for America, a liberal non- centers, with crowd sizes next to hear the candidate
tray his events. candidates and their affili- profit group. That’s more that dwarf his rivals’ rallies speak.
Trump routinely orders news ated super Political Action than twice as much as any — a fact he is never shy to “This is better than a con-
camera operators to pan Committees have spent other candidate and more point out. cert in the ‘70s,” said Trump
the crowds at his rallies to millions of dollars on expen- than some of his closest ri- “Nobody gets audiences supporter Bill Kullander,
show how large the gather- sive television ads, Trump’s vals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, like I get,” Trump said at a ahead of a recent rally in
ings are — and then chas- campaign has reported former Florida Gov. Jeb rally in Michigan on Mon- Des Moines, Iowa — the
tises them, with disgust, spending just $300,000 on Bush and Florida Sen. Mar- day. “We broke the record. fourth the 62-year-old had
when they fail to obey. His And I don’t have a gui- attended so far this year.
team has experimented tar, no guitar. Elton John In Grand Rapids, Michigan,
with event setups, often said, ‘You get the biggest on Monday, staunch sup-
placing groups of support- crowds in the world for a porters mixed with curious
ers on risers behind the guy without a guitar.’” onlookers eager to see the
candidate so that cameras Despite Trump’s off-the- Trump show in action.
can’t miss the carefully cu- cuff, tangent-filled speech- “I just want to hear what
rated faces. es, the events are meticu- he has to say,” said Jim
He’s fumed over television lously staged. Reporters Rhodes of Belmont, Michi-
reporters doing live shots receive laminated press gan. “Am I going to vote for
from empty auditoriums credentials that include the him? Probably not. I like to
once his supporters have date and city. At one rally refer to this as the second
left. And on Twitter, Trump earlier this month, held in comedy show I’ve been to
is one of the most prolific a private airplane hangar, in my lifetime. The first one
media critics, offering his Trump staged a dramatic was Tim Allen. “q