With just one week remaining before President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration, the mainstream media appears to be struggling more than ever. The Washington Post’s plummeting digital viewership is the latest sign of a fractured media landscape, as many left-leaning readers disengage in response to the return of the MAGA movement to Washington, D.C.
Once commanding between 22 and 23 million daily visitors, the Post’s audience has dwindled to a fraction of that, prompting the publication to rethink its strategy for covering a second Trump presidency. Subscription and revenue shortfalls are straining the paper, which sources say was valued at over $100 million last year. Critics within the newsroom suggest that editors are failing to present a compelling vision for journalism in the Trump era.
Internally, leadership has set an ambitious goal of reaching 200 million regular users in the coming years. However, the Post faces a steep challenge: its website attracted just 54 million unique visitors in 2024, a dramatic decline from the 114 million it recorded in November 2020, when Trump lost his reelection bid, according to The Wall Street Journal.
It appears the paper will not be able to repeat its successful strategy, which was first employed under the banner “Democracy Dies in Darkness” shortly after Trump first took office and garnered an additional 3 million new subscribers by January of 2021. The departure of Trump from the White House and the first term of President Joe Biden took its toll on the Post as enthusiasm for politics waned, causing its customer base to contract. “Our industry is in the middle of a major transformation,” a Post spokeswoman told the Journal. “The Post is committed to innovating, creating and leading the way forward to reach all Americans with nonpartisan news and thought-provoking reported views.”
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post since 2013, made headlines last year when he reportedly blocked the editorial department’s planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. In his own op-ed published shortly before the election, Bezos criticized outlets like the Post for “increasingly talking only to a certain elite.” Following this decision, more than 250,000 subscribers reportedly canceled their memberships, as the move also prevented the release of an op-ed that Bezos felt could “create a perception of bias.” According to a source close to the company, many of those former subscribers have since returned.
The source noted that year-over-year losses at The Washington Post were 30% higher in 2024, with revenue dropping to $174 million from $190 million in 2023, falling short of management’s internal targets. On Tuesday, the paper announced another round of layoffs as part of its cost-cutting efforts, impacting at least 100 employees, or about 4% of the workforce. Reports indicate that these layoffs did not directly affect the newsroom.
Other media outlets, including CNN, NBC, and MSNBC, are also grappling with declining engagement from readers and viewers. The drop in audience numbers reflects a broader trend, as President-elect Trump’s return appears to be prompting more liberals to disengage, reconsidering their role in “the resistance.” Unlike in 2017, when the Women’s March attracted millions in response to Trump’s first inauguration, the movement has yet to announce plans for a return this month.