Have Tucker Carlson and Ron DeSantis filled the 'Trump void' for the left?
By Douglas MacKinnon, opinion contributor — 07/03/21 12:00 PM EDT
It can be argued that since Donald Trump left the White House, the ratings for a number of programs on left-leaning cable outlets or news sites have dropped dramatically. In many ways, for liberal sites — and, to a lesser extent, right-leaning programs and publications — talking about or hating on Trump at first was an unexpected ratings bonanza. And then it apparently became evident to some cable news executives that talking about Trump was morphing into a bullet-proof business model.
With the advent of Trump’s presidency, the ratings for programming on CNN and MSNBC skyrocketed when compared to the Obama years. There was gold in them thar Trump-hills, like none seen before.
But with those ratings and that advertiser gold came a serious paradox for left-leaning sites, most of all for reporters and executives who openly dislike Trump. It would be natural to assume that in their minds, Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election was crucial to our nation’s well-being. But then that often-quoted cliché popped up: “Watch out what you wish for.”
While left-leaning executives, editors and reporters may outright deny it, or talk their way around it, Trump was the cash cow of all cash cows for their news organizations and evicting him from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to his Florida resort hurt their bottom line.
Beyond the news sites, hating Trump also proved to be a lucrative fundraising tool for various Democratic committees, politicians and candidates. Over the four years of the Trump administration, it literally became a billion-dollar enterprise.
So, what to do, with Trump gone from D.C. politics for now?
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https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/561263-have-tucker-carlson-and-ron-desantis-filled-the-trump-void-for-the-left
