CNN’s John King and his ‘magic wall’ keep viewers entranced

As the US election has dragged on and people remain glued to their screens, a new type of celebrity has emerged: the results analyst. And none has been more popular than CNN’s John King.

King, CNN’s chief national correspondent since 2005, has been a nearly constant presence for viewers, fronting the broadcaster’s “magic wall” tirelessly through the week.

With the coronavirus pandemic leading to vastly more postal votes, which take longer to process than in-person ballots, analysts such as King and MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki have become the must-watch stars of the small screen. The Los Angeles Times has said King’s indefatigable efforts and insight have made him the election’s “MVP”.

King, who said he managed just two-and-a-half hours’ sleep on election night and four hours on Wednesday, has fronted The Wall at every election since 2008. A giant interactive touchscreen that allows CNN anchors to see up-to-date voting detail by district and to analyse every possible voting permutation, The Wall has come into its own as this year’s vote count drags on.

The 59-year old has fronted The Wall for 12- to 14-hour shifts on-screen, dissecting updates county by county and state by state, and informing viewers of the changing “pathways” for Donald Trump and Joe Biden to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to make it to the White House.

King’s unflagging omnipresence, coupled with an ability to drop in small surprising facts of political history about even the smallest counties, has kept viewers enthralled and seen his popularity transcend generations and go beyond the typical election analysis nerds.

TikTok, the social video platform favoured by many younger people, has crowned him “King of the election”. Users are uploading short video clips, known as fancams and backed with music soundtracks, of King at work, with the hashtag #johnking receiving more than 2.5m views so far and users posting comments such as “He don’t fear sleep … sleep fears him.”

The efforts of the Inside Politics host, who was formerly married to CNN colleague Dana Bash, have drawn admiration from news colleagues around the world. Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s Middle East editor, singled out King’s efforts and praised his impartiality.

“Brilliant @cnn coverage of the US elections,” Bowen tweeted on Friday. “I’ve watched & appreciated hours of it. @johnkingCNN & his magic wall are outstanding & rightly emulated. He seems immaculately partial but interesting how partial some of [the] other CNN anchors have become after 4 years of Trump.”

King has been at pains to explain and reiterate to viewers that the huge initial lead Trump seemed to build in key battleground states, which has subsequently been whittled away by Biden, is not due to vote-rigging but to the slower counting of postal votes, which have been favoured by Democrats.

King has treated his fame with equanimity. “Overall, to me, it is more than anything proof of the high interest in the election, and the trust we have worked hard to earn with people at key moments,” he told the New York Times. “Corny, maybe, but I love elections and love seeing turnout up across the board.”