Trump’s Georgia arrest reduces Republican rivals to a sideshow

Wall-to-wall coverage of ex-president is another example of his unique ability to suck up all media oxygen, even amid the Republican debate

Less than 24 hours after the first primary debate of the 2024 election season concluded, viewers of America's cable news programs could be forgiven if they forgot the event had occurred at all.

Rather than focusing on the post-debate coverage and analysis typically seen during past election cycles, CNN and MSNBC turned their attention on Thursday evening to Donald Trump's arrest in Fulton county, Georgia, for charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. News of Trump's surrender and the image of the first mugshot ever taken of a former US president also dominated the homepages of the New York Times and the Washington Post.