I have never seen a presidential candidate as comfortable around the press as Trump.
Have to go back to the Roosevelts. They didn’t love even Jack Kennedy as much as they did FDR. For Jack’s sake, they hide his infirmities and his infidelities. For FDR they hid the fact that he was totally crippled and in 1944 that he was a dying man. To be sire, Jack was more likable and FDR had great personal courage.
Ronald Reagan was extremely comfortable around the press
This is key. Most politicians avoid and suspect the media. Trump saw them as a campaign tool. Allies... maybe unwilling allies... but allies all the same.
Anderson Cooper has responded several times on CNN when someone complains about all the Trump coverage. He says Trump is by far the most accessible candidate to the press. He rarely turns down an interview. He'll give the press a few lines, even if he's in a hurry between events.
The press have to cover something, and Trump has fed them a steady diet. And, to be honest, I think they like him for it.
Cooper, Gloria Borger, and the rest of the AC360 team like Trump, you can tell. Wolf Blitzer likes him.
During the Nevada caucuses, Trump was talking to an MSNBC reporter, and Trump gave a shoutout to Rachel Maddow in the studio. She was like a little schoolgirl being winked at by the quarterback. We're talking Rachel Maddow, for God's sake.
For the most part, Trump's "most dishonest people in the world" comments aside, he and the press have a very mutually beneficial relationship.
Remember he thanked the press for treating him fairly "for the past two hours?" It was definitely an inside joke between him and these reporters.
Contrast this to Hillary, who goes months between interviews...