Donald Trump was blackmailed into the media by President Biden last week, according to Trump’s office, according to viewer data on the internet, on social media and on cable news.
Why it matters: After Trump ousted almost every other news figure and topic for five years, the new government’s momentum took hold last week and the former president withdrew, partly by choice and partly by being forced by some of the big platforms.
- Stories about Biden last week generated 36 million more interactions (preferences, comments, shares) on social media than Trump, according to the exclusive NewsWhip data. During the campaign, Biden was never within 18 million interactions between Trump.
- Last week was the first time Biden mentioned more cable news than Trump, according to the Internet Archive Television News Archive. He also drew greater reviews for his inauguration than Trump did four years ago.
- According to data from Keyhole, Biden has been mentioned more on social media than Trump since January 20. Over the past three months, Trump has been mentioned twice as much.
- From the previous week, the pages for Trump content on five major news sites (WSJ, NYT, USA Today, Reuters, Politico) dropped by 35% during the week of inauguration, while views for Biden content increased 2.5x, according to the information Axios by SimilarWeb.
The whole picture: The Trump show was canceled because he stopped being president, but also because he was banned from major social media platforms.
- Trump’s dormant Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts have eliminated his stream of consciousness – and the ensuing reaction – for the first time in years.
- He was not looking for alternative ways to convey his message. With the exception of a rally on the day of departure before flying to Florida on Jan. 20, Trump did not jump on the air or deliver messages through surrogates.
- However, he announced the opening of the ‘former president’s office’ on Monday, declaring in a statement that the office ‘would continue the Trump administration’s agenda through advocacy, organization and public activism’.
Flash back: It became clear during the last days of the campaign that Biden was starting to attract more attention from Trump, not only online but also on television.
- In October, Biden Trump not only smashed Trump ratings on the eve of their rival city halls, but it was also a bigger draw for an earlier combination of network city halls.
- Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention drew a larger audience than Trump’s at the Republican National Convention, as did his speech at the Inauguration Day.
Between the lines: Inauguration day was the turning point in the country’s attention budget. Trump ranked higher on Google searches, social media attention and cable news every recent day before January 20, and Biden has had more on every day ever since.
What’s next: Biden makes a splash in his early days by rolling out executive orders – many of which overturn Trump policy – and planting a flag on proposed legislation while Trump is low.
- But past behaviors suggest that Trump can last just as long without inciting controversy, while Biden will tend to predictability and consensus.