Google Trends: Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Prime Day retains spotlight over Apple Event
Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing
Searches for Sen. Ted Cruz briefly rose following his questioning of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett.
By Laaiba Mahmood
According to Google search data analyzed with Google Trends, Amy Coney Barrett, a federal appeals court judge and U.S. Supreme Court nominee, consistently surpassed Sen. Ted Cruz in searches over a seven day period from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13.
Barrett’s confirmation hearings began on Oct. 12, leading to an uptick in searches. Searches for Barrett dipped into the evening and rose once again on Oct. 13 with the start of the second morning of her confirmation hearings.
Searches for Cruz relative to the rate of searches for Barrett rose following his questioning of Barrett at the hearing in the afternoon on Oct. 13. Cruz spent a majority of his 30 minutes of questioning time to speak on issues such as religious freedom and the Second Amendment.
After telling Barrett that he did not expect a response from her on any of the topics he had just discussed, Cruz proceeded to ask about Barrett’s piano skills, French proficiency and parenting experience during school shutdowns earlier in the year. CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates wrote that Cruz’s line of questioning was insulting to Barrett’s intelligence and the urgency of the confirmation hearing process.
Searches for Cruz never surpassed those for Barrett, and decreased shortly after his questioning time finished.
Prime Day retains spotlight over Apple Event
Amazon’s annual Prime Day event began on Oct. 13, the same day Apple announced their new products, including the iPhone 12.
By Laaiba Mahmood
According to Google search data analyzed with Google Trends, Amazon’s Prime Day was searched more frequently than the Apple Event over a 24-hour period from Oct. 12 to Oct. 13.
On Oct. 13, both Amazon and Apple held events promoting their goods and services. Amazon’s Prime Day was searched more consistently throughout the day but searches for the Apple Event increased right when the event began, exceeding Prime Day searches.
Amazon’s Prime Day is an annual two-day event for Amazon Prime members to access deals and savings on many items. Just weeks from the presidential election, people called for boycotting Prime Day citing concerns over U.S. Postal Service delays for mail-in ballots. However, the Postal Service told Business Insider that there is no reason for concern and that they are prepared to handle increases in packages. As Google search data shows, people continued to seek out information related to Prime Day.
Searches for Prime Day were surpassed by searches for the Apple Event, just as the event was scheduled to begin in the afternoon of Oct. 13. At the event, Apple revealed the new iPhone 12 with 5G capability and its models, accessories and HomePod mini. Shortly after, searches for the Apple Event decreased relative to searches for Prime Day.
