By Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. media has taken a break from pummeling U.S. President Donald Trump while on his first overseas trip, but experts expect a renewed all-out brawl between the two sides once Trump returns home.
U.S. media perhaps dislikes Trump more than any other president in recent memory. Critics said the reason is that many reporters were in the tank for Hillary Clinton and are now disappointed that she lost.
Others say Trump has antagonized the media from the start of his presidency, referring to many reports as "hit jobs" and "fake news," as well as blasting particular reporters.
"Media are critical of Trump because he openly campaigned against the media and repeatedly said reporters are dishonest," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.
Trump demeans specific reporters and shows his disdain for most media outlets, turning large segments of the press against him and encouraging reporters to be very tough on his administration, West said.
Indeed, this week the fight between Trump and the media has calmed down as Trump traveled to the Middle East and Europe in a bid to shore up relations with allies in an effort to turn the screws on terror group Islamic State (IS).
"Presidents typically have more leeway on foreign than domestic policy. They are the commander in chief and when travelling abroad, are able to control media access to what the president is doing. That helps the president stay on message and drive home the message that America is respected abroad and able to meet a variety of people," West said.
Still, the acrimony between Trump and U.S. media is likely to pick up again once he returns home this weekend.
"It is easy for presidents to project leadership when their schedule is filled with meetings and photo opportunities and they are not having to answer difficult questions about investigations or domestic policy," West said.
But, once Trump returns home, it will be harder for him to avoid tough questions or stay on message about presidential leadership. He will have to talk about the FBI investigation on the relations between Russia and his campaign during last year's presidential election.
Trump also has to answer critics who feel that his proposed national budget harms ordinary people and individuals who voted for him, West said.
Dan Mahaffee, an analyst at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua that much of the media environment is driven by the constant flow of scandals and leaks from the Trump administration, which, in turn, has driven media coverage.
"In many of these scandals, the muddled messages from the Trump administration and the growing scope of scandals further drive media attention -- often at the expense of other stories," Mahaffee said.
That has combined with an environment where media finds itself reflecting the increasingly polarized nature of the American electorate where many seek out media sources that correspond to their pre-existing political viewpoints, he said.
"On an international trip, it does provide imagery of the U.S. president abroad, which tends to draw positive media coverage in itself, and Trump has largely stayed on message overseas, which has also led to more positive coverage," Mahaffee added.
