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Voters are tuning out of the Trump impeachment trial in droves. After two days of watching the Democrats bash the president, viewership of the six major networks covering it dropped by 20 percent. When the Associated Press asked voters why, they said they’re bored and tired of “the whole partisan saga.”
Most of them made up their minds months ago, said Eric Kasper, director of the Center for Constitutional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire: “A lot of people have made up their minds, and it looks pretty clear what the outcome of this trial is going to be.”
Only 11.8 million people watched the six networks during the first two days of the Senate trial, compared to 71 million who watched the 2016 presidential election. And it was down from there to fewer than nine million on Day Three.
Page views of online articles about the impeachment trial dropped even farther, from about 20 million page views when the House began its impeachment process to 15 million page views last week.
Disinterest is even showing up in Democrat focus groups. Left-wing CNN analyst David Axelrod and Obama’s former chief campaign strategist said, “I was in a focus group this morning for the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago with Chicago Democratic voters and it was chilling to hear them talk about this because impeachment didn’t even come up.”
“No one volunteered it for 80 minutes into the focus group. And you know, we’re right in the middle of the trial,” he said, adding: “When it came up, they said, ‘You know, it’s terrible what he did. The case has been proven. But we know how it’s going to turn out so, we’re not really that interested. We’re ready to move on.'”
Instead, voters are giving Trump the highest ratings of his administration. According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, his approval rating jumped by six full percentage points since late October. When it comes to the economy, Trump’s approval rating jumped even more, by 10 points, his highest rating since his inauguration. And among male voters and independents his ratings are even higher. Among political independents his approval rating has jumped nine percentage points since October while among men his approval rating has leapt 12 percent.
This is not a one-off fluke, either. A new Gallup survey reported that Americans are satisfied with the way things are going at a level not seen since the Bush administration in 2005.
It may not be too much of a stretch to say that, instead of watching the mind-numbingly boring impeachment trial, Americans are more likely to be at the mall, enjoying the financial benefits of Trump’s roaring economy.
Image: Screenshot of youtube video by PBS NewsHour
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
