Trump’s reelection prompts record reader donations to The Guardian in new ‘Trump bump’

There’s a new “Trump bump” materializing for some news outlets, though it’s showing up differently than it did the first time Donald Trump was elected president.

There’s a new “Trump bump” materializing for some news outlets, though it’s showing up differently than it did the first time Donald Trump was elected president. That’s the assertion from The Guardian, the British newspaper with an ambitious American arm. According to internal data shared with CNN, Trump’s reelection prompted a record surge in donations to the Guardian US, which has positioned itself as a truth-teller about the president-elect and a protector of the free press. After Trump remarked that “in this term, everybody wants to be my friend,” The Guardian blasted out a defiant fundraising email stating, “Trump, we don’t want to be your friend” and urging readers to contribute a year-end gift. Emails like that one apparently worked. On Tuesday, The Guardian US said the outlet’s end-of-2024 fundraising campaign raised $5.13 million in immediate contributions, more than double the previous record $2.2 million it brought in at the end of 2023. The Guardian US also reported $16.1 million in pledged contributions, which it defines as “the long-term value of recurring subscriptions,” up from $6.12 million in the same period a year earlier. The contributions are a significant source of The Guardian’s US business, making up a majority of the digital outlet’s annual revenue, with ads and institutional philanthropy accounting for the rest. Last year, the publication brought in $33 million in reader contributions and the company expects that figure to continue to grow this year.