Post-Presidential debate special: Five Trends We Saw
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 - 8.30pm PST
Welcome to tonight’s post-debate special newsletter. For more insights and data storytelling on how the world is searching, follow us on Twitter @GoogleTrends and Instagram @googletrends. All data is correct at the time of writing. More election trends here: goo.gle/USelectiontrends24. The next Trends newsletter will be out on Thursday morning
Simon Rogers
Data editor, Google
With Daniel Doebrich and Katie Seaton
All insights are for the US during the time of the debate
“what is a tariff” was the top trending “what” in the first fifteen minutes of the debate and “who pays tariffs on imports” was a breakout search
“pro life vs pro choice” increased +700% during the debate
“harris small business plan” and “small business tax credits” are top trending searches with “small business”
Search interest in Springfield, OH reached an all time high and Aurora, CO reached a 12 year high
“why is fracking controversial” is the top trending “why” in the first hour of the debate “why is ivf controversial” became a breakout search
“how many people died in 1917” was the top trending “how many”, and Spanish flu became a breakout search
“trump on ivf” was the top searched “trump on…” and “harris on fracking” was the top searched “harris on…”
“camp david” became a breakout search and was the top trending location searched, and “where is camp david” was the top trending “where is”
“how much is obamacare” is a top trending search with affordable care act
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Based on a list of top issues used by the Associated Press in this interactive election issues guide
Top US metro areas searching for the debate during broadcast
Glendive MT
Burlington VT-Plattsburgh NY
Charlottesville VA
Portland-Auburn ME
Bangor ME
Philadelphia PA
Boston MA-Manchester NH
Madison WI
Denver CO
Bend OR
Top 10 issues searched during the debate, US
Abortion
Immigration
Crime
Tariffs
Economy
Voter registration
Inflation
IVF
Russo-Ukrainian War
Health Care
Based on a list of top issues used by the Associated Press in this interactive election issues guide
Top regions searching during the debate, excluding the US
Canada
Netherlands
Puerto Rico
New Zealand
Australia
United Kingdom
Singapore
Germany
Hong Kong
France
Top US States searching for fact checking during broadcast
Vermont
Maine
Minnesota
Wisconsin
New Hampshire
District of Columbia
Massachusetts
Rhode Island
Colorado
Pennsylvania
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Breakout: search terms had a tremendous increase, in some cases because these terms are new and had few (if any) prior searches
Top or Most Searched: search terms that rank highest by search volume for a given timeframe and location
Trending Searches: search terms that had the highest spike in traffic over a given time period as compared with the previous equivalent period
For more information about our methodology and how to interpret the data, please read our FAQs and learn more here