LOS ANGELES.–Hidden by the fake news, a new CNN polls found that 56% of respondents think 78-year-old President-elect Donald Trump will do a “very good” or “fairly good” job during his second term as president. Running counter to the fake news narrative, CNN’s poll, that hasn’t been too kind to Trump in the past, shows that the electorate shifted in 2024, something that the glacial change at CNN was too slow to accommodate. CNN’s audience share, as measure by Nielsen ratings, is down by 50% since the election, largely because their hosts and guests pushed so hard for 60-year-old President Kamala Harris. No one at CNN or other liberal networks forecasted the wipeout on Election Day. Trump’s landslide victory was more a referendum on the corrupt U.S. press than anything else. Voters simply got fed up with the press taking sides and pushing for Kamala Harris.
So, now the fake news is left with a real dilemma when it comes to its programming, spending years pushing leftist causes when the electorate moved more to the center. With Democrats and Republicans equally divided at 28%, independents make up 43% of the electorate, the group Trump overwhelmingly won in 2024. CNN and MSNBC haven’t pivoted to the reality that they’ve lost enormous market share because they’ve pandered to a narrow band of constituents in the Democrats Party. Why CNN and MSNBC pander to progressives is anyone’s guess but they’ve even lost market share in the Democrat Party? Trump election demonstrates that the vast majority of voters care not about party but about a thriving economy and a peaceful foreign policy. Biden and Harris delivered neither to the U.S. over the last four years, leaving them aced out in 2024.
CNN has made some efforts to revamp their progressive line up but prior attempts haven’t worked to well to pivot to a more moderate audience. CNN’s recent polls shows that 55% of respondents think Trump has handled the transition well, meaning, despite all the Democrat hubbub, he’s picked responsible people to head his Cabinet and other government posts. Democrats have tried to use the same old pre-Nov. 5 playbook but it continues to backfire, especially when Democrats say Trump destroys democracy. Even the argument about “retribution,” already taken out of context by Democrats, has boomeranged on Democrats, with Trump’s Cabinet picks talking about Deep State Democrat prosecutions of Trump over the last nine years. Trump’s voters are bigger than his MAGA base, pulling in enough independents to win the Nov. 5 election handily.
CNN’s respondents, 56%, believe the economy will do better with Trump at the helm over the next 12 months. Democrats same old arguments about price gouging and price controls also backfired, forcing more voters to leave the Democrat Party. Kamala’s argument during the campaign only created more doubt for independents as she denied the inflation caused by her and Joe, blaming corporate price gouging for price increases. Most consumers know that they’re paying more for things in the stores than they were four years ago. Kamala’s arguments on the economy and foreign policy fell on deaf ears with the electorate. Now CNN or MSNBC must pivot with their leftist programming or face even greater losses to market share over the months and years ahead. Hard to imagine that hosts like Jake Tapper and Dana Bash can do much to change their stripes anytime soon.
All the defamatory rhetoric Democrats used against Trump now seems to turn off independent voters that made their decisions and decided the election in 2024. Watching the fake news drum up outrageous arguments about Trump’s Cabinet picks makes the Democrat Party look weak and sour grapes heading into the inauguration. With former First Lady Michelle Obama boycotting Jimmy Carter’s funeral and Trump’s inauguration, it doesn’t bode well for the 2026 Midterm elections. Independents could very well consolidate around Republican candidates because they’re offended by what they see Democrats doing to resist the Trump agenda. Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) think Democrats can regain the House in 2026. But judging by current trends, it sure looks like independents will play a bigger role in the Midterm elections.
CNN’s new polls is bad news for Democrats continuing the same pre-Nov. 5 tactics of attacking Trump based on old, worn out Democrat talking points. Strategists like 80-year-old James Carville and 57-year-old Kamala chief strategist David Plouffe got it all wrong in 2024, telling Kamala to only denigrate Trump, insulting him about everything. Trump won the election because Kamala did not reassure voters she had a plan for the future any different than the last four years. Voters wanted change because they saw foreign policy out of control and the economy racked with inflation. If Trump ends the Ukraine War and maintains the ceasefire in Gaza, voters will reward him in 2026, letting him keep control of the Senate and House. If inflation started to weaken and energy prices drop, Trump will have a strong case to voters to keep the status quo.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
