“David L. Altheide is one of the most respected sociologists of mass media. He now examines the Trump phenomenon. How did an unprincipled President exploit the changing media landscape to undermine democratic institutions? This book’s critical questions about US media, governance and politics deserve the widest possible readership.” Robert Dingwall, Professor of Sociology, Nottingham Trent University, UK “What paved the way to Trump’s bulldozing of democratic institutions? Altheide makes a strong point in inviting readers and scholars to look into the distorted media logics that were at work in the popular media, in the news business and in the new digital ecosystem. They were central for audiences to be receptive to Trump’s nationalist slogans, insults, and pol- itics of fear. An honest and frank disapproval of what the author identifies as ‘Gonzo Governance.’ A must-read book that will fuel new debate in the political communication fields.” Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Professor of Sociology of Communication and of Political Communication, University of Milan (Italy) “We’ve never needed a book more than David L. Altheide’s Gonzo Governance. The nightmare called the Trump Presidency is not over. Its destructive effects on our democracy are here to stay. In his masterful new book, David L. Altheide unmasks the information technologies, and media logics, from twitter to Fox News, that gave us our first Gonzo President. We owe Professor Altheide a huge debt, he gives us a path forward.” Norman K. Denzin, Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Research Professor of Communications, Media and Cinema Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign “Gonzo Governance is as entertaining as it is insightful about how break- ing the rules and spreading fear through disruptive communication have transformed our politics and society. Altheide shows how gonzo politics reflects the rise of new media logics that capture hollowed-out political institutions, resulting in the spread of fear, anger and social conflict that threaten American democracy. This is an important and timely book.” Lance Bennett, Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication and Political Science Emeritus, University of Washington “With Gonzo Governance David L. Altheide, Regents’ Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University, again creatively extends our knowledge of the political and social implications of developments in media ecol- ogy. Changes involving transmission, feedback, and visualization have fundamentally altered politics and must be considered apart from mes- sage content. A central theme of the book is that Trump’s success was because of ‘how he was communicated’ not ‘how he communicated’ [italics added]. With clear prose and interdisciplinary reach, Altheide explains how, in an unprecedented communications environment, digital tech- nologies can be skillfully manipulated to offer scripted, fear-inspiring and yet seductive messages. They entertain, even as they disinform and wreak havoc on truth and democracy. Given the gravity of its theme and its’ creative analysis and ameliorative suggestions, it deserves to be widely read.” Gary T. Marx, author of Windows Into the Soul: Surveillance and Society in an Age of High Technology “Altheide has given us a provocative book whose title ‘nails’ the outrageous and unconventional presidency of Donald Trump in all its emotional tur- bulence, its unashamed and skilled uses of power-through- manipulation— all of this unthinkable without stage, screen, microphone, and, most of all, camera. Altheide puts all of this together in a convincing argument laying bare its ‘media logic.’” E. Doyle McCarthy, Professor Emerita of Sociology and American Studies, Fordham University, author of Emotional Lives: Dramas of Identity in an Age of Mass Media Gonzo Governance Drawing on social science and communications theory, Gonzo Governance offers a new interpretation of presidential power that shifts focus to the media dynamics that surrounded Donald Trump. The former president’s unhinged behavior and skilled media and digital manipulations changed the nature and process of significant governance at the federal and state levels, includ- ing denying election results and restricting voting opportunities. He went “Gonzo” – promoting himself without regard for conventional norms and practices – and blasted ideological fault lines into explosive political frag- ments, resulting in so much dissensus that numerous legislators would not recognize the newly elected President Biden, nor would they agree to take a potential life-saving vaccine because it had been associated with a politicized virus, COVID-19. Nurtured by media logic and a communications ecology that has wedded people to digital technologies and formats that govern the structure, grammar, form, expectations, and meanings of messages that can entertain, enlighten, and disinform, this form of governance alters the fundamental way that infor- mation is communicated. David L. Altheide emphasizes how these changes informed Donald Trump’s electoral strategies as well as the insurrection attempt on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. David L. Altheide, PhD, is Regents’ Professor Emeritus on the faculty of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University, where he taught for 37 years. His work has focused on the role of mass media and information technology in social control. His most recent books are Terrorism and the Politics of Fear (2nd edition, Rowman and Littlefield, 2017), The Media Syndrome (Routledge, 2016), Media Edge: Media Logic and Social Reality (Lang, 2014), Qualitative Media Analysis (2nd edition, Sage, 2012), and Terror Post 9/11 and the Media (Lang, 2009). Gonzo Governance The Media Logic of Donald Trump David L. Altheide Cover image: Brianna Tucker, 2018, Unsplash First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Taylor & Francis The right of David L. Altheide to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Altheide, David L., author. Title: Gonzo governance : the media logic of Donald Trump / David L. Altheide. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022020148 | ISBN 9781032362212 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032360034 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: Trump, Donald, 1946---In mass media. | Mass media--Political aspects--United States. | Television in politics--United States. | Personality and politics--United States. | Deception--Political aspects--United States. | United States--Politics and government--2017-2021--Press coverage Classification: LCC E912 .A43 2023 | DDC 973.933092--dc23/eng/20220615 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022020148 ISBN: 978-1-032-36221-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-36003-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-33083-7 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003330837 Typeset in Garamond by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. With hope for a better world for our grandchildren Karl, Aksel, Kyla, and Davin. Contents Acknowledgments x Preface xii About the Author xviii 1 Introduction: Gonzo Governance 1 2 Trump and the Mediated Politics of Fear 16 3 Pandemic in the Time of Trump: Digital Media Logic and Deadly Politics 32 4 The Media Syndrome and Reflexive Mediation 59 5 Media Logic Before and After Donald Trump 86 6 Media, Ratings, and Trump 100 7 Gonzo Governance and the Politics of Fear 120 8 Power and Terror 139 9 Terrorism in the Gonzo Era 156 10 The Future of Gonzo Governance 175 Bibliography 195 Index 223