President Donald Trump didn’t exactly have viewers glued to their screens as he gave his bonkers speech at the opening night of his much-hyped midterm pep rally.
The 80-year-old president delivered a 106-minute-long speech at Wednesday’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, running more than an hour over schedule. Various sections in the stands of the arena were left empty even as he spoke, the Daily Beast and other outlets reported.
The sparse showing wasn’t just an in-person phenomenon—Trump’s speech also drew an underwhelming audience watching from home.
Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Wednesday night, the window in which Trump delivered his speech, according to The New York Times, which cited Nielsen data.
That figure falls below the usual audiences for Hannity and Gutfeld!, which typically air in the 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. time slots, even though Trump’s speeches have in the past provided ratings boosts, the Times reports.
Competitors such as CNN, MS NOW, ABC’s broadcast network, CBS, and NBC did not carry the speech. Newsmax, OAN, and C-SPAN, which typically draw only a fraction of Fox News’ audience, aired the address in full.
While viewership figures for streaming services and digital outlets are difficult to measure, liberal commentator Keith Edwards noted on X Thursday morning that his YouTube livestream, in which he offered a running critique of Trump’s speech, drew far more views than the GOP’s official livestream of the address.
“50k people watched the GOP’s livestream. 500k watched me laugh at it. Excellent job sir @realDonaldTrump,” Edwards wrote sarcastically.
Screenshots circulating on social media of livestreams taken during Trump’s speech suggest online viewership hovered between the hundreds and low thousands for RightSide Broadcasting Network, ABC News, Fox News, and The Hill.
Trump’s speech faced a formidable TV rival in the NFL season opener between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, which aired on NBC at the same time. More than 20 million viewers watched last year’s game, according to the Times.
But even before Nielsen released Fox News’ numbers—and with NBC’s viewership still unknown—Trump declared Thursday morning that he had “beat the NFL.”
“The Republican Midterm Convention last night, in Dallas, was a major, sold-out hit, far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible,” the president insisted.
“It was really something, streaming all over the place, and really big numbers, despite going up against the NFL. The overall numbers beat the NFL. The Arena, which was really nice, beat its own attendance records. The place was packed! Thousands of people were outside and couldn’t get in. Screens were provided. I guess people LOVE TRUMP POLITICS!”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
