Donald Trump is not smart.

But when it comes to campaigning, he’s brilliant.

That’s because Trump is a media creation. Ronald Reagan understood Hollywood, and he knew how to work a camera. Trump understands television and the media, and he knows how to work them. That's why he's winning.

Trump recognizes five basic principles of the media:

1. Diagnosis Is All That Matters. In the world of the media, the first one to correctly diagnose a problem gets credit for solving it, even if he hasn’t solved it. So, for example, Trump jumped on Twitter last night to label the disappearance of an EgyptAir jet an act of terrorism.

Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016

This drew ire from officials up to and including former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates – but most people nodded along, thinking to themselves, “At least he’s willing to say it!” Yes, he is. But is he right? And what will he do about it? That doesn’t matter. He’s saying things! The things that need to be said!

2. Violating Taboos Drives The Media Cycle. Trump knows that violating taboos forces media coverage. This is good when Trump violates the media bubble on behalf of truth – Bill Clinton allegedly raped Juanita Broaddrick, and Hillary allegedly threatened her. It’s not great when Trump violates a taboo that isn’t political, but moral, like mocking the disabled. But Trump also knows that any taboo violation draws headlines, which means he gets to control the narrative at all times, for good and ill.

3. Nobody Trusts The Media. Trump understands that he can get away with virtually any lie because nobody trusts the media. He simply denies everything, and then suggests that the media are liars. When The New York Times runs a ridiculous hit piece on Trump’s treatment of bikini models, Trump pounces by denying any allegations of mistreatment of women ever:

Some low-life journalist claims that I "made a pass" at her 29 years ago. Never happened! Like the @nytimes story which has become a joke!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016

Is Trump lying? Is he telling the truth? We have no way of knowing. But we know that the media lie all the time.

4. The Media Have No Attention Span. Trump understands that no matter what the headline, it will be replaced by another headline within 48 hours – and he knows that he can choose that second headline. He also knows that as the news cycle follows the second headline, he can quietly walk back the first headline. This allows Trump to pander to various groups at the same time, knowing that they will pick their favorite headline and use it as evidence for their position. So, for example, Trump released his list of Supreme Court possibilities on Wednesday. The list is hunky-dory; Trump took advice from the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation. The media predictably ate it up, conservative media drooled, and Trump grinned.

My list of potential U.S. Supreme Court Justices was very well recieved. During the next number of weeks I may be adding to the list!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016

A few hours later, Trump said he might add to the list, and that it was a “guide” to decisionmaking, not a menu from which to choose. In other words, don’t hold him to the list he released in order to pander to conservatives. The media coverage of the first headline: huge. The media coverage of his walkback: tiny. The Supreme Court headline had already been replaced by Trump’s comments on Clintonian rape.

5. The Media Mistake ‘Covering Both Sides’ For Objectivity. Last week, Trump went out and lied openly about whether he’d ever played the part of John Miller, his own press agent. The media responded by giving that position airtime. That’s been true throughout the campaign: Trump says something totally untrue, and the media refuse to fact check him, instead presenting his side as merely a competing version of the truth. This benefits people who are willing to spout untruth as a matter of course.

So Trump is winning. It’s quite brilliant. He controls each headline cycle, while Hillary struggles to understand why her rote policy proposals about overtime wages aren’t getting any attention. Trump’s media volume is always 10 – but sometimes, he turns it up to a Spinal Tap 11. Hillary’s shrieking never registers at more than a 6. She’s being drowned out, just as the entire Republican field was drowned out during the primaries.

That’s why Trump is winning. And it’s why he may end up President of the United States, thanks to his understanding of perhaps the only thing that matters in politics now: the media.