Here are a few things that Donald Trump enjoys: Playing with trucks on the White House lawn. Eating two scoops of ice cream with dessert, while everyone else he’s with only gets one. And, as Vice News newly reports, receiving a folder filled exclusively with positive press about himself twice a day, at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
And what does that include, exactly?
Instead, the folders are filled with screenshots of positive cable news chyrons (those lower-third headlines and crawls), admiring tweets, transcripts of fawning TV interviews, praise-filled news stories, and sometimes just pictures of Trump on TV looking powerful.
While monitoring press closely is standard practice for both parties, the presentation of exclusively positive materials to the president is not. Sources told Vice this was the brainchild of Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer, in an attempt to boost their own standings. (“While I won’t comment on materials we share with the president, this is not accurate on several levels,” Spicer told Vice.) It has also reportedly decreased in frequency since they both left.
But perhaps the best detail is what would happen if there wasn’t enough positive press to fill a 20- to 25-page packet:
On days when there aren’t enough positive chyrons, communications staffers begin asking the RNC staffers for flattering photos of the president.
Good thing there are plenty of those floating around.