Why Trump thinks he's winning his war on media

Nothing helps President Donald Trump more — or tightens his hold on his base more securely — than his cozy, mutually-beneficial relationship with conservative TV. Trump's feedback loop, including cable-news coverage, and mainstream-media squawking, convinces the president that he's winning his war on media. The President gravitates toward conservative outlets because "those seem to be the only options that aren't chronically negative or personally vicious toward him," and that voters "are weary from the constant and obsessive negativity elsewhere." The two key players: Fox News — especially the morning show, "Fox & Friends" — and Sinclair Broadcast Group, the nation's largest owner of local broadcasting stations with unabashed conservative leanings. The mainstream media's skeptical-to-sneering coverage of Fox and Sinclair just endears those outlets to President Trump, and causes his diehard supporters to dig in even deeper.

The caveat:  "While Sinclair is growing and local news is the most-consumed form of TV news, TV news consumption is also declining year over year. My sense is that Trump is penetrating these dying networks that mostly reach older consumers anyway."