Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they’re tuning out

People at a watch party in Miami listen as former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris debate in September. Election news on CNN and MSNBC was taking up too much of Sam Gude’s time before Nov. 5, said the 47-year-old electrician from Lincoln, Neb. At Fox News Channel, a favorite news network for Trump fans, the post-election average of 2.68 million viewers is up 13%, Nielsen said. But if the network wants to expand its audience, “then you have to talk about issues, and you have to stop talking about Trump.” Kathleen Kendrick, a 36-year-old sales rep from Grand Junction, Colo., who’s a registered independent voter, said she hears plenty of people loudly spouting off about their political opinions on the job. They made it so much of their focus that when the main event ends, why would people want to keep watching?” The poll of 1,251 adults was conducted Dec. 5-9 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population.