A long time ago, veteran journalist Ted Koppel predicted this would happen to CNN once Donald Trump left office or was no longer a factor in its news coverage. It didn’t sit well at all with Brian Stelter who was interviewing him. This was back in 2018. Koppel also lobbed criticism at The New York Times, where he said he’s seeing stuff being published that would have never been allowed 50 years ago. He also said there is a resistance press or at least the perception of it. We all know it exists.
Well, with Trump gone, let’s go to the ratings for CNN and MSNBC, two of the most anti-Trump networks out there. It’s a bloodbath. Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner noted that the audiences for both networks have been halved since Trump left office. (via Washington Examiner):
According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, Fox News leads the way, with 41% of likely voters saying that they tune in.
But liberal-leaning CNN and MSNBC are far behind.
For CNN, 25% of likely voters said that they “generally watch” the cable channel. For MSNBC, it’s 21%.
[…]
“Those numbers are a sharp reversal from four years ago, when Trump’s presidency proved to be a ratings gold mine for CNN. In a June 2017 survey, 47% of regular cable news viewers said they generally watched CNN, compared to 33% for Fox News and 16% for MSNBC,” added Rasmussen.
Video: To consternation of @BrianStelter, Ted Koppel contended during 10/1 Kalb Report @PressClubDC: “You would be lost without @realDonaldTrump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.” Stelter: “Ted, you know that’s not true. You’re playing for laughs.” #NPCLive pic.twitter.com/XGZl9yNzqh
— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) October 3, 2018
CNN is loaded with talent. That includes @brianstelter.
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 3, 2018
But cmon, Brian. You know Koppel’s truth-telling here https://t.co/ojgcDF7WeM
In the words of Koppel, “You would be lost without Donald Trump. CNN’s ratings would be in the toilet without Trump.”
Well, here you go. That explains why weeks after Trump left office, CNN was still doing stories about what Trump was doing, like going golfing.
