The competition between President Trump and the rest of the field in the Republican primary proved to be an overwhelming success for Trump. Instead of participating in the first debate, Trump opted for an online Twitter interview with Tucker Carlson, which has attracted record-breaking views on X (formerly Twitter).
Many analysts had predicted that Republicans would abandon Fox News in favor of watching the interview between these two leading America First populists. And it turns out, they were absolutely right.
According to CNN, only 11.1 million people watched the Fox News debate on the disgraced network last night, with an additional 1.7 million viewers on Fox Business. This is a significant decline compared to August 2015, when 24 million viewers tuned in to the first Republican debate, a historic number. President Trump can certainly be credited for this decline.
To make matters worse for Fox News, the demographics of the audience were also underwhelming. Only 2.8 million viewers within the coveted 25-54 age demographic watched the debate without Trump’s presence. The average age of the audience was 67 years old, suggesting that almost half of the viewers were close to 70 years old.
Additionally, it is worth noting that more people watched the first Democratic debate four years ago. The Joe Biden-led field attracted 15.3 million viewers across NBC, MSBNC, and Telemundo back in August 2019, surpassing the viewership of last night’s Republican debate.
Furthermore, despite the increase in the population of the United States from 321 million in 2015 to 334 million today, the debate audience could only muster about half of the viewership compared to eight years ago.
In contrast, Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson is thriving, with approximately 245 million views as of this writing. This further emphasizes the appeal and popularity of Trump’s alternative approach to traditional debate formats.
President Trump’s decision to forego the debate and instead engage in an interview with Tucker Carlson has undoubtedly paid off in terms of viewership and public attention. It has further solidified his position as a captivating figure in the political landscape, drawing in millions of viewers who are eager to hear his perspectives and insights.
With such a significant disparity in viewership numbers and the undeniable charisma Trump brings to the table, it is evident that he continues to command a massive following and hold a dominant presence in the political realm.
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