Beginning in early 2016 with the leadup to the US presidential election that year, mentions of "protectionist OR protectionism" surged on television news. All three stations of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News mentioned the topic in roughly similar levels and surging at around the same time.
Yet, just as suddenly as it had rocketed into the media spotlight, protectionism faded away starting in October 2018, with mentions today on par with those of a decade ago under President Obama, as seen in the timeline below.
A similar trend is observed in worldwide online news, showing that this is a global phenomena, not just an artifact of changing American perspectives towards global trade.
