"Before authorities had confirmed having a suspect in custody, Trump had immediately folded the gruesome tragedy into a familiarly solipsistic narrative about himself. The violent deaths of a filmmaker and his wife were stripped of gravity and recast as proof of Trump's favorite claim: that opposition to him is not disagreement, but pathology. The victims vanished almost instantly. Trump took their place."
"He has learned that speed beats accuracy, provocation beats restraint, and domination beats decorum. In an attention economy driven by algorithms and outrage, the fastest way to own a story is to refuse the norms that once governed public life. Verification slows you down. Silence costs you relevance. Trump has adjusted accordingly. That adjustment matters because presidents are expected to do more than argue policy."
Trump immediately recasts tragic deaths as confirmation that opposition is pathological, erasing victims and centering himself. He prioritizes speed over verification and provocation over restraint to dominate narratives. In an algorithm-driven attention economy, rapid sensational claims outcompete careful reporting, rewarding impulsive responses. Presidents traditionally signal limits and recognize moments requiring dignity and restraint; Trump refuses that function because silence sacrifices attention. That refusal turns moments of mourning into political theater and normalizes exploiting grief for personal advantage. The pattern reflects a strategic adjustment to media incentives rather than mere personal vice.
Read at www.mediaite.com
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