In a television showdown that has ignited discussions across the nation, Donald Trump Town Hall emerged victorious, commanding more than double the viewership of CNN’s recent primary debate featuring Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
Wednesday night’s event, hosted in Iowa and skillfully moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, drew an impressive 5.7 million viewers, according to early Nielsen numbers released by Fox News.
In stark contrast, CNN’s debate managed to capture the attention of 2.5 million viewers, marking a substantial gap of nearly 70% between the two broadcasts.
Town Hall
The former president has consistently chosen to host competing events during debates, a trend that continued with this town hall.
Notable among his previous alternatives was a riveting interview with Tucker Carlson on X. Currently, Trump consistently maintains substantial leads over his GOP competitors in public opinion polls.
While Trump, DeSantis, and Haley were the qualifying candidates for CNN’s debate stage, the likes of Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy did not cut.
Despite not claiming the title of the most-watched primary event, Trump’s town hall secured the highest ratings since the November debate between DeSantis and California Governor Gavin Newsom, which was also broadcast on Fox News.
Rivalries
This week has seen Fox News amplifying its political coverage with town halls featuring both DeSantis and Haley.
According to Fox, the reruns of Trump’s town hall at midnight Eastern time and during the night attracted an extra 1.4 million viewers. Given Fox News typically outperforms CNN in viewership, Wednesday’s triumph in ratings came as no shock.
Does this mean that more attention can be drawn from a Trump Town Hall than the face-offs of Republican contenders Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis?
The dynamic political landscape and the ongoing rivalry between news networks add an extra layer of intrigue to the unfolding drama of the 2024 election season.
Cover Photo: YouTube