Viewership for GOP Midterm Convention Was MInimal

2.5 million

“President Donald Trump’s speech on the opening night of the Republican midterm convention ?drew about 2.5 million viewers on Fox News, ?according to Nielsen data, potentially undercutting his claim the event ‘beat the NFL’ opening night,” Reuters reports. “Ratings for the game are not yet available, but the ?NFL averaged ?about 18 million viewers per ?game last season, and last year’s opener drew close to 28 million.”

Trump-Free GOP Debate Draws Nearly 13 Million Viewers

12.8 million

“An average of 12.8 million viewers watched the event telecast from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee… The TV audience was larger than what any Republican presidential primary debate drew during the 2012 campaign season, four years before Trump emerged as the main attraction. It also surpassed audience of 12.5 million for Fox News’ January 2016 primary debate held in Iowa, which Trump skipped as well,” the Los Angeles Times reports. By contrast, Mashable reported that, as of the publication of this article on Thursday evening, Carlson’s Trump interview has received 14.8 million video views on X.