Donald Trump et la presse d’extrême-droite (et la presse tout court) ont pendant un moment joué le jeu de la courte-échelle. Par ses excès, ses bouffonneries, ses abjections, le candidat de 2016, de 2020 et 2024 est un bon sujet pour faire de l’audience. Mais il semble que depuis 2020, cela ne fonctionne plus. L’organisation TheRighting[i] a publié une note sur l’évolution du lectorat ou de l’audience des principaux supports d’extrême-droite (Results Show Steep News Audience Erosion in the Four Years Since Last Election) entre 2020 et 2024.
Presque tous les supports ont assez largement reculé, à commencer par Fox News – qui reste cependant le poids de cette frange politique – qui a perdu 24 % d’audience en quatre ans. Le seul support qui a réussi à tirer son épingle du jeu est la chaîne Newsmax[ii] qui a gagné 37 %. Elle apporte un soutien indéfectible à Donald Trump qui la préfère désormais depuis que Fox News a pris ses distances avec l’ex-président et soutenu officiellement Ron DeSantis.
“These include consumer news avoidance and its cousin crisis fatigue, as well as the rise of alternative news sources explique Howard Polskin, President et fondateur de TheRighting.
“It’s important to note that 2020 was a banner year for traffic because it was the most consequential year in American history this century. Major 2020 events included the pandemic, the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, and the contentious battle for the presidency between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Unless some unfathomable incident occurs, it’s hard to see how 2024 will come close to producing the same audience levels for most news brands from four years ago.”
[i] TheRighting is a media company that aggregates articles from various right-wing media outlets and also publishes original reporting on the world of conservative media. The company, which launched in 2017, has a website, a free daily e-newsletter and a social media presence.
[ii] Newsmax Media, Inc. (or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American cable news, political opinion commentary, and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy in 1998. It has been variously described as conservative, right-wing, and far-right. Newsmax Media divisions include its cable and broadcast channel Newsmax TV; its website Newsmax.com, which includes Newsmax Health and Newsmax Finance; and Newsmax magazine, its monthly print publication (Source : Wikipedia).