On January 20, Donald Trump will leave Mar-a-Lago to settle down (again) in Washington. What are the different lessons from last November’s presidential election? How do the mainstream media understand this return to power? What place will be left to journalists and influencers?
Laurence Haïm, journalist specializing in the United States, Amy Green, American political scientist and Julien Bisson, editorial director of the newspaper The 1 Weeklytried to answer these different questions during the Médias en Seine festival which was held at the Maison de la Radio on January 14.
A thoughtful communications strategy
According to Amy Green, while the American billionaire has “established a new way of doing politics in the United States almost a decade ago”the latter has surpassed itself in 2024: “Already in 2016, he made very outrageous remarks towards his opponent Hillary Clinton in particular – whom he described as ‘corrupt’ – and women in general. And in 2024, Trump went even further with Kamala Harris. This aggressive, even violent, statement which is very popular with his voters represents a form of trajectory completion.she explains.
And this communication strategy aimed at showing that Donald Trump is breaking the codes of traditional politics by displaying a certain proximity to citizens is, according to Amy Green, extremely thoughtful. “For this, the president-elect did not hesitate to move away from substantive debates to concentrate on form”assures the American political scientist.
Growing hostility towards the media
The relationship between Joe Biden’s predecessor and successor and the media also continues to generate a lot of ink. According to Laurence Haïm, the latter could however have started under the best auspices. “At the beginning, Donald Trump loved mainstream media like the Washington Post or the New York Times and absolutely wanted to be appreciated by them. But at that moment, love did not take hold because the written press journalists did not consider him as a serious candidate but rather as a clown.she remembers.
Like his famous altercations with CNN journalist Jim Acosta, the 45e President of the United States decided to take revenge on the media during his first term, without cutting ties with them. “But since January 6, 2021 and the assault on the Capitol, there has been a complete break between power and the media”says the journalist.
Place for influencers
According to her, journalists accredited for the White House press room will, during Donald Trump’s second term, be replaced by influencers. “Previously, accreditations were effective for four years, the entire duration of the mandate. From now on, these will only be offered for a period of one month. This reflects a real feeling of revenge expressed by Donald Trump”estimates Laurence Haïm.
While Donald Trump’s first term was marked by the rise of social networks and the President’s impulsive tweets, the 2024 presidential campaign, for its part, gave pride of place to influencers. “The place of content creators was much more important in 2024 compared to 2016, like the interview given by Donald Trump to Joe Rogan (Editor’s note: a former UFC commentator who now produces an influential podcast in addition to -Atlantique) which has had more than 50 million views”indicates Julien Bisson.
Less weight for show biz stars
According to him, the support of content creators has even, little by little, become more effective than that of international stars. To explain his remarks, the editorial director of Le 1 Hebdo mentions two decisive dates in the campaign: “After Joe Rogan announced on October 9, 2024, that Kamala Harris will not appear on his podcast, Taylor Swift indicated its official support for the Democratic candidate on October 17. And it is clear that the first date weighed much more in the final result than the second.he observes.
The support of Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, Eminem, Beyoncé and Katy Perry has not changed the situation either. According to Amy Green, these have even gradually become counterproductive: “Voters have assimilated the Democratic Party to highly educated elites. And ultimately, the expression of artists in favor of liberals reinforces this feeling of contempt that these personalities would feel towards citizens and places Donald Trump as the real people’s candidate”she analyzes.
Source: www.e-marketing.fr
