The ratings are in for Donald Trump’s second inauguration! And they are, well, blah.
According to Nielsen, 24.59 million people tuned in to watch the 45th president be sworn in as the 47th president.
That was way down from the 33.76 million who watched Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and even down from Trump’s 2017 inauguration when 30.64 million people tuned in.
Does this matter?
On one level, not at all. Trump is president for the next four year whether or not people watched him being sworn in! And, with the decline of linear TV — and the rise of YouTube, social media etc. — my guess is that ratings for live events like this will continue to fall.
On another level, however, Trump is still sort of stuck in the mid 80s/early 90s when TV ratings were the coin of the realm — the way you distinguished what was popular and what wasn’t.
And low ratings will make him angry.
He has been obsessed with getting eyeballs on him his WHOLE life. My favorite Trump quote ever — because it is so revealing — is this one from a 1990 Playboy interview: “The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere.”
He defines himself by and through his ability to attract peoples’ attention. It’s why he cares so deeply about crowd size at his rallies. It is all about numbers — the bigger the better.
The worst thing for Donald Trump is not to be hated. It is to be irrelevant. Or forgettable.
Given that, these ratings numbers will piss him off. And while he hasn’t responded to them yet, my guess is he won’t be able to resist. It’s Pavlovian for him.
The Morning is always a FREE post. But I need your investment to continue to make all the content here. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber today. It’s $6 a month or $60 for the year.
Share this post