Symbiotic: “involving interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association…denoting a mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups.”

Despite their massive ideological differences with Donald Trump, the liberal news media symbiotically needs him just as much as he requires them, and for a lot of the same reasons. They are different sides of the same coin and they are necessary to each other as foils to energize their respective bases. Thus, those networks must badly, wholeheartedly, want Donald Trump back in the White House.

No? What has happened to CNN ratings since Trump left office? “CNN averaged 2.7 million viewers from Jan. 4-10 last year, as the network experienced a brief post-election spike but plummeted to only 548,000 average viewers last week, for a stunning year-over-year drop of 80% of its total audience…

CNN’s eye-popping decline is even worse among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, as the network shed 86% of its viewers and finished last week with only 113,000 average viewers in the critical category after averaging 822,000 a year ago.  Among the demographic of people age 18-49, CNN shed nearly 90% of its 2021 audience by dropping from 624,000 younger viewers to a dismal 73,000,” according to Nielsen two weeks ago.

Furthermore, “CNN averaged 5.3 million viewers on Jan. 6, 2021, but failed to crack 1.5 million during any hour of the day when the network marked the anniversary of the riot with special programming. CNN averaged only 743,000 viewers on Jan. 6, 2022, for an 86% decline. CNN’s Jan. 6 coverage also shed 92% of its viewers among the key demo and 87% of primetime viewers…CNN’s biggest drop was among the biggest advertiser-coveted demo during primetime, when it averaged 3.2 million viewers last year and only 206,000 in 2022 for an astounding decline of 94%.”

And MSNBC? “MSNBC dropped significant viewers compared to the same week last year, losing 67% of its total audience, 80% among the key demo and 83% of younger people. MSNBC averaged only 88,000 viewers among the advertiser-coveted demo to finish behind even struggling CNN in the category…MSNBC shed 66% of total primetime viewers, 81% among the key demo and 84% in the younger category.”

This was the difference between 2020-21, when Trump was in office, and 2022 when he was not. Without Trump to bash and his ability to whip up their viewers into spasms of insane paranoia and mental instability, CNN and MSNBC crashed. At their HQs they must be longing, aching, and praying for a Trump resurgence so the good times will roll again.

As for Trump? He needs his people riled up for, as in Orwell’s 1984,  their two minutes of daily hate. What better targets than the limo Leninists at CNN and MSNBC? For without the daily coverage, without attention from the “fake news,” without subjects of scorn to rant over during weird and creepy 3am tweets, Trump is robbed of the resentment that gives his life purpose. He needs their attention to validate his existence. It is loud and obnoxious Romeo bereft of commie Juliet. It is P.T. Barnum sans his Pavlovian oddities.

This writer has little pity for any of them. As such, they deserve each other. All three lower the intelligence of American discourse and are banes of modern politics. But sadly, all three will likely be with us for years to come.