Here’s a thought about American media.
What’s the biggest brand in the world?
It’s obvious. It’s not Microsoft. It’s not Apple. It’s not Ford. Drum roll please. It is Trump.
That is the genius of the man. He is the ultimate Madison Avenue adman. He has created something that can’t be valued in dollars. An intangible asset that is beyond valuing in dollars and cents. He is the most powerful man on Earth in so many ways.
I don’t doubt that he will follow through on many of his promises.
One is vengeance on his enemies…
On that list I think one group must be high up. But I can’t see them ?getting locked up. I mean the late night talk show stars of American TV: Kimmel, Colbert, Fallon, Meyers.
These are the guys who made Trump a superstar. The air time he gets from them and the jokes their scriptwriters provide are the fuel that drives him. Their ratings are his ratings. Their audiences are his. Those who relentlessly consume their schtick, from the distraught to alarmed, their laughing responses hiding their horror. These are ones who keep that brand value riding high. Because, in spite of themselves, they just can’t get enough of the guy!?
Trump is as cunning as a fox. I can imagine that as he schemes and plots what he will do next, he considers first and last, “Will it get a rise from Kimmel? Will it drive Jon Stewart crazy?
Kimmel and co are an essential ingredient for the brand. The day that they are put inside and disappear from screens; that day is when the Trump brand will start to tarnish.
Not a day before.
| VC Investor | Experienced Board Director | Biotechnology and Technology executive
2 周The echo chambers in the US have become so insular that there’s hardly any overlap between them. I doubt many, if any, MAGA supporters watch the late-night shows; the absence of jeers when Trump jokes are made suggests those audiences are largely MAGA-free. I was in San Francisco on election night in 2016, and the general mood was one of total disbelief. Speaking with my American friends this time last week, I sensed an almost resigned acceptance that Trump 2.0 might be inevitable. Many expressed a reluctance to interact with anyone who voted for Trump, along with a growing inclination to “circle the wagons.” While few are considering leaving the US entirely, there’s definitely talk of moving from Red states to Blue states—or at least to Blue counties within a state. It's ironic that for such a globally recognized name, nearly every product with the Trump brand has ended in failure. Let’s hope the Trump-branded country—USA—doesn't follow the fate of his steaks, airline, university, and casino.
Accomplished corporate attorney with years of business/accounting experience and a commitment to social justice. Author of Time to Change Corporations: Closing the Citizenship Gap.
2 周Trump is such a brand that 78 million Americans voted for him despite in half the states he couldn't even vote--because he's a convicted felon. Their lack of minimum standards when it comes to electing a president is shocking.
Co-founder at Xefco Pty Ltd
2 周Trump is his own Avatar in a world game that is all about him number 1. Musk is also. They just happened to be in the same room of the game at the moment, but that is temporary. They actually strive to ‘win’ their independent games and their end games are different. Musk is mars. If we think they care about humanity you have to first forget they actually live in their own weird realities and don’t know empathy, and see the world only as they prefer to view it through their own lens. Making it up as they go along. It is not even reality tv. It is something weirder. Historic yes. To be judged with saner perspective later …. after the results are obvious to those that lived it. We keep watching. Hoping the end game for these heroes don’t kill too many of us.