Fox News Channel drew 7.7 million viewers to coverage of President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa on Saturday, helping it to deliver its highest rated primetime for that evening in the network’s history.
The network carried Trump’s speech live in its entirety, while CNN and MSNBC covered excerpts. The Fox News audience was more than the combined audience of the other networks. MSNBC drew 1.9 million viewers and CNN had 2.2. million. The figures are according to Nielsen and come from the network.
Fox News said that the rally coverage was the most watched program of the weekend. It also said that its average of 6.7 million total viewers through the evening was its highest in network history for a Saturday primetime. The network also said that it beat the other networks in the 25-54 demographic, with 1.5 million viewers. The audience peaked in the 9 PM ET hour at 8.2 million viewers.
Much of the overall coverage of the rally and its aftermath has focused on the lower-than-expected turnout, with rows and rows of empty seats in the DOK Center. The campaign blamed it on protesters and the media, but there also was considerable concern over large crowds gathered in the midst of a pandemic.
At the White House on Monday, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted that Trump was not angry about the turnout. “It was a great night and there was a lot to celebrate,” she said.
But she also finished her briefing by noting the Fox News audience. “Big numbers,” she said.
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