Donald Trump was eclipsed by President Biden last week for the first time since Trump took office, according to audience data on the Internet, social media and cable news.
Why it matters: After Trump supplanted nearly every other news figure and topic for five years, the new administration’s momentum picked up last week and the former president pulled out, partly by choice and partly by being forced off the major platforms.
- According to exclusive data from NewsWhip, stories about Biden generated 36 million more interactions (likes, comments, shares) on social media than Trump last week. During the campaign, Biden was never within 18 million of Trump’s interactions.
- Last week marked the first time Biden had more cable news reports than Trump, according to the Internet Archive Television News Archive. He also drew larger reviews for his inauguration than Trump did four years ago.
- Biden has been mentioned more on social media than Trump since Jan.20, according to data from Keyhole. Trump has been mentioned twice as often in the past three months.
- From the week before, the page views for Trump content on five major news sites (WSJ, NYT, USA Today, Reuters, Politico) fell by 35% during the week of inauguration, while the number of views for Biden content increased 2.5 times , according to data provided to Axios by SimilarWeb.
The big picture: The Trump show has ended because he was no longer president, as well as because he was banned from major social media platforms.
- Trump’s dormant Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts have turned off his stream of awareness – and subsequent reaction – for the first time in years.
- He has not looked for alternative ways to convey his message. With the exception of a departure day rally before flying to Florida on January 20, Trump has not jumped on the air or spread messages via surrogates.
- However, he announced the opening of the “Former President’s Office” on Monday, stating in a statement that the agency would “continue the Trump administration’s agenda through advocacy, organization and public activism.”
Flashback: During the last days of the campaign, it became clear that Biden was beginning to attract more attention from Trump, not only online but also on television.
- In October, Biden not only crushed Trump in evening ratings from their competing town halls, but was also a greater draw for an earlier pairing of network municipalities.
- Biden’s speech at the Democratic National Convention drew a larger audience than Trump’s at the Republican National Convention, as did his inauguration day speech.
Between the lines: Inauguration day was the turning point in the country’s attention budget. Trump scored higher in Google searches, social media attention, and cable news reports every recent day before January 20, and Biden has had more every day since then.
What’s next: Biden impresses in his early days by rolling out executive orders – many of them reversing Trump policy – and planting a flag on proposed legislation while Trump lies low.
- But past behavior indicates that Trump can only last so long without stirring up controversy, while Biden will lean towards predictability and consensus.