Unsolicited advice for the White House press corps

4. Watch the TV He Watches

We know that Trump routinely tweets what he sees on TV. Because he’s not much a reader of books, briefing reports, or even cereal boxes, cable news programs escort his thinking and decision-making. The ad buyers are onto this. News broke over the weekend that the programs that Trump watches—Morning Joe, The O’Reilly Factor, and other Fox News Channel shows have raised their advertising rates. Reporters should be on to it, too. As should his staff! The Wall Street Journal recently reported, “During the transition, Mr. Trump’s team, flummoxed by how he came up with certain ideas, would search for clues by checking his call sheets to see whom he was consulting.” Reporters need not scour cable for clues every time he tweets. Indeed, I argued earlier that we shouldn’t react to every bit of bilge he types out. But just as Obama’s reading list was relevant to his presidency, so, too, is Trump’s video consumption.