Donald Trump was telling the truth. “It’s a simple formula in entertainment and television,” he explained before a crowd of thousands in Dallas last week. “If you get good ratings—and these aren’t good, these are monster—then you’re going to be on all the time, even if you have nothing to say.”

It was one of a handful of media critiques Trump spouted as he free-associated for more than an hour in front of rolling news cameras broadcasting live on cable and online. While the real estate tycoon has bragged repeatedly about his business savvy and personal fame en route to a lofty perch atop Republican primary polls, his real genius may lie in an understanding of the political media market unmatched by his competitors. For Trump, the press is not only the vessel to carry his self-centered message to millions, but also the foil in a readymade, “come-from-behind” storyline that few billionaires can rival.

“I haven’t heard the word ‘clown’ in a while—they don’t use that word anymore,” Trump told the crowd in Dallas. “They talk about us. They talk about me. And they said, Well … . But most of them are now saying, We think he’s going to win. Can you believe that?”
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The ensuing free publicity has helped Trump save on TV ads in primary states, and he cashes in that exposure for mammoth—and newsworthy—rallies. His penchant to grab journalists’ attention has made it more difficult for opponents to gain the media exposure needed to challenge him, a difficulty accentuated by the GOP’s sprawling, politically diverse primary field. To quote the narrator of the appropriately absurd The Big Lebowski: “Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place.”