Is Trump "Using" Journalists?

In a new interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, comedians and close friends Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle discuss just about every topic that came to their minds and of course, President Donald Trump.

This interview is especially interesting because Jon Stewart offers a very broad perspective regarding Trump's relationship with the media. Stewart argues that President Trump has been able to appeal to journalists' "narcissism" by attacking them, so that they have been distracted from following up on real stories regarding his policies.

"I think that journalists have taken it personally," says Stewart. 

"They are personally wounded and offended by this man. He baits them. What he's done well, I thought, is appeal to their own narcissism. They take it personally and now he has changed the conversation to not that his policies are silly or not working or any of those other things, it's all about the fight. He is able to tune out everything else and just get people focused on the fight. And he's going to win that fight."

Black comedian Chappelle echoes Stewart and argues that Trump gets "too much credit" for the current state of social unrest in the States. Chappelle says:

"I would not even name the era after him… He’s not making the wave, he’s surfing it." 

Though he criticizes the media's stance on Trump, Stewart does offer self-criticism when Amanpour asks him if he regretted not taking Trump’s initial candidacy more seriously. 

Stewart had once joked that Trump's candidacy was a "gift from heaven" for comedy because of all the funny and comic material it would provide. Stewart hosted "The Daily Show" until he stepped down from the Comedy Central program in June 2015, i.e. before Trump announced his candidacy.