How flopped was Donald Trump’s CNN town hall? The same format on the same network drew more viewers for President Biden than for President Trump.
The Washington Post has some interesting information. “While CNN struggles to reverse viewership declines, Nielsen reports an overall viewership of just 3.1 million, with telecasts disappointing in ratings. That was well above CNN’s typical 8 p.m. telecast, but CNN’s town hall with President Biden last summer (3.7 million) and the past six Trump town halls reported by Fox News. It draws fewer viewers than 2018, calling into question both CNN and Trump’s ability to attract viewers.”
which one? Do you think people don’t want to watch CNN, or do you think they don’t want to see President Trump?
The answer is that Donald Trump emulated the Fox News model of building supporter loyalty. As far as business structure is concerned, Trump and Fox News share the same DNA. The real-world consequence of this dynamic is that any network that decides to host President Trump is unlikely to attract as many viewers as Fox News for the same event.
CNN seems to have a lot of misconceptions about Trump and his supporters.
Mr. Trump himself doesn’t have much of a fascination to lure viewers from FOX to CNN. The move suggests that CNN has ruined its credibility for viewers who will never come.
None of this explains how Biden was able to attract more viewers to CNN than Trump. Quite a few Americans don’t want to see or hear President Trump, and they have absolutely no interest in hearing or watching the former president play oldies.
Numbers don’t lie, And what they tell us is that Joe Biden is more popular on TV than Donald Trump.
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Jason is the editor-in-chief. He is a White House press rep and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a BA in Political Science. His graduate studies focused on public policy, specializing in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Membership
Member of the Association of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association