Trump’s big night at Republican convention draws 25 million TV viewers

Former President Donald Trump delivered a speech formally accepting his presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, and an average of 25.4 million viewers tuned in to watch.

The audience figure from Nielsen was roughly 7% higher than viewership numbers for the final night of the RNC in 2020 and 27% lower than 2016. The four-day event, which ran from Monday to Thursday, drew a daily average of 19.07 million viewers — down about 2% from 2020.

Fox News was the most watched channel for coverage between 10 p.m. and 12:05 a.m. Eastern, with an average of 9.4 million viewers, followed by NBC (3.6 million), ABC (2.7 million), CNN (2 million), CBS (1.8 million) and MSNBC (1.1 million).

Politics

5 takeaways from Trump’s Republican convention acceptance speech

Donald Trump began his Republican acceptance speech with a subdued and nondivisive tone. It didn’t last as he later called for mass deportations among other promises.

July 18, 2024

Popular among Trump supporters, conservative Fox News has historically dominated the TV ratings during the RNC. Sean Hannity’s “Hannity,” which aired at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox News, pulled in 8.3 million viewers Thursday.

Coverage of the RNC also extended to PBS, Telemundo, Univision, NewsNation, Newsmax and Scripps News.

During his 93-minute speech, Trump addressed the recent attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania for what he said would be the only time, deeming the assassination attempt “too painful” to talk about. The evening also featured remarks by Trump’s son Eric Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, wrestling star Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White and ousted Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Earlier in the week, “Hillbilly Elegy” author and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance delivered his first public address as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Trump formally chose Vance as his vice presidential nominee on Monday.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 19 to 22 in Chicago. The Democratic convention drew a daily average of 21.6 million viewers in 2020.