Media

Twitter users dub network hosts reading election results ‘Chartthrobs’

by Celine Castronuovo - 11/06/20 5:43 PM ET

Twitter users have a new title for CNN’s John King, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki and other news hosts tracking electoral maps for viewers this week: “Chartthrobs.”

Messages of praise have circulated on Twitter, thanking hosts for their commitment to monitoring the days-long tabulation of absentee ballots in Alaska, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Friday morning, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden overtook President Trump’s previous lead in Georgia and Pennsylvania as new batches of absentee ballots from Democratic-heavy areas were recorded, although no news outlet has declared a projected winner in either state as of the early evening.

Late Thursday night, the Los Angeles Times’s Matt Brennan told his followers, “Please, if you decide to profess your love for map kings John King, Steve Kornacki, et al., use the preferred nomenclature: Chartthrobs.”

Please, if you decide to profess your love for map kings John King, Steve Kornacki, et al., use the preferred nomenclature:

Chartthrobs

— Matt Brennan (@thefilmgoer) November 6, 2020

Twitter users subsequently joined in on the praise, jokingly professing their love for King, Kornacki and other election analysts.

Is Kornacki Khacki* an official color yet? #ChartThrobs pic.twitter.com/mU7lwTQGqH

— Renee Montgomery (@ReneeMontgomery) November 6, 2020

Math is sexy. https://t.co/JqI0HIIkhm

— Ellie Meinen (@emein5) November 6, 2020

A fantastic job @JohnKingCNN my pick for number one in the Chartthrobs https://t.co/vjgiAF1yuH

— Marian Wilkinson (@mwilkinson54) November 6, 2020

CNN’s King has been involved in constant coverage this week, explaining to viewers the surge in mail-in ballots that have resulted in delayed election race projections. King told the LA Times on Thursday that he had gotten a total of about six hours of sleep since Election Day.

For Kornacki, Twitter users have directed their fascination toward his trademark khaki pants, as well as the clipboard Kornacki usually holds as he analyzes tally breakdowns across voting districts.

According to The New York Times, Kornacki at one point spent more than 10 hours on air, prompting both concern and messages of support from Twitter users.

I went to bed exhausted at 5 a.m. and Steve Kornacki was on TV explaining Michigan. I just woke up now at 10 a.m. and Kornacki is still on TV in the same clothes. Did he not sleep?

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 4, 2020

Late Wednesday morning, an MSNBC spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post that Kornacki “has not slept since he was on ‘Morning Joe’ yesterday.” Thirty minutes later, the spokesperson said that Kornacki is finally “taking a break.”

MSNBC then released a video on Twitter of Kornacki thanking all his fans.

“I saw after I finally left the studio all these incredibly kind and friendly and nice messages everybody had on social media,” he said.