Trump represents the culmination of news as entertainment...
I've posted a few other opinions of mine on what Trump represents but it just occurred to me that Trump also represents the full culmination, fruiting body, of the decades long dumbing down of the news media and turning it into a form of entertainment. There was a time when we had some legitimate main stream news outlets both print and televised. A time when serious journalism had power. There are still a few hold outs here and there but by and large the news media has become as much about ratings as week night talk shows or sitcoms. Stories are written and delivered for their shock and impact value more than their newsworthiness. Those delivering the news for their sexual appeal.
Trump is just the extreme natural end point of this decades long transition. When the news itself is about shock value as anything else. When who was voted off of survivor last night vies with headlines of suicide bombings in Cairo, and indeed gets more airtime. Well then why not just take the next logical step and just cut out the middle man entirely. Let's just make real life a reality show. Let's make the presidency real life "celebrity Apprentice".