During the 2016 presidential primaries, Donald Trump rode a wave of free media worth billions of dollars. This included 10 call-in interviews and an hourlong interview special with MSNBC's Morning Joe alone. Now, Trump is hoping to replicate the process.

The former president, who is running again in 2024, wants the media to prop him up above the rest of the GOP primary field. Kicking off the 2024 media shenanigans will be a CNN town hall with Trump next week in New Hampshire . The town hall will certainly boost ratings for CNN’s flailing prime-time programming. But Trump will also use the occasion to his own advantage.

Also of note: The New York Times reports that Trump plans to skip the first two of the GOP primary debates, which are scheduled to air on Fox News. Trump took to Truth Social to state, "When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile networks with angry Trump & MAGA hitting anchors asking the 'questions,' why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Also, the second debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, publisher of the Washington Post. No!"

Should Trump sit out the GOP primary debates, a rival network to Fox News is sure to jump at the opportunity to offer counterprogramming with Trump’s involvement. That's what MSNBC's Joe Scarborough did for his then-friend in 2016.

The truth is that Trump and much of the media have always been codependent on each other. Trump needs them to suck the oxygen out of any possible debate. The question is often asked whether Trump is an accomplice to the media’s game or whether they are an accomplice to his game. The answer is both. It is a symbiotic relationship with voters caught in the middle.

Still, Trump sees a legitimate primary threat for the first time in the form of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Dutifully, the media have been attempting to neutralize DeSantis before he ever enters the race, with Trump using attack lines from Democratic PACs to attack DeSantis on everything from his legal dispute with Disney to Florida’s COVID response.

Top line: Trump and the media are attempting to run the 2016 playbook. It's about dominating the news cycles, capturing headlines, and suffocating any alternative. It’s up to GOP primary voters to decide if they will fall for all of this again.

Stephen L. Miller ( @redsteeze ) has written for National Review, the New York Post, and Fox News and hosts the Versus Media podcast.