NEW YORK ' Trump TV' Trump News'Trumpbook'The working assumption lately among media and politics watchers is that if Donald Trump loses in November, hell follow his true passion: media stardom. Vanity Fairs Sarah Ellison reported in June that Trump was already discussing plans for amini-media conglomerate that would presumably leverage the supporters hes drawn to his presidential candidacy over the past year.On Wednesday,The New York Times added to the growing speculation about Trumps post-election agenda. Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, publisher of the New York Observer, have quietly explored becoming involved with a media holding, either by investing in one or by taking one over, the Times reported.Trump has always been a creature of the media, an incessant self-promoter whos seemed to relish both courting and criticizingthe press. For decades, he was perhaps the most accessible celebrity in New York City.He still cant stop himself as a presidential candidate, despite attacking the dishonest media constantly at rallies and on his Twitter feed. He routinely bashes The New York Times, yet talks to the paper regularly. He bannedThe Washington Post from his rallies over a perceived slight, but stillgaveits reporters 20 hours of interviews for an upcoming book. Hes scaled back his TV presence, but still makes time for Fox News.Throughout the campaign, Trump has bragged about hissocial media following, TV ratingsandubiquity on magazine covers, while complainingthat the networks are getting rich off his candidacy.Trumps mediaobsession was evident in a Juneinterviewwith The Hollywood Reporter: He appeared stumped by a question about Brexit, just weeks before the vote, yet offered opinions on specific executives at CNN, NBC, CBS, Fox News, Viacom and 21st Century Fox. (Now, of course, Trump is declaring that hell one day be known as Mr. Brexit.)Trumps inner circle is also filled with media figures. Kushner has been one of his closest advisers throughout the race, and hes now reportedlygettingdebate prep from Roger Ailes, the disgraced former Fox News chairman and veteran Republican operative. On Wednesday, Trumphired Steven Bannon, a former banker and executive chairman of the unflinchingly pro-Trump outlet Breitbart News, to run his campaign.function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments.callee;setTimeout(function(){t(e,i)},0)}}(document.getElementById('vidible_1'),onPlayerReadyVidible); It should be surprising that a Republican nominee would hire a fiery right-wing media executive with no campaign experience to lead his team through the final three months of a presidential election. And yet, to Breitbart critics and Breitbart staff alike, it all makes a weird sort of sense.I consider myself pretty perceptive, so I wont say I was shocked, Alex Marlow, editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, told The Huffington Post on Wednesday. But its definitely one of these things where you cant fully believe it until you see that headline.As someone who heard [Bannon] openly boast about his close proximity and relationship with the campaign ... its both surprising but, when you really think about it, not, Kurt Bardella, a former Breitbart News spokesman-turned-critic, told HuffPost.The hiring of Bannon has only added to a growing sense that Trumps endgame is more about drawing an audience to himself than bringing voters to the ballot box.There is no Trump campaign competing for president. Concert tour and alt right media organization fighting for mind share with major media. Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) August 17, 2016 The notion that a presidential candidate would be competing hardest in the waning months of an election for potential subscribers or viewers down the line is unprecedented in American politics. But Trumps recent actions have suggested to a number of journalists and political operatives that his greatest ambition might not be the White House.After I tweeted the Times nuggetabout Trump and Kushners media aspirations, the overwhelming response boiled down to: Of course.and now his campaign makes sense. https://t.co/MCjTngxZid Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) August 18, 2016 Since I first heard the theory floated a few months ago, this has seemed like Trump's most likely endgame: https://t.co/5WqUu91iJS Alexis C. Madrigal (@alexismadrigal) August 18, 2016 Congrats @Reince. You quadrennial shot at the White House was a loss leader for creating Trump News https://t.co/WppyQF563D Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 18, 2016 In primaries, GOP candidates run to get a Fox slot. If you're the nominee, I guess you go for a whole network' Sick. https://t.co/bhkx6KP2eP Jay Nordlinger (@jaynordlinger) August 18, 2016 You are being conned, Trumpites, Chapter 5692 https://t.co/FLBjghzFrS Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 18, 2016 Trump News Network. Something to look forward to. https://t.co/rSn1GXlBGv ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) August 18, 2016 Editors note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims1.6 billion members of an entire religionfrom entering the U.S. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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