There is a new survey that shows CNN has plummeted in perception compared to its cable competitors, Fox News and MSNBC. Is this downward trend because of Trump's labeling CNN as fake news? He recently altered that to 'very fake news.' Trump seems to have a gift for pinning his opponents - and he has openly called the media in general and CNN in particular opponents - with harmful branding. It struck me as childish during the primaries when he would use these demeaning nicknames for his rivals: Little Marco, Lyin' Ted, Low Energy Jeb, Crazy Bernie, Crooked Hillary. It's like schoolyard name calling but the results speak for themselves. Trump is playing a perception game and through these gimmicky nicknames, he creates a perception. 'Very fake news' looks to be a sad excuse for branding and yet it appears to have worked.
A good brand will get confirmed, even if it doesn't apply well. If Trump could point to just a couple of instances - even if they were aberrations from the norm - that confirmed his branding, it will stick like glue. Of course, Trump isn't the only one who knows how to brand. There is a reason so many think he is a fascist, because Democrats are old pros at branding Republicans. However, I would have to say Trump is better. Democrats always use the same batch of brands (e.g. racist, fascist, homophobe, sexist, Nazi) while Trump is comparatively subtle and clever (e.g. Low Energy Jeb).
With Trump as the current owner of Teddy Roosevelt's bully pulpit, one must be cautious in drawing the ire of one so skilled at branding and shameless in doing so. For the moment, it is fun to see the over-inflated egos of the Washington elites popped but where might it lead after that?
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