For better or worse, I don’t think there will be a “Trump Bump” in traffic to news websites during the second Trump administration. There are a bunch of reasons that levels of interest (and/or shock) aren’t what they were eight years ago: news fatigue, Trump’s (slight) popular vote win, self-preservation. There will surely be some traffic spikes in moments of congressional combat or when Trump announces a particularly egregious executive action — and we’ve seen a few post-election bumps during this cabinet nomination process — but it’s already looking like 2025 will have little in common with 2017 in terms of eyeballs to our respective domains.
For those of us who aren’t in the straight political reporting business, there’s an opportunity to cover Trump differently this time. We don’t need to sustain our astonishment or tap into our own panic and worry every time he says or does something heretofore unfathomable. (After all, it’s all fathomable now?) As we prepare for a seismic change in Washington — given Trump’s promises/threats — we can get more attuned to what our audiences need and want from us during this second round of Life Under Trump. Yes, we’ll still explain tariffs and supply chains and why your new iPhone costs twice as much as your last. But we’ll also look at popular culture in a different way, and how people are getting their politics via Taylor Sheridan, or Steve Bannon. And we will, of course, still provide escapism with, let’s say, a beautifully illustrated list of important recipes.
It also means that instead of chasing traffic, we will focus more on building membership, and deepening our relationships with our audience. We always want new readers to find us, but serving our most loyal and engaged readers is an opportunity for now, and the future.
Hillary Frey is editor-in-chief of Slate.
