The Trump Show: Controlled distraction

[Commentary] In turning one of the most consequential decisions of the presidency into a primetime television event, and doing so before publicly sorting out the details of his latest executive order, President Donald Trump is governing in the way a television executive might, making moves that have the effect of controlling the narrative and driving ratings.

It's a familiar play for President Trump: During his presidential campaign, he made controversial statements or scheduled rallies to distract attention from his opponents. As president, however, Trump's big swings haven't moved the news cycle quite as much as they once did. Every major news organization covered Trump's Supreme Court tweet, but normally an impending nomination announcement would dominate the news; on Jan 30, it barely registered amid the cacophony of headlines and analysis surrounding the travel ban. At the Jan 30 White House press briefing, the majority of questions focused on the ban. There were only two about the forthcoming Supreme Court nominee.