Trump-Harris debate attracts 16M more viewers than Biden matchup
Kamala Harris laid traps for Donald Trump during Tuesday’s debate with answers designed to antagonize the former president — and just over 67 million people watched it happen.
The viewership across TV networks, according to data from Nielsen, was an increase from the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden, which drew 51 million viewers and ultimately set the stage for the president to drop out of the race.
Both of this year’s presidential debates had a drop in viewership compared to the first presidential debate in 2020, which garnered 73 million viewers, and the all-time record of 84 million people who tuned into the matchup between Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time in 2016.
ABC News, which hosted the debate, released final numbers Wednesday that showed among those watching across 17 networks, 19 million people tuned in to the debate on ABC News.
The roughly 90-minute debate Tuesday may be the only chance Americans will have to watch the two candidates square off before the November election.
It was clear from the beginning of the debate that the vice president was aiming to get under Trump’s skin, and it appeared to work as the former president became defensive and delivered answers filled with falsehoods. Republicans defended Trump’s debate performance by saying it was the moderators' fault for not also fact-checking Harris and it became a “three-on-one” debate.
Trump and Harris walked on stage neck-and-neck in national polls. Harris had a mission of making herself more known to voters and while Trump became defensive and at times visibly angry, most analysts doubt that Trump’s support would dip all that much.
The Harris campaign announced after Tuesday’s showdown that the vice president is ready for a second debate before the November election. Trump previously called for three debates with Harris, but said on Wednesday that he’d be “less inclined to” because he “had a great night.”
Fox News has offered to host another debate moderated by Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier but neither candidate has agreed to attend.
