Uses birther announcement to bait media into covering hotel opening and veteran endorsements

On September 16, 2016, Trump promised a 'major announcement' about birtherism, baiting cable networks into covering a press conference at his new Trump International Hotel in D.C. For 25 minutes, he promoted his hotel and had military veterans endorse him while all three networks aired it live. Only after this infomercial did he deliver a one-sentence acknowledgment that Obama was born in the U.S., then blamed Clinton for the controversy. CNN's Jake Tapper said 'It's hard to imagine this is anything other than a political rick-roll.' The TV pool voted not to air his hotel tour in protest. The event showcased media manipulation, using veterans as props, exploiting his campaign for business promotion, and refusing to take responsibility for racist conspiracy-mongering.

"We got played, again, by the Trump campaign, because that's what they do." — CNN's John King commenting after Trump's bait-and-switch press conference on September 16, 2016