Score one for the Donald: Republican Donald Trump’s nomination speech drew a larger audience than did Hillary Clinton’s.
“We beat her. We beat her,” said Mr. Trump at a campaign appearance Friday in Colorado Springs.
Preliminary Nielsen ratings tabulated by industry publications reported that 30 million people tuned in to see Mr. Trump accept the Republican nomination last week in Cleveland, versus 27.8 million who watched Mrs. Clinton’s speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
The ratings include those for the top six networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN and MSNBC — but not others such as C-SPAN or Univision, which are not included in the Nielsen ratings, according to Variety.
Overall, however, Democrats won the week, drawing more viewers during the first three days of their four-day convention than did Republicans.
Over the first three days, the DNC drew an average of 24.7 viewers per night versus 21.6 for the Republican National Convention, according to TV by the Numbers.
The Trump campaign had encouraged supporters Thursday to boycott to watch Mrs. Clinton’s acceptance speech, delivered Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“Unless you want to be lied to, belittled and attacked for your beliefs, don’t watch Hillary’s DNC speech tonight,” said a fundraising email. “Instead, help Donald Trump hold her accountable.”
Views of Fox News may have made the difference, turning out in far larger numbers for the Trump speech than for Mrs. Clinton’s.
“The big difference-maker is, unsurprisingly, the audience for Fox News. For the Trump anointing, 9.35 million people tuned in. Less than a third of that number turned on Fox News for Clinton’s crowning,” said Variety.
Ratings aren’t necessarily a predictor of success at the polls: Since 1960, the party whose convention drew more viewers has lost the presidency seven times and won seven times.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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