Donald Trump reportedly spends up to eight hours a day in front of the television - Independent

Donald Trump reportedly spends up to eight hours a day in front of the television

'The ammunition for his Twitter war is television'

Mythili Sampathkumar New York @MythiliSk

US President Donald Trump reportedly spends up to eight hours of his day in front of television.

According to the New York Times, he begins his daily White House routine at 5:30am with the television in his master bedroom.

The newspaper interviewed 60 advisers, friends, and members of Congress to get a picture of the day-to-day life of the President.

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Usual morning shows include "Fox & Freinds," the programme and network are known to be more friendly to the President's agenda.

But, he also tunes into CNN, an outlet he has routinely referred to as "fake news," and MSNBC's "Morning Joe" programme "because, friends suspect, it fires him up for the day."

Mr Trump has had several public rows with co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, who were once friends of the former real estate magnate.

"Energized, infuriated — often a gumbo of both," Mr Trump then takes to Twitter because "the ammunition for his Twitter war is television," the newspaper reported.

Through the course of his day, he spends at least four - but often up to eight - hours a day watching news channels. Sometimes he will leave them on mute, but he uses it as a way to keep track of what the media is saying about him, his presidency, and the investigation into alleged collusion between his campaign team and Russian officials during the 2016 US election.

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Aboard Air Force One during his recent Asia tour, Mr Trump responded to fact-checking questions regarding his television watching habits by saying: "“I do not watch much television...I know they like to say — people that don’t know me — they like to say I watch television. People with fake sources — you know, fake reporters, fake sources. But I don’t get to watch much television, primarily because of documents. I’m reading documents a lot.”

Sources say the President, nearing the end of his first year in office, still views himself more as a "maligned outsider engaged in a struggle to be taken seriously" rather than the leader of the free world.

He told aides after his historic election victory that ever day of his time in office should be seen as a television show during which he "vanquishes rivals."

Senator Lindsey Graham felt that mentality is a problem. He said: "there’s a difference between running for the office and being president. You’ve got to find that sweet spot between being a fighter and being president.”

"His approach got him to the White House, Mr. Trump reasons, so it must be the right one," the New York Times reported.

Yet, Mr Trump's job approval rating is at a historically low 32 per cent even while he dominates media coverage.

John Kelly, White House chief of staff and a retired Marine General, has attempted to "quietly and respectfully, to reduce the amount of free time the president has for fiery tweets by accelerating the start of his workday."

Mr Kelly has also tried to reign in the chaos of a White House full of staff that have never worked in the federal government before. He limits the President's meetings and exposure to a myriad of opinions from advisers.

Mr Trump, "who enjoyed complete control over his business empire, has made significant concessions after trying to micromanage his first months in office," according to the newspaper.

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However, sources say the rule in the White House is that no one touches the remote control except for Mr Trump and technical staff.

If he misses a news report, he has a "Super TiVo" system that records hours of news footage for him to view at a later time.

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Still, the President - despite daily briefings and access to government resources - tends to only believe information if it comes from his small "bubble" of trusted advisers, sources said.

Aides told the newspaper they "bemoan his tenuous grasp of facts, jack-rabbit attention span and propensity for conspiracy theories."

After a day of meetings and phone calls, often to associates Mr Kelly has gotten rid of for riling the President up like Sebastian Gorka or Steve Bannon, Mr Trump watches the evening news programmes of Sean Hannity, Jennine Pirro, and Laura Ingraham on Fox News and sometimes "hate watches" CNN only to restart the process again the next day.