How Matt Drudge turned on Trump

Source: The Hill

10/18/24 2:51 PM ET


“American Psycho,” screamed the banner headline on the Drudge Report this week underneath a photo of former President Trump swaying back and forth listening to music at a town hall in Pennsylvania, an episode that was widely panned by his critics. Such mockery of the former president on the buzzy, conservative Drudge page would have been unthinkable in previous election cycles.

But blistering attacks on Trump and other MAGA stars has today become regular practice for Matt Drudge, known widely for his sensational headlines, oddball stories and attacks that have historically leaned against Democrats and liberals. Media and political observers say Drudge’s sharp anti-Trump turn is a symptom of how much the digital right-wing ecosystem has changed with the former president as its main character and the extent to which Trump’s rhetoric has turned some of his formerly biggest boosters off.

“Matt Drudge and Donald Trump had a major falling out prior to the 2020 election,” one former conservative media executive familiar with the bad blood between the two told The Hill this week. “The Drudge grudge is not political, it is personal.” Founded in the 1990s, the Drudge Report exploded in popularity with the breaking of the Monica Lewinsky scandal during former President Clinton’s time in office, and at its peak was visited by tens of millions of media gossip and political news obsessed visitors per day.

Over the past two decades, its ability to send thousands of readers to websites with its links has made Drudge a media powerhouse. This has changed in recent years, and Comscore data shows a downturn in the site’s viewership, as has been the case with many right-leaning websites.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4941585-drudge-report-turns-anti-trump/