Trump 2020 app sees huge spike in downloads
App ranked No. 323 on Wednesday compared to No. 1,075 a week ago
The official Trump 2020 app saw a huge spike in downloads Wednesday, according to mobile app data analytics website Apptopia.
The website's "Trending Up" category, which shows iOS and Android apps that have seen the largest spikes in downloads within 24 hours, displayed the official Trump 2020 app as the No. 1 app on the trending list Wednesday. The list shows what apps experienced the largest increase in App Store downloads.
The Trump 2020 campaign app rose 1,177 rank spots in 24 hours, moving to No. 323 on the App Store compared to No. 1,075 a week ago. It has been downloaded more than 385,000 times this month on the App Store and Google Play, according to Apptopia.
"The flagrant hypocrisy from Silicon Valley is driving people to get their news straight from the source," Trump 2020 Deputy Press Secretary Courtney Parella told FOX Business. "The increase in downloads of the Trump 2020 app shows the enthusiasm for President Trump is growing and proves that the American people are fed up with big tech companies acting as judge and jury to silence conservatives and disregard facts."
Parella added that despite what big tech companies are saying about the president and his comments on social media that have drawn ire, "support remains high for the president.”
The president has recently come under fire for a May 29 tweet about rioters in the wake of the peaceful and violent protests following George Floyd's murder. "When the looting starts, the shooting starts," he tweeted, implying forceful action against those who steal from local businesses during demonstrations.
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The comment, which was also posted to Facebook, led tech giants to take action against the president's social media presence. Twitter, for example, hid the "looting" post and added a discretionary label for users to read before they open it. Snapchat on Wednesday announced it would stop promoting his account on its "Discovery" page. Facebook did not take action against the post, but founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees Wednesday that the company plans to address the issue by dispatching teams to review controversial posts.
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)
The app ranked No. 13 in the App Store's "News" category as of Wednesday, falling just behind CNN at No. 9 and FOX News at No. 10. The app has 3.8 stars and 3,100 reviews on the App Store; the app has just under four stars on Google Play and more than 4,000 reviews.
Users can register for rallies, check in to Trump 2020-related events, donate money and receive campaign news through the app.
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Comparatively, 2020 Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden's official campaign app has 4.2 stars and 184 reviews on the App Store; it has more than four stars and 87 reviews on Google Play. An alternative Biden app called "Joe Biden 2020" falls under the "News" category but is unranked; it has four stars and 26 reviews on the App store.
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a primary election night campaign rally Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
The former vice president took an 11-point lead against Trump in Monmouth University's published Wednesday, showing national support for Biden at 52 percent and 41 percent for Trump. The poll conducted between May 28 and June 1 among more than 800 adults had a margin of error of +/-3.6 percentage points.
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The app's skyrocketing downloads come amid turmoil in the U.S. The unemployment rate stands at 14.7 percent in May after the country was rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced millions of big and small businesses to lay off employees or apply for government loans. More than 108,000 people have died of the virus as of Wednesday.
Just last week, after a black man in Minneapolis, George Floyd, died while in police custody after a white officer kneeled on his neck, protests erupted across the country -- some of which were peaceful and others that were not. The implications of violent protests, including more civilian and officer deaths and injuries, as well as damaged and looted businesses and homes, has led to a national outcry for a change in local and national policies.
President Donald Trump walks past police in Lafayette Park after he visited outside St. John's Church across from the White House Monday, June 1, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Monmouth poll also found that voters have more confidence in Biden's ability to address race relations than Trump.
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"The race continues to be largely a referendum on the incumbent," Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. "The initial reaction to ongoing racial unrest in the country suggests that most voters feel Trump is not handling the situation all that well." He added that a lack of public campaigning due to the pandemic is likely not helping either candidate.
Some conservative commentators credit Trump's 2016 victory to the votes of the so-called "silent majority," or those who are not vocal about supporting the president on social media or elsewhere but voted for him that November. Trump tweeted about the phenomenon on Tuesday amid widespread condemnation over his response to protests, highlighting his hope that silent voters will put him back into office in 2020.