The view numbers for the first presidential debate were released on Wednesday, showing a significant rise from the June debate between Trump and Biden.
The Nielsen figures show that 58 million people tuned in for the debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday, roughly 6.5 million more than who watched the debate between Biden and Trump, which likely led to the former’s decision to drop from the race. According to Axios, the viewership numbers for Tuesday may rise about 60 million “once Nielsen finishes a more comprehensive tally.”
“The highest-rated game in the NFL’s opening week averaged 29 million viewers. The debate roughly doubled that. Americans are tuned in to this election, especially now that Harris has replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket,” noted Axios.
Speculation has been swirling over which candidate won the debate since Tuesday night. While some polls, including a CNN and Fox News flash poll, showed Harris beating Trump by wide margins, a Reuters poll that focused on undecided voters showed they were not swayed into the Harris camp following the debate.
Kamala Harris was widely seen as dominating Tuesday’s presidential debate against Republican former president Donald Trump, but a group of undecided voters remained unconvinced that the Democratic vice president was the better candidate.
Reuters interviewed 10 people who were still unsure how they were going to vote in the Nov. 5 election before they watched the debate. Six said afterward they would now either vote for Trump or were leaning toward backing him. Three said they would now back Harris and one was still unsure how he would vote.
It remains to be seen how or if the debate will tip the scales in either candidate’s favorability rating. As to whether or not Americans can expect a rematch between Harris and Trump, the former president told Fox & Friends he feels “less inclined” to participate in another debate after Tuesday night.
“I’d be less inclined to, because we had a great night. We won the debate. We had a terrible a terrible network,” Trump told Fox & Friends.
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