Trump Slump? Cable News Ratings Tank After Election as Viewers Boycott

There has long been a conventional wisdom that dedicated daily coverage of Donald Trump‘s outrage-inducing activities equals ratings bumps for cable news networks. That was certainly true during his first administration, where the 24/7 news cycle was routinely dominated by talking head panels dissecting one scandal after another ad nauseam as viewers clung to every update like a liferaft. After he left office in 2021, the major networks’ ratings nosedived. This time, though, the story might be very different, as some of those would-be anti-Trump audiences choose indifference over hate-watching and refuse to participate in a Trump ratings bump. 

Shortly after the election results were clear, The New York Times reported that news outlets expected to see at least a short-term spike in audience ratings and newspaper subscriptions in the wake of Trump’s election. However, that hasn’t happened at the more Democrat-friendly outlets at all. A new report at Mediaite reveals that post-election ratings at CNN and MSNBC have plummeted; on Thursday (November 7), Fox News averaged 2.6 million daily viewers (with 375,000 in the 25-54 demographic), while MSNBC had just 596,000 viewers (71,000 in the age bracket) and CNN had 419,000 (and 91,000 in the desired demo). That’s a 60 percent increase year over year for Fox but a 23 percent decrease in the same metric for MSNBC and a 40 percent dip for CNN. The decline reportedly continued on Friday, as MSNBC’s shows had their lowest Friday ratings of the year. 

Social media has been alight with anecdotal explanations for why the liberal-leaning news networks are seeing such a stark drop in viewership: Many blame the media for “normalizing” Trump’s candidacy and refuse to reward them with the ratings they suspect the network execs desired in doing so.

“Now 6 straight days without listening to any Cable news network. Refreshing. It’s amazing how all they do is sensationalize everything for ratings without much regard for the actual truth or their viewers,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another, who tagged both CNN and MSNBC in their tweet, wrote, “I refuse to watch Season Two of the trump show on cable news. During Season One, I was obsessed. This time, I won’t give them what they wanted – increased ratings. I learned my lesson. The boycott continues.” 

One user clocked their determination to see the ratings for both networks drop in on Thursday by writing, “I’m curious what the cable news ratings are going to look like this week. I know I’m not alone in the decision to stop watching the news among the leaning folks. Fox probably has normal viewership, but I’m guessing CNN and MSNBC are down double digits.”

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One user pointed to Morning Joe as a source of spite: “I used to watch @Morning_Joe @morningmika @JoeNBC. I stopped watching all cable news shows bc they immediately started attacking democrats. This has been so much better for my mental health. We need their ratings to plummet.The political news hosts, political podcasters, and radio personalities all want us divided. They want us fighting each other. It’s good for ratings. They don’t care about us!  Nothing the orange goon does will hurt them. Most of the hosts are millionaires.” 

We’ll have to wait and see whether things change as the inauguration nears — and once the actual administration begins — but for now, the news doesn’t look good for the news.