Trump once said TV ruined politics. Then it made him a star.

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In 1980, in one of his first big TV interviews, Donald Trump was asked whether television was ruining politics. “It’s hurt the process very much,” Trump told NBC’s Rona Barrett.

“Abraham Lincoln would probably not be electable today because of television. He was not a handsome man, and he did not smile at all. He would not be considered to be a prime candidate for the presidency — and that’s a shame, isn’t it?”

But in the years since Trump lamented the negative effect of TV, he has embraced it like no presidential candidate in history and has even derided rival candidates he deems not telegenic. Hillary Clinton, he said, doesn’t have “a presidential look, and you need a presidential look.” While real estate made him money, TV made him famous. Trump, who has never held elected office, became a household name through television, mainly his starring role for 14 years in “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice.” The self-described “ratings machine” is as defined by television as past presidents have been defined by military or public service.


Trump once said TV ruined politics. Then it made him a star.