Trump's Fake News Awards Are An Actual Thing & Yes, This Is Real Life

Since Donald Trump announced Tuesday that there will be "THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR," members of the press have waited in eager anticipation for the president to announce his choices. While it had originally been scheduled for the beginning of the week, Trump tweeted he'll delay giving fake media awards until Wednesday, meaning everyone will have to hold their breath a bit longer.

When Trump first announced "THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR," it was hard to gauge how seriously to take him. The president is notoriously disdainful of the press, and rarely does a day go by that Trump fails to denounce the "fake news media" or the "mainstream media." What would be different about this particular awards ceremony?

It didn't take long for television show hosts to take a guess — or at the very least, start campaigning for the award. The day after Trump announced he would bestow this illustrious title upon a few select outlets, Late Show host Stephen Colbert tweeted out an Oscars-style "For Your Consideration" ad, encouraging nominations in categories such as "Least Breitbarty" and "The Eric Trump Memorial For Disappointment." The Daily Show went so far as to run a full-page ad in The New York Times on Friday with a smattering of criticisms that have been directed toward the show.

After getting so much feedback about the awards — a level of interest that Trump tweeted was "far greater than anyone could have anticipated!" — the president decided to push them back until Wednesday. With the current state of the world, though, many were dismayed that the president even thought to tweet about such a thing.

Author and U.S. Naval War College professor Tom Nichols reminded people that while the president's tweets can seem laughably absurd at times, it's worth remembering that this is "the leader of the most powerful nation on earth, with multiple crises looming across the globe."

Screenwriter and Mr. Robot creator Sam Esmail blasted Trump for prioritizing these superficial awards while "1.5 million Americans in Puerto Rico are still without power," and Washington Post columnist Glenn Kessler reminded his followers of the other more legitimate awards that have been created by past presidents.

It's hard to say how many, if any, of these criticisms the president will take to heart. The chance that he'll continue to rail against the media in the coming days, though, seems likely. Trump has a wide swath of media outlets that he despises, but history indicates that he's particularly critical of Hollywood. The moment back in 2011 when President Obama took on Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (a notoriously star-studded event) is considered by many to be the point at which the then-reality television star became determined to pursue the top position in the White House.

Comedian Seth Meyers recognized this at the Golden Globes on Sunday evening, when he jokingly said, "Oprah, you will never be president!" and then turned his attention to Tom Hanks, who he said would never be vice president.

Trump has yet to respond to Meyers' jokes.

However, another likely contender for his fake media awards could be CNN, since it regularly gets shade from the president. Even though its founder, Jeff Zucker, has been criticized for giving the then-presidential candidate extensive coverage during the 2016 campaign, CNN is not on Trump's good side. The network was even the target of Trump's notorious wrestling meme back in July. The Washington Post and The New York Times, two stalwarts of journalism that have broken stories about the Trump administration left and right, are other likely contenders.

When you consider how much disdain the current president holds for the media, the possibilities seem endless. But the press will have to wait until at least Wednesday to find out who will take home the prize.