2024’s Winners and Losers: Year in Review

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For those of us in the news business, 2024 provided a steady stream of stories to cover—and rarely a dull moment. From the Republican primaries early in the year to the assassination attempts and political conventions this summer, our Daily Signal team stayed busy through Election Day and in the days that followed.

During his first term as president, Donald Trump provided a plethora of political and policy news for us to report. We expect the same will be true in 2025. But before we turn the page on this year, our team reflected on the winners and losers—compiling the following list (listed alphabetically).

How’d we do? Send us a note at [email protected] to compliment us to complain about our choices. We welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing from you. 

AI

In 2024, you couldn’t escape artificial intelligence even if you tried.

Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and others released new AI models and expanded their capabilities. Their consumer-friendly tools like Claude and ChatGPT continued to become more powerful.

Elon Musk is building his own rival, rolling out improvements to Grok, his version of AI within X. “We will have something that is, for the first time, smarter than the smartest human,” Musk has predicted.

With big questions about government regulation and its application in everyday life, this technology is truly, in Musk’s words, “the most disruptive force in history.”

Joe Biden

Yes, you read that right. What is left of President Joe Biden is a winner in the year of our Lord 2024. Even though Biden’s own party threw a coup against him (the sitting president of the United States!) and removed him from the presidential race, the flip at the top of the ticket ended up being a flop.

Trump carried the Electoral College and the popular vote in his mandate victory. Now, it’s a serious question as to whether Biden would have performed better in the places that mattered most to carry the presidential election—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin.

Biden was a party man for half a century, but ever since Democrats switched Biden for Kamala Harris, Biden has seemingly helped Republicans at every turn and acted purely out of self-interest.

His loyalists leaked details of the coup and Democrat infighting to the press, he wore a MAGA hat, and he gave Republicans a last-minute turnout boost by calling Trump supporters garbage. And, of course, since losing the election, he’s pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, after promising for years he would not. He’s created one political mess after another, and the Democratic party will be left to clean it up. Meanwhile, the president and his son will be on the beach in Delaware.

Bitcoin

The price of bitcoin was $44,000 on Jan. 1 and exceeded $100,000 in the weeks following Trump’s election.

With crypto-friendly officials dotting Trump’s new administration, there’s genuine excitement about its future. Paul Atkins is set to replace Gary Gensler as chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission and billionaire David Sacks, co-host of the “All In” podcast, will serve as Trump’s AI and crypto czar.

Dennis Porter, CEO and co-founder of the Satoshi Action Fund, told The Daily Signal that cryptocurrency like bitcoin can combat inflation and preserve individual freedom.

“You are able to operate wholly on your own with no third parties, without asking permission, you are able to access the bitcoin network globally, anywhere in the world and be able to participate in the economy without asking permission,” Porter said.

Tucker Carlson

After leaving Fox News and launching his own Tucker Carlson Network in 2023, the popular conservative commentator continued to influence the Republican Party’s agenda under Trump.

Known for his populist and common-sense perspectives, Carlson propelled to the top of the charts with millions watching or listening to his interviews and monologues.

His trip to Russia for a two-hour conversation with Vladimir Putin has more than 20 million views on YouTube. Another interview with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has more than 5 million, reflecting Carlson’s international reach.

Tucker Carlson Films expanded his content offerings even further. “The Art of the Surge,” a series produced by Justin Wells, offered viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Trump’s historic comeback, including shocking footage from the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt.

In September, Carlson hit the road for a cross-country speaking tour that featured conservative newsmakers, drawing sold-out crowds to hear from the likes of JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Dogs and Cats

At their only debate in September, Trump and Harris squared off on a range of policy issues. But the most memorable moment came amid reports of Haitian immigrants overwhelming the community of Springfield, Ohio.

“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating—they are eating the pets of the people that live there,” Trump said. 

ABC News anchor David Muir, who repeatedly interjected during the debate, attempted to correct Trump. But it didn’t matter.

The story dominated the news for days as Americans saw Springfield as a representation of America’s broken immigration system. An estimated 20,000 immigrants were living in the community of 60,000.

Fox News

In a year when other TV networks lost viewers—and respect—Fox News maintained its position as the leader in cable news.

“Fox News Channel obliterated competitors in 2024, finishing the year with its highest share of the cable news audience since 2015,” Brian Flood reported for Fox News Digital.

Since the Nov. 5 election, Fox News has dominated its competition—both cable and network TV—with more than 4 million prime-time viewers (from 8-11 p.m. ET), according to Nielsen Media Research data. That makes Fox News the most-watched network, beating  legacy media networks ABC, CBS, and NBC in prime-time.

In terms of market share, Fox News commanded 73% of the prime-time cable news audience as CNN’s and MSNBC’s ratings cratered following Trump’s victory.

Podcasters and social media personalities are getting deserved praise for their growing influence, but Fox News Channel is still the go-to destination for political and election news.

Tom Homan

Homan was among the first political figures Trump tapped for his new administration following his victory on Nov. 5.

After serving at the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the first Trump administration, Homan will now serve as Trump’s border czar and lead the way on Trump’s mass deportation plan.

Homan spent the last four years watching the Biden administration welcome over 10 million illegal aliens into the county, and now, with the full support of the president, he will have the opportunity to enforce U.S. immigration law and secure a border that he has spent his career defending, both in the Border Patrol and ICE.

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes

The three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs orchestrated an overtime victory in February and has his team positioned for another appearance in 2025.

Patrick’s wife, Brittany, made headlines of her own when she liked an Instagram post of then-candidate Trump about the Republican Party’s platform. After facing a backlash, she wrote, “Jesus didn’t have to agree with people to be kind to them.”

Two other members of the Mahomes family endorsed Trump: Patrick’s younger brother Jackson and his mother Randi, who showed up to a Chiefs’ game in a MAGA hat.

McDonald’s

The iconic American fast-food restaurant found itself at the center of news on several occasions.

Donald Trump’s October campaign stop at a McDonald’s in the Philadelphia suburbs was a brilliant photo opportunity for the Republican candidate. But it also symbolized the difference between his appeal to working-class Americans in contrast to Kamala Harris.

Trump wore an apron and worked as a fry attendant. It was one of the most viral moments of the 2024 presidential election and a classic Trump move, particularly given Harris’ questionable employment at McDonald’s earlier in her life.

“As we’ve seen, our brand has been a fixture of conversation this election cycle. While we’ve not sought this, it’s a testament to how much McDonald’s resonates with so many Americans,” McDonald’s wrote after Trump’s visit. “McDonald’s does not endorse candidates for elected office and that remains true in this race for the next President. We are not red or blue—we are golden.”

McDonald’s made news again in December when a customer in an Altoona, Pennsylvania, restaurant spotted murder suspect Luigi Mangione, leading to his arrest.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, and his transformation of the platform into the free speech engine that is X today, likely helped Trump’s historic election victory. Musk also contributed to that victory by endorsing Trump and urging swing-state voters to sign his petition for the chance at winning $1 million.

Musk not only played a historic role in the election; he will also help lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an external advisory board to trim waste and prevent abuse in the federal government.

In December, Musk rallied Americans on X to oppose a must-pass government funding bill that had been stuffed with pork. His opposition to the bill grew naturally out of his work on the Department of Government Efficiency and his efforts led Trump to oppose the bill and House Speaker Mike Johnson to withdraw it from consideration.

Podcasters

Podcasting took center stage this year, with 2024 being the first ever “podcast election,” and for good reason.

Over 53 million Americans tuned in to hear Trump’s three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan covering everything under the sun—from tariffs to golfing to fixing the “wrongs” of his first term. America also watched Vance communicate Trump’s vision for the country over the next four years with Theo Von—all while proving he can joke around and isn’t “weird.” Even Kamala Harris’ failed campaign hopped on the podcast bandwagon with a 45-minute appearance on “Call Her Daddy.”

But why the sudden interest in podcasts? Americans are fed up the corporate media lies, so they fled to a more uncensored platform. An October Gallup poll revealed that trust in the media hit a historic low, with 36% saying they have “no trust at all in the media,” and 33% expressing “not very much” confidence.

Now, everyone and their mother—from CNN’s Chris Wallace to former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley—are scrambling to hop on the podcasting wave. The Daily Signal launched a brand-new podcast this year, “The Signal Sitdown,” where members of Congress explain how the sausage really gets made in Washington, DC.

Dennis Quaid

The longtime Hollywood actor starred in the hit movie “Reagan.”

Based on Paul Kengor’s book, “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism,” the movie was a box-office success. It made more than $30 million worldwide, far exceeding expectations.

Quaid’s performance was a big reason for the movie’s success.

“Dennis was always my first choice because he required almost no hair and makeup touchups to get him camera-ready,” producer Mark Joseph told The Daily Signal. “He’s a natural, and he has that great Reaganesque smile and persona. He’s a busy guy, so it took some time to nail him down, but he was always the one for me.”

Joe Rogan

In the weeks before Election Day, Trump shunned CBS News’ “60 Minutes” and other corporate media outlets in favor of modern-day influencers like Joe Rogan, Theo Von, and Logan Paul. Megyn Kelly, whose show is regularly among the top 10 podcasts, joined Trump on the campaign trail in Pittsburgh.

Trump’s interviews with these influencers accumulated more than 100 million views—and reached voters who don’t get their news from traditional media sources.

Donald Trump Jr. told Daily Wire podcast host Michael Knowles that he and his father discussed giving Rogan a press pass to the White House to shake up the status quo.

“I was sitting there, and we were talking about, like, the podcast world, and some of our friends, and [Joe] Rogan, and guys like you, and me to a lesser extent—I wouldn’t be able to get a seat, that would be nepotism or whatever the hell,” Trump Jr. said. “But we had the conversation about opening up the press room to a lot of these independent journalists.”

Trump has disrupted the corporate media’s business as usual, and Rogan appears to be coming out on top.

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania’s Democrat governor was on the short list to become Kamala Harris’ vice president. Instead, Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz after a few notable TV appearances

In retrospect, Shapiro should count his blessings.

After a strong debut in August, Harris failed to live up to the fanfare down the stretch. Walz will be an afterthought in the history books.

Shapiro, meanwhile, can now position himself for a future presidential run without Harris’ baggage. He’ll need to win reelection in 2026 and then overcome the left’s fears about his support for Israel and past endorsement of school choice.

Donald Trump

After easily vanquishing his Republican rivals in the GOP primaries, Donald Trump did the same to the incumbent president. Joe Biden was no match for his predecessor after their June debate, setting into motion an unprecedented turn of events over the summer that resulted in Vice President Kamala Harris being anointed the Democrat nominee—without winning a single vote. 

As if those political hurdles weren’t enough, Trump also emerged unscathed from the Left’s lawfare and then survived two assassination attempts on his life. A bullet came within mere centimeters of killing him in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. 

Heading into Election Day, legacy media outlets were convinced it was a toss-up race between Harris and Trump. Instead, it turned out to be a historic Trump mandate, sweeping all seven swing states, capturing the popular vote, and making major gains with blacks, Hispanics, and younger Americans.

As he departed the White House in 2021, Trump left at a political low point. Few pundits gave him a chance at redemption, and yet Americans witnessed in 2024 the greatest political comeback in U.S. history. With Biden already AWOL, Trump is wasting little time to make his mark, recognizing the precious little time he has to implement his policy engage, deliver on his promises, and finally drain the swamp in Washington, D.C.  

College Presidents

Anti-Israel protests continued to rock college campuses. They also ended the careers of three Ivy League university presidents.

Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania resigned in December 2023, the first of three presidents to lose their jobs. Harvard’s Claudine Gay stepped down in January and Columbia’s Minouche Shafik in August.

Magill and Gay’s downfall came after facing off against Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., at a congressional hearing. Shafik was unable to handle antisemitic protests at Columbia.

“THREE DOWN, so many to go,” Stefanik said. “We will continue to demand moral clarity, condemnation of antisemitism, protection of Jewish students and faculty, and stronger leadership from American higher education institutions.”

As the year drew to a close, George Mason University President Gregory Washington found himself under scrutiny for its own problems. Three of its students, all of Middle Eastern origin, had run-ins with the police over weapons and pro-terror material.

Mark Cuban

Best known for his role on “Shark Tank,” the Dallas Mavericks owner was among the most vociferous defenders of Harris when she replaced Biden atop the ticket.

Cuban appeared at campaign rallies, on television, and regularly engaged online in support of the Democrat presidential candidate. He extreme rhetoric—calling Trump a “threat” with “fascist tendencies”—epitomized the left’s hyperbolic language.

At one point during the campaign, he admitted to ABC News that “Harris is just not a good salesperson,” prompting his own involvement in the race.

Some pundits speculated that Cuban wanted a high-profile job in a Harris administration, perhaps leading the Securities and Exchange Commission. Instead, he’ll be watching the action from the sidelines.

After Trump’s victory, Cuban wrote on Bluesky, “Don’t expect any politics or speculation about what might happen for a while.”

Nikki Haley

After suspending her political campaign in March, Haley has found herself somewhat politically homeless among a shifting Republican Party.

Haley was a fierce critic of Trump during the 2024 presidential race, despite serving as ambassador to the U.N. under a portion of his first administration. Though Haley made an appearance at the Republican National Convention, Trump was clear after his victory that there was no place for Haley in his administration.

“I will not be inviting former Ambassador Nikki Haley, or former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to join the Trump Administration, which is currently in formation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in November.

Haley is now working in the private sector at Edelman, a global communications firm.

Sunny Hostin

What was supposed to be a friendly question for Kamala Harris turned into a disaster. Appearing on “The View” in early October, Hostin asked Harris if she would do anything differently from Biden.

“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris replied.

The answer surprised even friendly Hostin, who followed up to give Harris another opportunity. After the election, Hostin admitted that Harris missed the mark.

“The reason I followed up was because that wasn’t a gotcha question,” Hostin said. “That was a layup, really.”

Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller pointed to the interview as a turning point in the campaign.

“I think this Kamala Harris strategy of going out and doing a whole bunch of media has really backfired. I mean, who would’ve thought that Sunny Hostin from The View really killed Kamala Harris’ candidacy?” Miller said.

Election Day was not just a high-stakes contest of competing visions for America’s political institutions and future. It was about the future of our other commanding heights institutions as well—academia, finance, the media, and the like.

None of these institutions or industries had as high of stakes as the media: 2024’s campaign cycle was a test to see if the corporate media could put an empty suit (whether by the name of Joe Biden or Kamala Harris) in the White House, or if alternative media could pose a real threat to the corporate media’s power.

Trump’s victory, not to mention conservative control of the House and Senate, proved the latter.

To add insult to injury, ABC has agreed to pay Trump $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit after George Stephanopoulos falsely claimed Trump was found “liable for rape.” For some reason, the corporate press feels threatened by this settlement. “Trump is already delivering on his promise to go after the press,” one Politico headline read.

If going after the press means the corporate media can no longer spread malicious lies with impunity, Americans ought to hope Trump delivers on this promise tenfold.

Mitch McConnell

Senate Republicans will have a new leader for the first time in 18 years—and there’s palpable excitement on Capitol Hill for the changing of the guard.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stepped down from his leadership perch after pressure from conservatives and his own health problems. He’ll serve out the remainder of his term, which ends in 2027.

In recent years, McConnell made more headlines for his clashes with Trump and the MAGA movement than any legislative accomplishments. Even on his way out, he couldn’t help taking a shot at Trump.

“To pretend that the United States can focus on just one threat at a time, that its credibility is divisible, or that it can afford to shrug off faraway chaos as irrelevant is to ignore its global interests and its adversaries’ global designs,” McConnell wrote in Foreign Affairs. “America will not be made great again by those who simply want to manage its decline.”

McConnell leaves his leadership job as one of America’s most unpopular politicians.

His successor, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., won a three-way race for the top job. Even though he wasn’t the first choice of MAGA voters, Thune has signaled support for Trump’s agenda and nominees.

Planned Parenthood

Pro-life voters ended their losing streak at the ballot box, stopping three statewide constitutional amendments in support of abortion.

Those wins in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota give the pro-life cause a reason for optimism, even as measures passed in seven other states.

More importantly, the left’s pro-abortion enthusiasm appeared to wane at the ballot box. Unlike the 2022 midterm election, when the issue halted the Republican “red wave,” this time Democrats were on defense for a range of other issues, including inflation, border security, and crime.

With the incoming Trump administration poised to restore pro-life protections, Planned Parenthood will also be a target of Congress. The abortion giant relies on taxpayer funding for its operations.

In recent years, Planned Parenthood has expanded its portfolio to include transgender services. Abortion remains its priority, however. With approximately 200 abortions for every adoption referral, there’s no mistaking this organization’s evil intentions.

Taylor Swift

Among the major celebrities endorsing Harris, there was no one bigger than Taylor Swift. But just like her uninspiring 2018 endorsement of Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Democrat opponent in Tennessee, Swift’s embrace of Harris ended with a loss.

Swift weighed in after the presidential debate between Harris and Trump in September.

“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate [Tim Walz], who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”

She signed the note, “Childless Cat Lady,” in reference to a comment Sen. JD Vance made in an earlier interview.

Swift should stick to her day job. Her popular Eras Tour was far more successful than her political picks.

The Woke Bureaucracy

As Tyler O’Neil’s forthcoming book “The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government” reveals, the Left’s dark money network props up a system of woke nonprofits that staff and advise the federal government, pushing the bureaucracy to support critical race theory (the notion that America is systemically racist against blacks and for whites), gender ideology, climate alarmism, and technocratic government.

The woke elites lost big in the 2024 presidential election, and woke activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign have been losing steam all year. Human Rights Campaign runs a Corporate Equality Index that acts as a shakedown operation, demanding cash and public celebrations of the LGBTQ agenda in exchange for protection from the woke mob. Many companies have opted to leave that index, and Human Rights Campaign lost a key ally when it became clear the Biden-Harris administration would not continue.

Woke bureaucrats are going to fight to maintain their grasp on power, but thanks to the incoming Trump administration and allies like the Department of Government Efficiency, those bureaucrats will be playing defense.