Ranking Harris and Trump Campaign TV Appearances by Ratings

Someday within the subsequent 36 to 96 hours, the USA will know who its forty seventh president shall be. Polls between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former Republican President Donald Trump, are shut, and each have been criss-crossing key states to make last appeals to voters.

What has largely stopped, nonetheless, are scheduled TV appearances by both. TV information shops are nonetheless protecting speeches and rallies, however — other than a Harris cameo on Saturday Night time Dwell on Nov. 2 (which was adopted by NBC giving Trump equal time in two sporting occasions the next day, per FCC guidelines) — Harris and Trump have focused on in-person occasions moderately than TV studios up to now two weeks.

Previous to that, nonetheless, each candidates took half in quite a lot of media interviews and city halls with voters, together with one debate (plus one other for vice presidential nominees Tim Walz and J.D. Vance). Not one of the media sit-downs got here anyplace near the debates, however a number of of them gathered sizable audiences of their very own. Under is a breakdown of the most important amongst them within the last two months of the marketing campaign.

All scores figures beneath are same-day tallies from Nielsen from Aug. 26-Nov. 2 and embrace preliminary airings solely in order to check like to love as a lot as potential. The occasions beneath embrace deliberate appearances solely, not information protection of marketing campaign occasions.

Debates

Harris and Trump, Sept. 10: A June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden was watched by 51.27 million viewers, on the low aspect for a debate. Biden’s poor efficiency led to elevated requires him to finish his re-election marketing campaign, which he did in July. He endorsed Harris to steer the ticket, and Democrats fell in behind her. The primary — and solely, because it turned out — debate between Harris and Trump drew 67.14 million viewers throughout 17 broadcast and cable shops, above the historic common of 59.2 million for such telecasts.

Walz and Vance, Oct. 1: The 2 nominees for vp confronted each other in a CBS Information-produced debate that delivered 43.15 million viewers on 15 networks. That’s about 7 p.c beneath the common for previous VP debates — and 25 p.c beneath the viewers for then-Vice President Mike Pence and Harris in 2020.

Single Candidate Appearances

Listed below are the eight greatest interview and city corridor appearances, ranked in descending order.

Particular Report With Bret Baier (Harris), Oct. 16: The vp’s interview with Fox Information anchor Baier drew the most important viewers of any marketing campaign interview after the tip of the Democratic Nationwide Conference. The half-hour interview averaged about 7.8 million viewers, with Baier’s full present that night time coming in at 6.7 million — greater than twice its common common.

The First Interview: Harris & Walz, Aug. 29: CNN’s interview with Harris and Walz per week after the Democratic conference — at a time when the media narrative was that Harris didn’t do sufficient media interviews — introduced in 6.31 million viewers, the channel’s largest viewers for the reason that June debate (which it produced).

60 Minutes (Harris), Oct. 7: The long-running CBS Information program invited each Harris and Trump for interviews, however the latter dropped out (and later complained about the best way 60 Minutes edited Harris’ section). Airing on a Monday as an alternative of its common Sunday spot, the episode averaged 5.7 million viewers for the hour, and barely extra (5.97 million) for its first half when the interview with the vp aired.

Gutfeld! (Trump), Sept. 18: Trump’s first look on Greg Gutfeld’s late night-in-spirit (however primetime by definition, because it airs at 10 p.m. ET) Fox Information present introduced in 4.89 million viewers, the most important viewers within the present’s nine-year historical past.

Hannity (Trump), Sept. 4: A city corridor with the Republican nominee on Sean Hannity’s Fox Information present drew 4.42 million viewers, making it the most important of a number of city corridor applications within the post-convention interval.

CNN City Corridor (Harris), Oct. 23: The vp’s look with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper and Pennsylvania voters got here in at 3.33 million viewers.

The View (Harris), Oct. 8, and Fox Information City Corridor with Harris Faulkner (Trump), Oct. 16: Each exhibits aired within the late morning on their respective dates, and each averaged about 3.1 million viewers.