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It’s never been confirmed that Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was an attempt to soft-launch a Trump television network. Still, all the signs were there. 

His political rumblings began as the long-running reality show starring the brand-happy businessman was on the wane, solidifying shortly after he was embarrassed on national television by Barack Obama. With Trump literally laughed out of the room, along with the birther conspiracy he brought to national prominence,, the reality-TV  host was looking for a way to sneak back into the spotlight. Launching a presidential campaign and making judicious use of an open line to Fox News morning shows allowed him to fill the airwaves with his “comfort show”: positive chatter about DJT.

If you haven’t heard that term before, comfort shows are the product of on-demand streaming catalogs and widespread anxiety. It’s the unique output of the desire to “just put something on” at a time when fewer and fewer people have cable. Staring down thousands of options, all presented in an overwhelming wall of thumbnails, people reach for what they’ve seen before.

The concept helps explain why millions of millennials are on their 30th watch-through of “The Office” and why Gen Z knows an unsettling amount about “Friends.” The practice has made seasonal superstars out of Rory and Lorelai Gilmore and revitalized USA Network also-rans. Trump puts his stamp on this trend the same way he does in all other areas, by making the television about himself.

It’s hard not to see Trump’s self-soothing pattern once you’ve noticed it. When he was kicked off  major social media platforms after the Jan. 6 insurrection, he built an entire community centered around his thoughts. Whenever he’s doing poorly in the polls, you can count on a weirdly empty national address or an overly produced sit-down interview to try and shift the focus back to Trumpian greatness. The clearest sign that the Iran war is deeply unpopular isn’t just, well, everything, but the fact that Trump can’t seem to manufacture another week of glowing coverage at conservative outlets. Facing criticism from reliably friendly outlets, Trump pulled out the scrapbook to find a time when he was a small-screen star. 

On Wednesday, he shared a 2004 news clipping raving about the ratings for “The Apprentice.”  The New York Times item big-upped the viewer share of the show’s first-season finale. Confusingly, Trump  captioned the clip, “Last season of my Apprentice Juggernaut,” although he actually hosted 13 more seasons of the series before bowing out to become the president. 

If this weren’t coming from the man with his finger on the nuclear button, such an obvious search for comfort might almost be endearing. As things stand, it might make us wonder just how far Trump will go to make the news say nice things about him again.

6. “Malcolm in the Middle”
5. “The Prisoner”
4. “30 Rock”
3. “Gilmore Girls”
2. “Bob’s Burgers”
1. The first nine seasons of “King of the Hill”

What do you think? Is Trump trying to go back to a time when the news about him was good? Do you have any comfort shows you turn to when you need to relax? Let us know in the comments.

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