(REUTERS/Chris Keane)
The Huffington Post is no longer going to cover Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on its politics section. In a post published on the site Friday, Huffington Post Washington Bureau Chief Ryan Grim and Editorial Director Danny Shea explained they would be moving all coverage of Trump, who has starred in multiple reality television shows, to the entertainment section.”Our reason is simple: Trump’s campaign is a sideshow. We won’t take the bait. If you are interested in what The Donald has to say, you’ll find it next to our stories on the Kardashians and The Bachelorette,” they wrote.
The post was subsequently shared by the site’s co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington on Twitter.
This decision comes even though the Huffington Post’s own poll tracker shows Trump leading the Republican primary field.
In a conversation with Business Insider over Twitter direct messages, Grim explained the rationale behind the decision, described how coverage of Trump will look going forward, and addressed potential criticism of the decision.
“Yes, that’s us passing judgment, but I’d argue it’s still objective, as he is objectively a clownshow,” Grim said of Trump.
According to Grim, Trump will still be included in the site’s polls of the 2016 field. Grim said those polls with Trump will still appear in the politics section “as will be his impact on the field, the immigration debate and politics generally.”
Business Insider also asked Grim whether the decision to move Trump coverage to entertainment was effectively “having it both ways.” In other words, the Huffington Post is getting attention and credit for ignoring Trump while still getting traffic from stories about his White House bid on the entertainment section.
“Yes, though we have always been a mix of high and low,” Grim explained. “All this says is that we’re properly classifying him as low.”
With Trump leading in some polls, Business Insider also asked Grim how Huffington Post would handle it if Trump wins the GOP nomination.
“He will not. I’m as likely to get it as he is,” Grim said of Trump’s chances of becoming the Republican nominee. “He’s only where he is because of the big field. When the field winnows, he fades.”
Trump and his team did not respond to requests for comment on this story.