The Huffington Post announced Friday that coverage of Donald Trump and his presidential run will now be handled by the entertainment section, rather than the politics section. Washington Bureau Chief Ryan Grim and Editorial Director Danny Shea published a brief post announcing there decision:
After watching and listening to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president, we have decided we won’t report on Trump’s campaign as part of The Huffington Post’s political coverage. Instead, we will cover his campaign as part of our Entertainment section. Our reason is simple: Trump’s campaign is a sideshow. We won’t take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you’ll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette.
Many in the media were critical of the move, citing Trump’s high poll numbers and how he has caused a national dialogue on illegal immigration. However, New York University professor jay Rosen applauded the decision by the Huffington Post on Twitter.
3/ I think the Huffington Post made a great call today about framing Trump news. My post this weekend will try to explain why. Send links!
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) July 17, 2015
Trump, for his part, gave his two cents. Although, he did so on Facebook. On Twitter, Trump has become noteworthy for his tweets to various journalists, praising some while criticizing and calling out others. On Facebook, he attacked the Huffington Post and called its HuffPollster average “unimportant.”
The release then went on to praise Trump and show his current polling strength before concluding with rapid-fire attacks on the Huffington Post and co-founder, Arianna Huffington:
If you read previously written Tweets, Mr. Trump has never been a fan of Arianna Huffington or the money-losing Huffington Post.
The only clown show in this scenario is the Huffington Post pretending to be a legitimate news source. Mr. Trump is not focused on being covered by a glorified blog. He is focused on Making America Great Again.