As the Trump era comes to an end and Joe Biden takes office, all is not well at Fox News, which was once Trump’s most ardent cheerleader and many believe helped propel him to the White House in 2016.
According to a report from The Guardian, ratings for the conservative network are in the toilet as viewers flee for networks that are even further to the right than Fox:
“Among the 25-54-year-old demographic, Newsmax’s flagship show, hosted by Greg Kelly, reeled in 229,000 viewers, compared to Fox News’ Martha MacCallum’s 203,000. The channel has experienced a real surge since the election, after Fox News came under fire, and Newsmax’s nightly shows have drawn 700-800,000 viewers, according to Nielsen. Republicans’ perception of Fox News has shifted too: since the election, Fox News’ favorability among GOP supporters has dropped from 67% to 54%.”
Fox’s demise began shortly after they declared that Biden had won the state of Arizona on the night of the election, infuriating many viewers and leading to chants of “Fox News sucks” at pro-Trump rallies that popped up shortly after the election.
Trump has also helped fuel the anti-Fox sentiment. He has tweeted out criticism of the network and suggested that his fans should switch to Newsmax or One America News Network (OANN) if they want coverage that’s favorable to him:
“The outgoing president has frequently railed against other parts of Fox News’ programs, particularly the network’s daytime programming which tends to focus on straighter news rather than rightwing opinion.”
Right-wing social media is also cutting into Fox’s longtime dominance as the primary purveyor of conservative news and opinion:
“In the week following the election, Parler grew from 4.5 million user accounts to 9 million users, chief operating officer Jeffrey Wernick told the Washington Post.
“’There’s been this flurry of people joining,’ Miller-Idriss said.
“’It has real potential – I think nobody knows exactly whether that’s sticking potential. Do people get there and then get frustrated with it, do they decide not to stay?'”
None of this bodes well for Fox or Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who has long been on Trump’s speed dial and gladly offered him advice on domestic and international policy matters. But it it’s emblematic of a larger phenomenon which was perfectly articulated by former GOP strategist Rick Wilson who titled his 2018 book Everything Trump Touches Dies. Based on what we’ve seen since the election, it appears that Wilson was absolutely correct.
Featured Image Via Fox News
