Trump’s RNC convention speech beaten by Jimmy Kimmel’s James Talarico interview in views; check numbers
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 that the event “beat the NFL” opening night.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, which was moved to YouTube after alleged FCC threats, has pulled in more views than the convention’s own livestream.
How many people watched Trump’s speech
Fox News was the only major cable network to carry Trump’s roughly two-hour address in full. The Murdoch family-controlled network averaged 2.5 million viewers during the speech, ahead of MS NOW’s 1 million and CNN’s 441,000 in the same window, as per Reuters.
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Kimmel’s interview beats convention livestream on YouTube
Jimmy Kimmel’s interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas has now garnered more than 4.3 million views on YouTubefar more than a livestream of the Republicans’ midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.
Fox News drew an average of 2.3 million viewers on the first night of the midterm convention on Wednesday, and it averaged 2.5 million during Trump’s speech between 9 p.m. and 11pm ET, as per Newsweek. Even combined, Fox News’s day two livestream views of 17,000 and its 2.5 million broadcast viewers add up to less than Kimmel’s interview numbers alone.
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What did Trump say in the Convention
Trump used the convention to urge voters to see November’s midterm elections as a vote on him. During the two-day event, he asked them to “pretend I’m on the ballot”, according to Reuters. Republicans hope the convention will energize the party’s supporters and bring back the strong turnout that helped Trump win in 2016 and 2024.
In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump said the gathering was “far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible”. He also claimed “the overall numbers beat the NFL,” but did not give any figures or explain how the numbers were calculated.
He closed out the convention by urging Republicans to “go out and vote” in November, telling the crowd, “You got to do me the biggest favor you’ve ever done. You’ve got to do this for me. You’ve got to pretend I’m on the ticket.” He also promised $5,000 to each American adult during his keynote address if his party retains control of the House and Senate in November, as per Newsweek.
