Jake Tapper's CNN show hits lowest ratings since 2015 despite Biden book buzz
CNN host Jake Tapper had his lowest-rated month in nearly a decade in May despite a whirlwind publicity tour giving him an onslaught of attention.
Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson's new book, 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,' was released in May to much fanfare. The book helped set the recent news cycle with new accusations of the Biden White House hiding the truth about the former president's fitness for office.
Advertisement
To promote the project, Tapper has embarked on a wide-ranging book tour that landed him on a variety of podcasts, talk shows and cable news. The book has also been promoted relentlessly across CNN, but the spotlight on Tapper has seemingly failed to give him a boost in viewership.
'The Lead with Jake Tapper' averaged 525,000 total viewers from April 28 through May 25, shedding 25% of CNN's audience in its timeslot from the same period last year in the process.
By comparison, Fox News offerings 'The Five' and 'Special Report with Bret Baier' averaged 3.3 million viewers from April 28 through May 25, trouncing Tapper.
MSNBC also beat Tapper among total viewers, as programming on the progressive network averaged a little over one million viewers in the timeslot. As a result, Tapper settled for only 11% of the cable news audience share, while MSNBC managed 21% and Fox News commanded 68% during the timeframe.
Advertisement
Jake Tapper's book has also been promoted relentlessly across CNN, but the spotlight on Tapper has seemingly failed to give him a boost in viewership.
CNN
It was Tapper's lowest-rated month since August 2015.
'The Lead with Jake Tapper' is also down from last year among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54. Tapper's newscast averaged only 95,000 viewers among the critical demo from April 28 through May 25, for a 15% drop.
Advertisement
'The Lead with Jake Tapper' wasn't the only CNN offering to struggle, as the network had its second-worst month ever in the demo across both total day and primetime during May.
'The Lead with Jake Tapper' averaged 525,000 total viewers from April 28 through May 25, shedding 25% of CNN's audience in its timeslot from the same period last year in the process.
CNN
While Tapper's efforts to promote 'Original Sin' haven't helped viewership, the CNN host has managed to generate headlines by admitting he didn't report on Biden's age issues aggressively enough and declaring the cover-up of the former president's mental decline may be a worse scandal than Watergate.
When reached for comment, CNN noted that Nielsen Media Research only reflects CNN's audience in the United States, but Tapper's program airs on other platforms.
Advertisement
'The award-winning program The Lead with Jake Tapper reaches broad global audiences across CNN, CNN International and Max's streaming platform. No single metric can capture the true reach and impact of a program driving the national conversation,' a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Ratings information courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Small businesses struggle under Trump's tariff whiplash: ‘I'm so angry that my own government has done this to me'
For some small businesses, the last week brought even more twists and turns to the past two months of President Donald Trump's chaotic tariffs. The situation was already confusing, with stops and starts of tariffs at different levels. Then on Wednesday, a US court said Trump overstepped his authority in imposing most of those import levies – only for an appeals court on Thursday to pause the previous court's ruling. The confusion has made it challenging for some small companies to plan, business owners told CNN. In certain cases, they have had to consider changing their product strategy, looking into shifting their supply chains, reducing staff hours or delaying products. 'My fear is, if this continues, there's going to be like the mass extinction of small businesses,' Julie Robbins, CEO of Ohio-based guitar pedal maker EarthQuaker Devices, told CNN. Trump announced blanket tariffs across the globe on April 2, and since then, his plans have changed on a regular basis. In early April, he issued a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs almost everywhere except China. Then, after ratcheting up total tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, he declared smartphones and certain other electronics would be exempt from the reciprocal tariffs. The US and China agreed in May to roll back reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. And in late May, he threatened smartphone makers like Apple with 25% tariffs if they don't make their phones in the US. He also agreed to push back levies on imports from the European Union until July 9. Those are only some of his changes, which can come at any time of day via the White House, social media posts or other avenues. The whiplash has been hard for companies to keep up with. Even major brands like apparel giant Gap are feeling the impact of tariffs, but small companies with far fewer resources are in an even tougher spot. The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index fell by 1.6 points in April, dipping below the 51-year average for the second consecutive month. The organization's chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg, cited uncertainty as a 'major impediment' for small business owners in a press release. 'It's the sort of more smaller, kind of more niche… brands that are going to really, really get hit by this,' Jack Leathem, an analyst at market research firm Canalys, told CNN in April. Some small business owners have had to make difficult decisions as they've grappled with the impact of tariffs. EveAnna Manley, whose company Manley Labs makes high-end electronics for recording studios, has had to cut her employees' hours by 25%. The reciprocal tariffs that China imposed on the US have been particularly challenging, she says, since China has become a major market for her business. Manley says it took 'decades' for her to 'get the best Chinese importers.' Overall, Manley Labs' sales are down more than 19% compared to last year, she told CNN, which has frozen the company's product development efforts. 'It's just a freaking mess right now,' she said in late May, before this past week's court rulings on Trump's tariffs. 'And I'm so angry that my own government has done this to me.' The best thing small businesses can do right now is to be flexible and diversify their sourcing and procurement strategies, says Tala Akhavan, chief operating officer of Pietra, a platform that helps brands with sourcing, production and logistics among other services. That's what Intuition Robotics, which makes a home robot designed to be a companion for older adults, is doing, according to chief strategy officer Assaf Gad. The company also makes money off its digital subscription accounts, according to Gad, giving it the flexibility to look into a 'plan B' outside of China for producing the company's hardware. Sudden changes in tariff policies haven't really impacted the company's decisions because it's planning for the next nine to 12 months rather than the short term, he said in mid-May. Trump's tariffs have encouraged Gad to think about expanding Intuition Robotics into international markets. 'Maybe this is also a good time to say, 'Let's not put all the eggs in one basket,'' he said, 'and, you know, start looking on other kind of territories that will reduce the risk for us going forward.' But for some companies, finding a plan B isn't so easy. That's the case for Sarah O'Leary, CEO of Willow, which makes wearable breast pumps and accessories. As a medical device company, Willow can't simply just move its manufacturing, O'Leary told CNN. The company had to pause exporting one product it produces in China for postpartum recovery at one point because it became too expensive. The ruling on Wednesday aiming to block many tariffs brought some relief, O'Leary said in an emailed statement on Thursday evening. But she acknowledged that there's still 'so much uncertainty,' adding that 'the chaos will persist.' Any tariffs, even low ones, would be difficult for a small company like hers to absorb, she said in mid-May. 'We don't build our products with that much margin,' she said. 'And so, unfortunately, we are in a position where we have to evaluate what we can do to survive in those contexts.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Todd Chrisley reveals what his fellow prisoners thought of his release — after taking a swipe at CNN
Reality star and convicted fraudster Todd Chrisley opened up about his emotional release from prison and the reaction of his fellow inmates — just moments after taking a swipe at CNN during a press conference Friday. 'When I left that day, there was only 317 men at our camp, but they were lined up shouting when I was walking out and they were saying 'Dont forget us, don't forget us' and my commitment is to them that I will never forget them,' Chrisley, 56, told reporters in Nashville alongside his daughter Savannah. The reality star, who was released from federal prison on Wednesday night alongside his wife, Julie Chrisley, after President Trump announced plans to pardon the couple, emphasized systemic issues he witnessed firsthand at the FPC Pensacola lockup in Florida. 'Anyone who says it's a fair shake, it's not. I dealt with young African American males in the prison that I was in who were not treated the same. They were denied programming. They were denied access to certain things. I was not denied that, but we know why I wasn't denied,' Todd Chrisley said. Chrisley, who was convicted with his wife of faking documents to obtain over $30 million in loans, and then dumping them by declaring bankruptcy, took a swipe at the left-wing media's portrayal of the case. 'You must be from CNN,' he mockingly responded to an unidentified reporter who asked if he felt any remorse over his conviction. 'You're placed in a position as a defendant to either bow down and kiss the ass of the DOJ and accept responsibility for things that you did not do in order to avoid a stronger sentence,' he said. Todd and Julie Chrisley's fall from grace: The inside story Todd Chrisley smiles in first public outing since Trump pardon Todd Chrisley reveals extreme lengths he takes to 'outrun paparazzi' as he breaks cover with daughter Savannah after prison release Todd Chrisley reveals what his fellow prisoners thought of his release — after taking a swipe at CNN Inside 'shocked' Todd and Julie Chrisley's first night home after Trump pardons The 'Chrisley Knows Best' star described his time in prison as eye-opening and vowed to continue advocacy efforts for inmates with his family. 'I will continue to fight for all the guys that I dealt with and that I was blessed to be with at FPC Pensacola. I will continue to expose the injustices that go on there and throughout the department and throughout the Bureau of Prisons,' he said. Chrisley also reflected on the moment he first learned of his pardon, describing it as surreal. 'I had a staff member that came up to me and said, 'You've just been pardoned,' and I just looked at him, and he said, 'No really, you've been pardoned. It's in the news.' Savannah also recounted the moment she learned her parents would be pardoned on the way to the grocery store. 'When I got the call, like I said, I was walking into the grocery store, and I stopped in the parking lot. I was like, what do I do?.. and so I sat in my car and had that phone conversation that's online with President Trump… Grayson [her brother] was with me and we're like, oh my god, it's happening, it's happening,' she said. Todd Chrisley was freed after serving just over two years of his 12-year sentence. His 52-year-old wife was let out of FMC Lexington in Kentucky, where she had been serving out a seven-year prison term. President Trump announced plans to pardon the reality TV couple on Tuesday and followed through Wednesday afternoon, telling their adult kids from the Oval Office that the sentences were 'pretty harsh treatment.''This should not have happened,' the president told 27-year-old Savannah by phone. 'They were given a pretty harsh treatment based on what I'm hearing. 'Your parents are going to be free and clean,' he added. 'I don't know them, but give them my regards and wish them a good life.' The glamorous couple's daughter has been championing their case in conservative circles since their conviction, going so far as to speak at the Republican National Convention in 2024 to proclaim that they'd been 'persecuted by rogue prosecutors' for their conservative values. Todd and Julie Chrisley – who celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary days ago on May 25 – haven't seen or spoken to each other since they reported for prison in 2023, Savannah said. But once the family is settled back home, they're ready to jump back into television and have a Lifetime show waiting for them 'that will document all of these things,' Savannah revealed to reporters on Wednesday.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Official Backpedals as Wild ‘Trauma' Plot Exposed
President Donald Trump's budget chief got cornered for saying government workers deserve to be 'in trauma.' 'We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,' Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought had said in remarks obtained by ProPublica. 'When they wake up in the morning. We want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.' 'We want to put them in trauma,' Vought added. CNN host Dana Bash took Vought to task for the remarks in an interview Sunday. 'Is that your goal as OMB director?' she asked. Vought attempted to backpedal, accusing Bash of having 'jerry-picked' his quotes. 'What I was referring to there was the bureaucracy,' he said. 'We do believe there is weaponized bureaucracy. We do believe that there are people who have been part of administrations that are fundamentally woke and weaponized against the American people.' Vought went on to further qualify his comments by insisting he believes there are 'great people' in his department as well as at the Federal Aviation Authority and the National Institutes of Health, who he says 'are doing hard work and important public service activities.' Having chastised Bash for not providing 'the full context' of his comments, Vought continued to rail against the "Deep State." 'We're not going to be pushed, receive push-back from the notion that we're going to dramatically change the deep woke and weaponized administrative state,' Vought said. His interview with CNN comes as Elon Musk steps back from his role as head of DOGE, which is estimated to have cut up to two million jobs from the federal workforce over the past several months. As OMB director, Vought has been critical in implementing that initiative's goals, and is even rumored to be tipped to replace Musk as its chief. He was also one of the authors of the Heritage Foundation's notorious Project 2025 report, which offered a blueprint for Trump's second term that included, among other things, slashing the federal government back to the bone.
