On Monday, rapper Common told HuffPost Live that he felt the media was giving Donald Trump way too much attention.
This came during an interview about the screening of his film “Being Charlie” (Toronto International Film Festival). Common said he questioned the “integrity” of the media. To him, there is such an emphasis on Trump because of a desire for higher ratings and page views.
“I feel like the integrity of the media is gone in many areas because when you choose to be like, ‘We’re going to show Donald Trump because we know it’s about numbers,’ it’s like, where is the integrity of the journalists who know and will challenge these thoughts so that the American people can see truth and really have a good opportunity … to get behind someone who’s going to matter, who’s going to really be about affecting change and improving this country?”
He feels like Americans shouldn’t be confined as to how they are defined. Common hopes the media will branch out on their portrayal of candidates and allow citizens to make informed decisions.
“If it so happens to be a Donald Trump … which I don’t believe it’s that person, then let the people decide that,” he said. “But don’t just dwell on the spotlight and keep exploring the popularity of him just for numbers, because eventually that’s going to just mess up the situation in the country if we do. It’s feeding into the big monster. So I think the media definitely has a responsibility.”