Popular Culture Review Volume 30, Number 2, Summer 2019 | Page 138

Fake News and Failed Friendships : An Analysis of Trump , Pecker , and the National Enquirer
TRUMP AND PECKER : THE PERFECT FRIENDSHIP
The story of this friendship began with a prominent real estate developer in New York in the 80s and 90s who developed a fondness for celebrity gossip . He basked in the publicity , even if the headline announced , “ Trump ’ s Mistress Cheats on Donald with Tom Cruise ” ( Gillette para . 9 ). When Pecker became CEO of AMI in 1999 , the negative Trump stories ceased . The publication gave glowing coverage of Trump before and during this campaign . It ceased shortly before the FBI subpoenaed Pecker in 2018 .
Trump authored several stories in the newspaper revealing , “ the most intimate details in my amazing life , I am the only one who can make America great again !, and , on a personal note , my wife , Melania would make a terrific first lady !” ( Suebsaeng para . 14 ). In another article , that appeared in his book Trump : The Art of the Deal , the Republican candidate for president appealed to the cult of the hero , telling the story of how he punched his music teacher in the eye “ because I didn ’ t think he knew anything about music . I ’ m not proud of that , but it ’ s clear evidence that even early on I tended to make my opinions known in a forceful way ” ( Trump 1 ). One campaign staffer described the tabloid as a “ campaign mailer ” ( Hensley 1 ).
The 2016 Presidential candidate received only a few newspaper endorsements , one of them from the Enquirer . Pecker explained , “ Nobody influences the editorial decision-making process at the National Enquirer other than myself and our editors ” ( Toobin 47 ). An article using the Enquirer ’ s term for the candidate trumpeted , “ TRUMP MUST BE PREZ !” The Enquirer promised “ He will chase down illegal immigrants ” and “ stand up to foreign leaders like Vladimir Putin ” ( Enquirer , March 14 , 2016 ).
129