Renowned host of ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow has seen a significant drop in audience numbers, with almost one-half of her viewership declining after Donald Trump’s triumphant victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Presidential election. The decline is notably severe, with the show witnessing a 43% fall in its total audience count since Election Day, leading to an average viewership of only 1.4 million post the landmark victory.
The failed campaign led by Democrat Kamala Harris seems to have taken a toll not just on her political career but also on allied figures invested heavily in campaigning against President Trump. The consequences of her unsuccessful presidential bid are evidently also being felt by her vocal supporter, Rachel Maddow, whose views seemed to fall out of favor with half of her audience almost immediately following Harris’s loss.
Maddow, best known for her rather liberal leanings and strong opposition towards Trump, took a back seat in 2022, reducing her show from a weekly event to a once-a-week program in an effort to branch out. However, this change seems to have done little to enhance her popularity. The show has seen a further drop among the coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54 resulting in a steep 56% drop since the election.
While Maddow took a seemingly necessary sabbatical to pursue other projects two years before the election, her decision seems to have proven detrimental. Despite being the largest star on the network and having once competed for the title of ‘most-watched cable news host’, her show could not maintain its reaching power and reduced to only a Monday screening. The remaining slots left by the ailing Maddow were filled by Alex Wagner, who unfortunately experienced her worst-rated week recently.
Bolstered by Maddow’s consistent critique of President Donald Trump, ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ drew viewership reaching 2.8 million and 3.2 million in 2019 and 2020 respectively. However, her biased take on Trump didn’t sit well with the spectators, as highlighted by the stark drop in viewership since the victorious election of President Trump.
Coupled with a failed campaign and evident loss against President Trump, Harris’s sinking ship seems to have dragged Maddow’s ratings with it. A media industry commentator, observing this downfall, unsurprisingly linked the decline to Maddow’s staunch support for Harris, whose campaign catastrophically falling short of the mark appears to have resulted in collateral damage.
Despite enjoying high viewership in the past, averaging 2.5 million views in 2017 and touching an all-time high with 3.2 million in 2020, Maddow’s open disparagement of Trump seems to have cost her a significant chunk of her audience. Her proven fondness for the Democrat’s damp squib of a campaign seems to have resonated heavily with her plummeting ratings.
MSNBC’s biggest star chose to conduct a less strenuous daily schedule, restricting her appearance to just once a week on Monday nights. However, viewing numbers reflected the people’s verdict defeating Democrats in the election. A staggering decline ensued, with the show securing an average viewership of just 2.4 million on Monday nights in 2024, and even that number deteriorated following Election Day.
Maddow’s dislike for Trump has been public, and her vociferous criticism didn’t stop even during the election. She went as far as raising doubt about his capability to lead the nation again. How she couldn’t prevent but add fuel to the rumor mill that Trump would resort to dictatorship if re-elected, speaks to her biased posture in providing unbalanced perspectives, which perhaps, became her downfall.
MSNBC, on a rather generous note, had drawn a 5-year contract with Maddow, amounting to a whopping $25 million per year. But following the audience’s clear inclination towards Trump, insiders at MSNBC deny the proposed figure. It looks like Maddow’s dwindling popularity might spell trouble for her financial gains at the network as well.
Viewing the scenario holistically, it’s no wonder that a large percentage of Maddow’s audience, apparently not appreciative of the host’s repeated attempts to deride Trump, have decided to tune her out. The host’s failure to separate her personal political leanings from her professional duties is perceived to have significantly affected her once-thriving show.
Her fearmongering attempts that painted Trump’s possible re-election as a step towards dictatorship were seen as not only inappropriate but also damaging to the credibility that is expected from such a known media personality. As her ratings continued to drop, so did her temperament as she resorted to desperately faulting the network for presenting Trump’s victory speech on Super Tuesday.
Not surprisingly, post-Election Day, Rachel Maddow is seen as too invested in her personal anti-Trump sentiments, thereby forgetting her primary responsibility as a neutral and balanced host. As a result, her previously successful ‘Rachel Maddow Show’ has sadly deteriorated into a platform that more often than not, broadcasts partisan and one-sided commentary on American politics.
Despite such open animosity against a successful incumbent President, her inflated contract at MSNBC has raised questions about the true nature of these business decisions. A known journalism professor felt compelled to opine that the network’s choices regarding Maddow cannot simply be seen as ‘business decisions’.
As Maddow’s undisguised support for the losing candidate and her unbridled criticism of Trump continues to affect her ratings, one cannot help but wonder if her professional choices were truly in sync with her viewers’ sentiments. Regardless, the massive 43% drop in viewership sends a clear message that the public’s interest is steadily veering away from her show.