Bashing the president and being bashed by him brings millions to mainstream news outlets that have made the ‘Trump Must Go’ narrative their biggest source of income. But do they really want to bid him farewell?

I bet you think the US mainstream media hate Trump. In fact, they LOVE him! Most of you think they’ve teamed up to thwart Trump’s 2020 bid. No, they are too smart for that. Actually, it would be like shooting themselves in the foot. Do you think they really want to experience Russiagate firebrand Rachel Maddow’s misery, whose show on MSNBC shed half a MILLION viewers in just one week following the ‘no collusion’ ruling by Special Counsel Robert Mueller? No way.

They might fight Donald Trump on screen but behind the scenes they pray he stays for another term to boost their ratings, earn them a fatter contract, win an award for exposing the dealings of a ‘shambolic’ presidency, and go down in history as the most vocal media truthseekers since Watergate.

Who would not want that?

TV producers and execs scratch their heads when they wonder what happens if Trump loses next year. As early as February 2017 CNN President Jeff Zucker was straightforward during a press lunch in Time Warner Center saying “there is a tremendous amount of interest” when it comes to coverage of Trump.

The network initially predicted a 25 percent slump in ratings for 2017 following a vibrant election campaign and was surprised to see the same strong demand going forward. Why? Because it got caught up in an ongoing feud with the newly elected president.

‘You scratch my back, I scratch yours’ must be the fine print in the American Constitution. Just like Zucker reinvented Trump’s image and propelled him to nationwide celebrity with The Apprentice on NBC Entertainment, the real-estate-mogul-turned-global-leader helped his ailing station by casting it as a media martyr standing up to a relentless attack by an unchained dictator.

According to Zucker, in the first seven weeks of 2017, CNN’s ratings were up 36% over the same period last year and 51% in the 25- to 54-year-old age group, the most valuable target for commercials in news programming.

News has never been so hot with advertisers. Ad revenue has been pouring in for both CNN and MSNBC. In February 2018 MSNBC was up 44 percent in ad revenue year on year, according to data from advertising intelligence company Standard Media Index.

And it did not end there. Throughout the first half of 2018, MSNBC raised its bill for a 30-second commercial from $5,927 in January to $13,550 in June, a dizzying 129 percent surge in a space of just six months, as reported by SQAD, a media cost data company. Now sit down and hold your jaw with both hands: before Trump’s victory, MSNBC made just $2,553 per spot.

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So who would want to fire such an efficient marketer from office and shut down a never-ending human breaking news event that provides fodder for your programming on a daily basis?

Do they really sympathize with Kellyanne Conway for having a Trump hater as a husband?

Do they really care about China, Syria, Iran, North Korea or climate change?

It’s a business just like any other, and Trump’s arrival has proven pivotal in kick-starting a struggling industry.

I bet the mainstream media would gladly chip in to keep Mr T in the White House for four more years.

Alex Benley