Donald Trump is the magician-in-chief.

Trump understands better, I reckon, than any US president since Ronald Reagan how to bend and manipulate the squirrel-like attention spans of much of the new and “legacy” media to his will and advantage.

Reagan and his adept advisers relied almost exclusively on choreographing flattering set pieces for television to drive his retrograde plans and stick-handle around a prickly scandal or two.

Trump, having established his ubiquitous star via “reality TV” and countless appearances on ephemeral “chat” shows, knows full well the ways and means to inculcate himself into the American consciousness courtesy of the “boob tube”.

Still, Trump has skillfully used social media – now mostly Truth Social – to hone his trademark trick: Misdirection. Like any sea

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