Donald Trump escalates media trash talk

A Donald Trump presidency is now firmly in the realm of possibilities, and the media is getting a taste of it.

"Yeah, it is going to be like this," Trump told journalists during a press conference on Tuesday. 

"This" turned out to be the most contentious exchange yet in what is already a storied battle between Trump and the media. The event was originally called to give Trump a chance to respond to allegations that he had not donated money to veterans' charities that he claimed to have raised during a previous fundraiser. It quickly turned into one of the most sustained and vicious attacks yet from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Trump had plenty of standard vitriol for the media at large ("I think the political press is among the most dishonest people that I have ever met"), and indulged his penchant for going after particular reporters. 

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Don't expect it to be the last time he tees off on the media. 

"You think I’m going to change? I’m not changing," he said.

That's a worrisome message considering how Trump has treated the press during his campaign. He's forced reporters to stay in penned-off areas during rallies, with one photojournalist receiving a choke slam from a Secret Service agent after trying to leave. His campaign manager grabbed a Breitbart journalist and then denied it. Trump routinely blocks credentialed reporters that he disapproves of from his events.

If Trump isn't changing, neither is the media at large. In an election in which Trump has received an overwhelming amount of coverage -- by one measure $2 billion worth -- his press conference on Tuesday provided a snapshot of the broader campaign. There was Trump, defiant against legitimate accusations, railing against a press corps simultaneously flabbergasted and unable to break the cycle that has provided him with so much coverage.

Covering Trump is unavoidable at this point, and some parts of the media have done an admirable job holding him accountable for his past, including his controversial Trump University. 

Trump has proven adept at brushing off those legitimate questions by hurling more insults, which then end up becoming the story of the day. So anticipated are his appearances that the airtime given to his empty podium has become a running joke.

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And that was before the press conference. 

Trump announced at the event that he had donated $5.6 million to a variety of charities that help military veterans. Journalists have been hounding Trump's campaign for details about the contributions after finding little evidence that any money had been donated. 

"I have never received such bad publicity for doing such a good job," he said. 

That particular media critique wasn't that far off from typical gripes from politicians. Barack Obama has echoed Trump's argument that the media tends only to report on the negative aspects of the news, albeit in a slightly more nuanced way.

"No wonder that faith in our institutions has never been lower, particularly when good news doesn't get the same kind of ratings as bad news anymore," Obama said during a 2012 commencement speech at Barnard College. It's far from the only time he's made similar accusations.

The similarities end right about there. Had Trump stopped at that, it might have signaled a shift in tone ahead of the general election -- something that his campaign has been teasing. Instead, he began lobbing his signature insults at anybody who opposed him, including fellow Republicans. He called conservative pundit Bill Kristol a "loser" and Mitt Romney a "fool." He bizarrely referred to CNN journalist Jim Acosta as "a real beauty."

No change from Trump. No change from the media.

Just as Trump was able to drown out his opponents in the Republican race, his attack on Tuesday dominated the news and relegated Hillary Clinton to an also-ran, despite appearances on CNN and MSNBC.

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Whether Trump's media strategy is deliberate or not, the pattern that has emerged shows no signs of stopping. If you believe Trump's promise not to change, there's little reason to think the media will either. 

Which means that a Trump presidency may very well be "like this."