What internet search data reveal about Donald Trump’s first year in office

In this report, I inaugurate the first in a series of big data analyses that will chart long-term trends. In the same way that researchers track political, economic, and social activities, it is useful to deploy social media and event histories to identify patterns in internet search behavior regarding President Doanld Trump. Using this information, I find several important developments:

1. Public interest in Trump has plummeted over the course of 2017. After peaking during inauguration week, searches for him have dropped to 20 percent of the initial level as the public has soured on the chief executive.
2. There were variations in interest in economic, domestic, and foreign policy, depending on the time of year. Interest in health care peaked during the period of the summer when Congress attempted but failed to repeal Obamacare. There also were spikes in interest in North Korea, terrorism, taxes, and inequality as those topics were in the news.
3. There were significant differences across states and cities in public interest as various topics surfaced nationally. Variations based on geography reveal interesting things in terms of how different issues resonate in various parts of the country.
4. Impeachment interest has surged during Trump’s first year. In May and November, there were major spikes in public interest in that topic as Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May and saw leading advisers face federal indictment in November.