The television ratings for the Democratic National Convention will trickle out Monday morning. The present political environment suggests Hillary Clinton should be worried about the country’s anger and frustration following the Trump-bashing lovefest in Philadelphia.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump rated higher than Hillary Clinton’s acceptance speech for starters. The growing national interest in a man who lays out the American domestic and foreign policy and all the problems America faces is resonating between the two coasts.
Thursday before last, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, 34.9 million people watched the Republican nominee across broadcast and cable networks. Meanwhile, last Thursday in Philadelphia, 33.3 million viewers saw Hillary Clinton give her historic speech, according to preliminary results. It was historic because she is the first woman nominated for president by a major party.
Trump was obviously being tongue-in-cheek when he predicted “no one would watch” the Democratic National Convention. He backed away from that prediction when the Democrats beat the Republicans the first three nights in total viewers.
He told the New York Times last Tuesday, “I didn’t produce the show, I just showed up for the final speech on Thursday.” Apparently he forgot he stood on the stage after his wife’s speech on Monday and with his running mate, Tuesday and with Governor Mike Pence, on Wednesday.
TV Audience Size
Looking at which network scored the most viewers could further dampen Trump’s boastfulness, as left-leaning cable news CNN won handily once again to sweep the week. They averaged 7.5 million viewers during Clinton’s speech in the 10:00 p.m. hour.
That’s a given, considering “their TV audience,” but Trump won handily with his speech on Fox News, which was also expected. MSNBC finished second for the second straight night, with 5.3. million viewers. NBC took third, with 4.5 million total viewers.
Republicans and conservatives can relish the fact that over the eight nights counting both conventions, Fox News won the overall race averaging 4.48 million. CNN was second, with 4.28 million, but won in the 25-54 demographic, 1.38 million to 1.01 million.
Poll Bump
Tomorrow’s polls almost certainly will show a bump for the former secretary of State. But the Clinton campaign must be uneasy. They said previously Hillary would bury Trump before the conventions ever met. That didn’t happen.
There are now 98 days to November 8th. Hillary’s campaign agrees with the Election Commission about the timing and dates of the proposed debates.
On the other hand, Trump’s people and the RNC are crying foul at Sunday and/or Monday debates in September/October. They would coincide with prime time NFL games in the eastern zone.
The proposed schedule is reminiscent of Hillary’s successful plot to prohibit better viewing times for Bernie Sanders. The WikiLeaks distributed emails from the DNC are further proof that Hillary purposely wants as little coverage as possible that close to Election Day. Will that twisted strategy work against the precocious billionaire?
