Trump's TV Dominance Fades as Networks Finally Tire of Him
As Donald Trump formally entered the presidential race on June 16, he instantly dominated television coverage, with 40-50% of all mentions going to him. However, since September 20, Trump's mentions have fallen precipitously, dropping to 20-30% of all mentions. Meanwhile, other candidates like Clinton, Bush, Carson, and Rubio have seen increased coverage. Even Trump's debate performances seem to be slipping, with his remarks accounting for a decreasing percentage of excerpts airing after each debate.
Key Takeaways:
- Donald Trump's television mentions dropped from 40-50% in June to 20-30% in October.
- Clinton, Bush, Carson, and Rubio have seen increased coverage.
- Trump's debate performances are slipping, with his remarks accounting for a decreasing percentage of excerpts airing after each debate.
- Lindsey Graham was the overwhelming winner of the undercard debate, garnering 77% of excerpts over the subsequent 24 hours.
- Graham's upward trajectory in the debates offers an object lesson that debate performance does not necessarily equal poll performance.
- Trump's decline in viral soundbites from 32% to 19% over the three debates has been matched by other candidates.
- The four most viral statements were each from a different candidate and all were negative.
Statistics:
- Trump's mentions per day on national television networks:
+ June 17: 933
+ June 18: 1,027
+ June 19: 1,114
+ ...
+ September 20: 342
+ September 21: 234
+ September 22: 153
+ ...
+ October 1: 123
+ October 2: 89
+ October 3: 68
- Clinton's mentions per day have increased from 0.5% in June to 14.8% in October.
- Bush's mentions per day have increased from 2.5% in June to 10.3% in October.
- Carson's mentions per day have increased from 5.5% in June to 8.4% in October.
- Rubio's mentions per day have increased from 1.8% in June to 7.2% in October.
- Graham's excerpts per day have increased from 9.5% in June to 72.1% in October.
Sources:
- Aljazeera America
- Bloomberg News
- CNBC
- CNN
- Comedy Central
- FOX Business
- FOX News
- LinkTV
- MSNBC
- Internet Archive
- Kalev Leetaru, Senior Fellow at the George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security
- Roger MacDonald, Trevor Von Stein, Kyung Lee, Jake Johnson, and the rest of the television team at the Internet Archive