MSNBC’s Morning Joe has so far experienced a noticeable drop in viewers after co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski confessed to meeting with President-elect Donald Trump last week.
Throughout this year, per Fox News, Morning Joe had averaged around one to 1.1 million viewers.
Here’s what happened after the co-hosts admitted to traveling to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump:
“Morning Joe” averaged 839,000 total viewers during the 6 a.m. ET hour on Monday with 113,000 in the advertiser-coveted demo ages 25-54. In the 7 a.m. ET hour, its total fell to 694,000 and just 70,000 in the key demo. The drop-off was the opposite of the year-to-date “Morning Joe” ratings that typically see the audience grow as more Americans wake up.
Then MSNBC’s marquee morning show took another hit the next day, averaging only 638,000 total viewers at the 6 a.m. hour with just 81,000 in the key demo, losing about 20% of its total audience between Monday and Tuesday. The average total audience was down 11% across its four hours of programming.
So, on Monday, before the Mar-a-Lago bombshell, Morning Joe averaged 839,000 viewers. After the Mar-a-Lago bombshell, that number cratered to 694,000 when viewership numbers normally rise at that later hour. So there’s no question of a backlash there.
Then, on Tuesday, the number dipped 638,000!
This is what I’ve been predicting for years, so anyone who reads me regularly already knows what I’m about to say…
When you alienate everyone to the right of Fidel Castro… As Morning Joe did… You are stuck with a base of customers who are only far-leftists… And leftists have zero tolerance for anything that does not comfort and affirm. Further, these leftists do not watch Morning Joe (or MSNBC or CNN) for information. What they want is validation… They want to be told they are right about everything, most of the country agrees with them, anyone who doesn’t is a Nazi, and the election outcome is a sure thing.
That’s also called painting yourself into a corner because the moment you betray this customer base, the bottom falls out.
Morning Joe has spent seven years comforting, affirming, and validating leftists who believe Trump is HitlerFascistAuthoritarianDictatorDangerToDemocracy. What’s more, Morning Joe has spent seven years convincing its audience Trump is all those things. And that’s all good until…
You trot off to Berchtesgaden for a summit with Orange Hitler at Eagle’s Nest.
The hideous Joe and Mika have betrayed their core audience, and when your core audience is made up of intolerant leftists who demand 100 percent fealty, you lose those customers.
After Trump’s triumphant win, CNN, MSNBC, etc., were already in trouble with their audience. These shameless grifters have spent a decade assuring and reassuring their hard-left customers that it was all over for Trump. For the last 100-plus days, they assured and reassured their customers Kamala Harris would win due to her awesome ground game in swing states like Pennsylvania.
Then what happens?
Trump wins all seven swing states. Trump wins the popular vote. The racist Trump wins a record number of Hispanics. The racist Trump wins 20 percent of black men. The racist Trump wins 65 percent of American Indians. The racist Trump increases his share of the Asian vote. The sexist Trump does just fine with women. The aging Trump wins younger voters. Republicans hold onto the U.S. House and take control of the U.S. Senate.
MSNBC and CNNLOL and the rest, played their customers for suckers, and now, some of those suckers are no longer customers, and who can blame them?
Last week, CNN averaged only 337,000 viewers!
Some time will have to pass before we know for sure if this backlash is permanent. Let’s hope it is. There is no question, though, that the black mark on Joe and Mika’s reputation and credibility is permanent.
John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
