How the media covered Trump’s first year in office
DONALD Trump’s first year in office has prompted newspapers and magazines around the world to publish some of their most powerful covers ever. Here are the best of the best.
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THE saying goes that Donald Trump’s first year as US President has been a victory for two main groups — comedians and journalists.
Mr Trump himself has commented on the “huge ratings” that US broadcasters have enjoyed since he became president.
The LA Times reports that Fox News finished 2017 as the most-watched cable network, up eight per cent, with an average of 1.5 million viewers.
MSNBC finished third among its cable competitors with 890,000 viewers, up 48 per cent to reach a new high, while CNN finished sixth with 783,000, up 4 per cent.
Most networks experience a ratings dip after a full year of election campaign coverage but the appetite of viewers has been even more insatiable.
Similarly, newspapers and magazines have seen an upswing in circulation driven by a desire to keep on top of the latest Trump moves.
The year has also produced some clever and colourful front pages.
TRUMP ELECTED
Donald Trump becoming US president was once such a preposterous suggestion that The Simpsons spoofed the whole idea back in 2000.
TURNBULL COPS A SERVE
Australian newspapers had a field day when news emerged that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had been on the receiving end of a terse Donald Trump phone call in early February. Mr Trump decried the refugee swap they were discussing as a “dumb deal” and the discussion itself as “the worst call by far” of his day.
TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE
The Economist took a look at the seemingly cosy relationship between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2017, long before Robert Mueller’s Russia probe was announced, asking ‘Can it end well?’
SWINGING AND MISSING
The Economist pictured Donald Trump’s presidency deep in a sand trap back in April 2017 just three months after his inauguration. Mr Trump was already being criticised for playing too much golf while his administration was attacked for failing to do much in its first 100 days in office.
TRUMP’S SYRIA INTERVENTION
Mr Trump’s decision to bomb a Syrian airfield in April after reports that the country’s dictator Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against his own people was interpreted as a sign that the US would continue to take an interventionist approach to world affairs.
TRUMP NOT ABOVE THE LAW
In his first 100 days, Mr Trump signed 30 executive orders — more than any other president in history. However, he encountered obstacles from the courts, including with his travel ban which initially tried to block immigrants from mostly Muslim countries. Mother Jones memorably captured the fraught relationship between Mr Trump and Lady Justice.
TRUMP CALLED A LAZY BOY
By the six-month point of his presidency, many felt that Mr Trump was still yet to achieve much and Newsweek ran a controversial headline calling him ‘Lazy Boy’. It pointed out that while he had spent 40 days at golf clubs he had yet to pass any major legislation.
TRUMP GETS BOOST FROM TAX TALK
Undoubtedly the biggest achievement from Mr Trump’s first year is his tax reform, which has sent the share market to record highs on most days.
Trump proposes biggest tax cut in history:
— Õᗩᑎᗪᖇᗩ Ù† (@SandraTXAS) April 30, 2017
Taxes Chainsaw Massacre#First100Days #Harrisburg #TrumpRally#MAGA#WHCD â—€ï¸prez not there 😂 pic.twitter.com/km8fv9soU8
TRUMP AND CHARLOTTESVILLE
After a man allegedly ran down a group in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting against a white supremacist rally, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others, Mr Trump was accused of fanning the flames. He refused to use the term “white supremacists” and said there was “some very fine people” on both sides of the protest. The New Yorker and The Economist captured how his comments emboldened the Ku Klux Klan.
TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE STARTS TO RESEMBLE SURVIVOR
With a number of key departures, including White House press secretary Sean Spicer, chief of staff Reince Priebus and communications director Anthony Scaramucci (after just 10 days), and Steve Bannon, the New York Post mused about who would manage to outwit, outplay and outlast the rest of the Trump administration.
Another one bites the dust... #Bannon https://t.co/RCw5G7ZDec pic.twitter.com/zDKrP4P56k
— New York Post (@nypost) August 18, 2017
KUSHNER, DONALD JR’s RUSSIA MEETING CAUSES STRIFE
After firing FBI director James Comey, Mr Trump started feeling the heat when news emerged that his son Donald Jr and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Russian operatives during the election campaign who claimed to have dirt on his presidential rival Hillary Clinton.
Mr Trump maintains he never colluded with the Russians to win the election.
TRUMP BACKS ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTER
The New York Post and Daily News both had similar takes on Donald Trump’s support for accused child molester Roy Moore’s bid to replace Jeff Sessions in Alabama. Despite numerous, credible accounts from women, alleging sexual misconduct against them by Mr Moore, some while they were underage, Mr Trump continued to back him. The seat fell to the Democrats for the first time since 1986.
WOLFF BOOK DEPICITS TRUMP AS MENTALLY UNFIT
The Week captured much of the content from the 336 pages of Michael Wolff’s book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House in one clever illustration. It shows his Chief of Staff General John Kelly babysitting Mr Trump as he has a Twitter tantrum. Mr Trump is seen watching Fox News from a play pen which includes his very own Kim Jong-un doll.
TRUMP WRITES OFF STEVE BANNON
The Daily News uses the term “cuck”, often adopted by the so-called alt-right to describe a man with no self-respect, to illustrate the fall out between Donald Trump and his former highly-trusted chief strategist following Steve Bannon’s comments in Michael Wolff’s book.
TRUMP STEPS IN IT
After reports surfaced that Mr Trump used the phrase “s**thole countries” when referred to immigrants from Haiti and African nations, the Daily News refused to pull any punches with its front page calling the president “s**t for brains”.
.@realDonaldTrump takes a dump on the American dream
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) January 12, 2018
An early look at Friday's front: https://t.co/1Wj57JecKC pic.twitter.com/MmOW4VUIMx
TRUMP DEPICTED AS ONE YEAR OLD AFTER FIRST YEAR
The Economist reflected on Mr Trump’s first year in office showing him as a one year old baby. By the time this cover was printed, Michael Wolff’s book had reported that many in the White House felt like they had to babysit Mr Trump during 2017.
TRUMP SPENDS YEAR PUTTING OUT FIRES
Time magazine has depicted Mr Trump on its cover numerous times during the year. First he was suffering from a ‘meltdown’, then a ‘total meltdown’ and in its year end issue, he was shown with his hair on fire. Artist Edel Rodriguez said his cover was meant to show how “you wake up every day and try to figure out where’s the next fire”.
Time magazine’s continuing series of Trump covers, from “Meltdown†to “Total Meltdown†to this week’s “Year One.†pic.twitter.com/6zBJlohRj3
— Dylan Stableford (@stableford) January 11, 2018
Originally published as How the media covered Trump’s first year in office
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