As the Senate trial of President Trump begins its second week, one thing has become clear: Democrats are as focused on winning in the court of public opinion as they are winning the trial. Democrats are presenting their case in soundbites, digital packages, and language ready-made for retweeting, all in the hopes of guaranteeing positive TV coverage and social media domination – mediums where the vast majority of Americans now consume their news in 2020.
53 percent of registered voters get their news from television according to a recent Hill-Harris X poll, and the impeachment trial is being broadcast by six major television networks, including ABC, CBS, and Fox News. So far, about 11 million Americans have tuned in. That’s nearly the amount that used to watch Game of Thrones every Sunday (in other words, a lot of people). Simply put, impeachment creates prime television viewing opportunities and thus far, the Democrats are trying to take advantage.
On the first day, Senate Democrats unleashed a flood of evidence that POLITICO described as “a streamlined, made-for-TV version of events meant to captivate the Senate or the nation.” Even Trump’s most ardent supporter, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), said Democrats presented their case like it was “cable news.” With their large evidence dump and bite-sized video clips, it has almost guaranteed Democrats’ control of the initial coverage.
To further extend their reach and make their case, Politico reported that at least 30 Senate Democrats made 114 cable TV appearances last week, including on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, and ABC.
Then there’s social media. Today, one in five U.S. adults is on Twitter; 71 percent of them say they recieve their news on the site, and 42 percent use the site to discuss politics. House Impeachment Manager, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), is keeping his Twitter feed up to date with all things impeachment and using pithy, repeatable phrases to drive maximum social media pickup. For example, #RightIsRight became a trending topic on Twitter thanks to the closing statement he gave on the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
As Democrats continue to make their case, both in the Senate and to the American public, their digital soundbite strategy is starting to make more and more sense. Regardless of the trial outcome, Democrats’ play to win the news cycle and dominate online messaging could potentially trigger a removal from office all the same – one from American voters in November.
As the trial continues in the Senate, our next blog post will dig into the Republicans’ media strategy and tactics. Stay tuned.