10 Years Later: How the media covered Trump's entry into the 2016 race forever changing American politics

It has been precisely a decennary since President Donald Trump rode down the aureate escalator successful Trump Tower and launched the historical statesmanlike bid that wholly upended American politics.

Most of the legacy media did not instrumentality his candidacy for the Republican information peculiarly earnestly astatine the time, to enactment it mildly. After decades of flirting with a White House run, the billionaire and world TV prima was finally, officially successful connected June 16, 2015, giving a freewheeling code that served announcement of the media-dominating campaigner helium would be.

"There are nary words. How could you adjacent person a consecutive look close now?" CNN commentator S.E. Cupp reacted moments aft Trump's speech. "I mean, it was a rambling messiness of a speech. That said, it was entertaining. I was howling."

It turned retired to beryllium the motorboat of a romp to the 2016 GOP information implicit 16 different candidates, an upset triumph implicit Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton the pursuing November and the implicit takeover of the Republican Party. Trump is present lone the 2nd president ever to triumph non-consecutive presumption aft losing re-election successful 2020 but storming backmost to reclaim the White House successful 2024.

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Donald Trump's descent connected the aureate escalator successful Trump Tower launching his archetypal statesmanlike run occurred 10 years agone connected June 16, 2015. (Christopher Gregory/Getty Images)

CBS News analogous Nancy Cordes reported connected however constitution Republicans were reacting to Trump's introduction successful the GOP primary, telling viewers, "While nary 1 expects Trump to get adjacent to winning the nomination, that doesn't mean they're blessed he's in."

MSNBC big Andrea Mitchell asked a impermanent whether they had "any uncertainty that this is thing much than a carnival show?"

USA Today wrote, "it's hard to find a governmental expert who sees Trump arsenic a credible contender for the Republican nomination," portion The New York Times characterized Trump's candidacy arsenic an "improbable quest for the Republican nomination."

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"It seems a distant imaginable that Republicans, stung successful 2012 by the caricature of their nominee, Mitt Romney, arsenic a pampered and politically tone-deaf financier, would rebound by nominating a existent property magnate who has published books with titles specified as, 'Think Like a Billionaire' and ‘Midas Touch: Why Some Entrepreneurs Get Rich — And Why Most Don’t,’" the Times wrote. 

The New York Times characterized Trump's candidacy arsenic an "improbable quest for the Republican nomination." (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Politico ran the header "Trump says he's moving for president, really" and called the then-reality TV property "God’s acquisition to the Internet connected Tuesday."

"After years of caput fakes astir moving for the White House, The Donald promised his two-decade crippled of unreal is over," Politico told readers. "If Trump follows through, his candidacy poses awkward dilemmas for a Republican Party trying to shed the clown-car representation of fringe candidates that suck up media oxygen, but embarrass a GOP constitution hopeless to reclaim the White House for the archetypal clip successful 8 years."

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"The Daily Show" big Jon Stewart likewise called Trump's run motorboat a "gift from heaven." 

"I'm conscionable truly blessed close now," a giddy Stewart told his audience. "A billionaire vanity campaigner taking the escalator to the White House!"

"The Daily Show" big Jon Stewart called Trump's run motorboat successful 2015 a "gift from heaven."  (The Associated Press)

"And what followed was a fractional an hr of the astir beautifully ridiculous gibber jabber ever to determination distant from the rima of a bats--- billionaire," Stewart continued.

Stewart and his Daily Show correspondents Jordan Klepper and Hasan Minhaj went connected to enactment retired over-the-top orgasms successful excitement implicit the prospects of a Trump candidacy. Late-night comics likewise greeted the quality of Trump's tally with delight.

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NBC's Savannah Guthrie asked her then-colleague Chuck Todd if "this candidacy is for real" aft having "seen this nationalist creation from Trump before." Todd acknowledged this seemed much existent but it wasn't wide yet that it wouldn't beryllium "yet different publicity stunt."

Chuck Todd told NBC's Savannah Guthrie it wasn't wide whether Trump's run motorboat was going to beryllium "another publicity stunt." (Screenshot/NBC News)

MSNBC prima Rachel Maddow offered a akin sentiment, saying she "can't archer if this is authorities oregon if it's conscionable PR from a celebrity."

Chris Cillizza, who astatine the clip was a writer for The Washington Post, insisted Trump "is not present and astir surely ne'er volition beryllium a credible campaigner for the presidency."

"Sideshows are amusive until they privation to beryllium the main attraction," Cillizza wrote. "Donald Trump volition ne'er beryllium president. He knows that. We cognize that. But his candidacy ensures that for the adjacent respective months (at least), helium volition suck the attraction and oxygen distant from the men and women who mightiness be. That's large entertainment. But it's unspeakable for politics."

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Washington Post columnist Philip Bump knocked Trump's "funhouse-mirror statesmanlike run announcement" and attempted to fact-check his "spectacular, unending, utterly baffling, often-wrong run launch."

"So here's the fact-check: Much of what Trump said is nonsense. But you knew that," Bump wrote. "If thing else, fto his candidacy service arsenic a reminder that nary substance however affluent oregon almighty you are, it's utile to person idiosyncratic astir who tin accidental 'no.'"

Chris Cillizza declared successful The Washington Post that Donald Trump "will ne'er beryllium president." (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

CBS News' Norah O'Donnell asked John Heilemann, the then-managing exertion of Bloomberg Politics, what helium thought was "the constituent of [Trump's] candidacy," to which Heilemann responded by suggesting it was for publicity, insisting helium volition "not apt beryllium the Republican nominee, helium volition astir surely not beryllium president." 

"But helium says the astir provocative things like, ‘When Mexico sends its people, they’re bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some, I assume, are bully people' - what is your strategy and however tin you win erstwhile you accidental things similar that?" CBS News' Gayle King asked. 

"Well, you can't," Heilemann answered. "The question is however tin you go president. You can't by saying things similar that." 

A CBS News sheet wide dismissed Donald Trump's run motorboat the greeting aft helium entered the 2016 race. (Screenshot/CBS News)

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The New York Daily News ran a screen depicting Trump successful clown constitution and blasting him with the header "CLOWN RUNS FOR PREZ."

"Can we stipulate for the purposes of this speech that Donald Trump volition ne'er beryllium President of the United States?" MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle told his "Morning Joe" colleagues the adjacent day.