Analysis: Rachel Maddow talks about Russia more than all other topics combined

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow spends most of her nightly show talking about one topic: Russia, Russia, Russia.

In fact, according to a new analysis from The Intercept, which reviewed six weeks of the liberal anchor’s show, Maddow talks about Russia — and President Donald Trump’s potential ties to the Kremlin — more than every other topic combined.

The study found that Maddow’s Russia reporting (53 percent of coverage) “dwarfed” the time devoted to other headline news, such as Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration (1.3 percent), Obamacare repeal and replace (3.8 percent), the legal battle over Trump’s travel freeze (5.6 percent), progressive protests at GOP town halls (5.8 percent), and other White House news (11 percent).

“The Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare, which was in full swing during the six-week period, got less coverage (nearly 46 minutes) than six other individual Russia issues,” The Intercept’s Aaron Maté wrote.

This analysis comes as the FBI and both chambers of Congress are conducting investigations into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.

Last week, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) announced he would be stepping aside from leading the Russia investigation after “several left-wing activist groups have filed accusations against me with the Office of Congressional Ethics.”

Nunes had been the subject of intense scrutiny after it was reported that he visited the White House one day before he revealed that Trump and his campaign associates may have been picked up in incidental surveillance collection during the 2016 election. He was criticized for bypassing his own fellow committee members and briefing the president first on the matter.

“Given her political expertise, journalistic acumen, and influential platform, Maddow is ideally suited to explore the Democrats’ 2016 electoral collapse in an insightful way. But the time and investigative zeal that Maddow has devoted to Russia has come at the cost of any such analysis,” The Intercept concluded.

As it turns out, though, Maddow’s feverish focus on Russia has served her well. The Intercept’s study of the progressive news channel’s 9 p.m. program was conducted between Feb. 20 and March 31, and in that time, “The Rachel Maddow Show” enjoyed its highest ratings in nearly a decade.

Her program easily topped CNN’s prime-time show, “Anderson Cooper 360º,” drawing 2.3 million viewers in February — its largest audience ever and nearly double what it was at that same point last year.

And in the last week of March, Maddow’s show was the No. 1 cable news program among the 25-54 year old age demographic, Deadline reported. The MSNBC broadcaster brought in 624,000 in the news demo, beating Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” which is the highest-rated news show on cable television, by 40,000 among 25-54 year olds.

As for whether or not Trump actually collaborated with Russia, the president says such reports are nothing more than “fake news.”