Since reality TV star Donald Trump first announced he was running for president nearly four years ago up through the present day, the world has watched the longest, continuously running reality TV show. This has been an interesting and sometimes shocking show that has taken a dark turn in recent months. It begs the question: How’s it going to end?
Beginning in 1990 with his debut in the hit show In Living Color, Jim Carrey was a huge TV and movie star throughout the last decade of the 20th century. In 1998, he starred in the science-fiction film The Truman Show as the title character, Truman Burbank. Truman is a nice guy, a friendly man with a positive personality and a good career. He lives in an attractive home in the fictional town of Seahaven Island. He’s married to his beautiful wife, Meryl Burbank (played by actress Laura Linney). On the surface, Truman seems to be living the American Dream.
The Truman Show
While not exactly a dream, there is something unreal about Truman’s life. The film opens with Christof (played by Ed Harris) explaining in an interview that Truman Burbank is actually the star of a reality TV show that Christof created. Christof states that while Truman’s world is somewhat “counterfeit,” all of Truman’s actions and words are real life.
The scene switches to Truman giving himself a morning pep talk into his bathroom mirror. This screen is granular indicating that it’s being viewed on television. In the bottom right corner of the screen is the word,”LIVE.”
Truman’s wife, Meryl Burbank, is an actress named Hannah Gill. In her opening interview, Hannah explains that there’s no difference between private life and public life for her, and that the Truman Show is a “lifestyle” and her life.
Finally, Truman’s best friend Marlon is also an actor named Louis Coltrane. In his opening interview, he states that it’s “all true” and “all real.” Nothing is fake, it’s “merely controlled.”
But the worst part: Truman is the only one who does not know his life is a TV show. He’s like an unwitting dupe. Also unknown to him, there are 5,000 hidden cameras and microphones in Seahaven Island watching his every move and listening to everything he says and is said to him. His life is the Truman Show and it’s broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on TV around the world.
As the movie progresses, Truman becomes suspicious of his wife, Seahaven Island, and the nature of his life itself. He begins feeling watched by everyone and becomes distrustful of the the entire town.
Eventually, Truman decides to leave Seahaven Island altogether via a sailboat. The entire town is actually a huge TV set inside a dome with sophisticated lake (wave motion), daylight, and weather simulators. Truman sails across the lake until his bowsprit pierces the artificial sky of the set, which is actually the wall of the dome. His boat comes to a rough and abrupt stop. He’s surprised by the fake sky but his discovery quickly reinforces his suspicions about his dubious life in Seahaven Island.
Truman gets off the boat and walks along the edge of the lake which is actually the wall of a massive pool. He sees a staircase leading to an exit and goes up the stairs. Christof begins speaking directly to Truman through a speaker, urging him not to leave. Christof tries reasoning with Truman, telling him there is no more truth in the real world. Nevertheless, Truman exits the giant TV set to the outside world. The movie and, presumably, the Truman Show ends.
The Trump Presidency
Since Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015, the cable news networks’ TV ratings have risen significantly. [1] From the Republican debates, to the Hilary Clinton debates, his rallies, press conferences, the election itself, his inauguration, cabinet and judiciary appointments, his media stunts (like his much hyped meeting with Kim Jong-Un) through all of his subsequent scandals, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC have covered it on a daily and almost continuous basis.
Since he was sworn in on January 20, 2017, Trump’s presidency has been plagued with scandals and investigations, including the resignation of Michael Flynn on 2/13/2017, his shameful firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017, the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller on May 17, 2017, the March 2018 Stormy Daniels lawsuit and interview, Paul Manafort’s plea deal in September 2018, and Michael Cohen’s convictions and cooperation with the Special Counsel’s investigation in October 2018. While CNN and MSNBC cover these negative events in depth on a daily basis (The Rachel Maddow Show), Fox News tends to focus on Trump’s right-wing agenda and messaging.
Non-cable news networks relentlessly cover Trump’s presidency as well. Saturday Night Live pokes fun at him and his cabinet on a weekly basis while 60 Minutes has reaped huge ratings from interviews with Stormy Daniels and Trump himself.
In addition to all this broadcast media coverage, the print media and social media have not exhausted themselves from writing about the Trump Presidency. Obviously, this blog is no exception!
Trump has given authors plenty to write about.
hen there are the leaks. What’s surprising is the extensive scale of these revelations. From the embarrassing content of his phone calls with foreign leaders in his first weeks in office, to his extra-marital affairs with Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, to Rex Tillerson’s infamous quote regarding Trump’s lack of intelligence, to all the stories of the pervasive dysfunction within the White House and so on and so forth.
So much of what Trump says and does in private is known to the public. The scale of what is publicly known is unprecedented for an American President. No other president has had this much of his personal life on blast for media consumption and for public viewing. Trump’s campaign, presidency and indeed his personal life have been one continuous reality TV show, similar in many respects to the Truman Show.
This is a phenomena. But one thing is clear: the media conglomerates are benefiting from it. Over the last three years, 21st Century Fox’s stock is up 81 percent, Comcast (parent of NBCUniversal) is up 30 percent, and Time Warner (parent of CNN) was up 41 percent from January 2016 to June 2018 (when it was acquired by AT&T). [2]
Their coverage of Trump’s campaign was tantamount to free advertising in the billions of dollars and assisted him in winning the Republican nomination and, ultimately, the White House. He’s a media creation and sensation, and today, he’s their top product and possibly their most valuable asset.
Despite the political setbacks, scandals, and constant barrage of negative news, Trump pushes forward. While some would have resigned in order to obtain relief and closure, Trump does not. He’s different. He has no shame or embarrassment and I believe the media moguls know this very well. Trump will not quit because of his gargantuan pride, ego, and narcissism. The moguls know this. They know him.
On the flip side, Trump, the former reality TV star, knows the media feeds off him and he exploits that to his own advantage. In fact, Trump often comments about his ability to raise TV ratings.[3] They give him a huge stage and almost everything he says and does consumes nearly all of the news. This gives Donald the ability to distract the public continuously while his cabinet works to deregulate oil companies, banks, public lands, and so on and so forth.
The Differences
While Trump’s presidency is akin to a reality TV show like the Truman Show, there are differences. First, the Trump White House is both a reality TV show and reality at once. While the Truman Show was purely entertainment, Trump really is the president and his actions have real life consequences. Yes, his presidency is interesting and even entertaining at times (think of him serving cold Wendy’s hamburgers on silver platters to Clemson’s football team at the White House) but it’s real.
Second, the Truman Show’s audience, which are sometimes shown watching Truman on TV, knows it’s a show. On the contrary, the audience watching the Trump Presidency, which is essentially the whole world, is unaware that it’s actually a reality TV show too. Most people do not understand the symbiotic relationship that exists between Trump and the media.
Third, Truman is a nice guy, an innocent man who is actually a victim of media exploitation and manipulation. He’s harmless. Quite the contrast, Trump is not a nice guy. Trump is a demagogue who manipulates his base’s emotions and distracts the American people from meaningful discussion of national affairs. He’s far from harmless.
In recent months, Trumps’ policies have lead to the separation of undocumented, immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. — Mexico border. He’s also responsible for the longest federal government shutdown in American history. Currently, the shutdown is depriving about 800,000 workers of their paychecks and many Americans of important federal services. Real people are being hurt.
How’s It Going to End?
At one point in the film, Truman Burbank meets a background actress named Sylvia. She tries to warn him that his life is a reality TV show but before she can fully explain, she’s quickly taken away by another actor claiming to be her father.
Sylvia wears a button on her sweater that cryptically reads,”How’s It Going to End?” In the film, Truman Burbank learns the truth and freely leaves his fake world behind. It’s something of a happy ending. Unfortunately for Trump, his presidency will not have a happy ending.
Wealthy conservatives got their tax cuts a year ago. Big Republican donors and social conservatives got two Supreme Court appointments. And some special interests like oil, coal, and financial services have received their deregulation.
On the other hand, the business community cannot be happy about the tariffs and the recent turmoil they’ve caused in the financial markets. Now, the shutdown is adding even more uncertainty and slowing economic growth. At this point, many large Republican donors may start viewing Trump as more of a liability than an asset. He may become like a commodity that’s no longer useful.
Once the Mueller Report comes out, it will probably damage Trump beyond repair. His approval ratings will totally sink. Nancy Pelosi will move on impeachment. The Democrats will probably be joined by about two dozen Republicans in the House of Representatives. In the U.S. Senate, 47 Democrats will be joined by 19 Republicans or more and they will vote to remove Trump from office. Mike Pence will become president. Trump will be indicted for his crimes but Pence will pardon him. Most Americans will be glad to get rid of Trump but his fanatical base of supporters will be very angry. This scenario was described in a recent article by Robert Reich. [4]
The ignominious fall of Donald Trump will be epic and will provide even more material and even higher ratings for the cable networks. If Trump is found to have committed treason by conspiring against American interests with Russia, it will be the biggest political scandal in American History. The name Benedict Arnold will be replaced by Donald Trump. His fall will provide massive amounts of material for reporters, talking heads, authors, and bloggers for decades to come. In some ways, coverage of Trump is a small industry itself. It’s the American free enterprise system in action.
Here’s the dramatic ending to the Truman Show.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2018/04/18/the-ratings-bump-of-donald-trump/#19eaba0f7ec1
[2] https://www.investing.com/equities/time-warner-historical-data