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Over 67 million viewers watched the ABC News presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to newly released Nielson ratings.
The total surpassed the viewer totals of Trump’s debate with President Joe Biden, revealing strong interest in the recent matchup.
The Nielson ratings noted 67.1 million viewers across 17 networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, Fox and CNN, according to The New York Post. The Trump and Biden debate reached 51.3 million viewers.
“ABC News, which hosted Tuesday’s debate drew 19 million viewers, followed by Fox-owned channels Fox, Fox News and Fox Business, with a total of 14.2 million total viewers. NBC drew 10.1 million, while CBS reeled in 6.2 million. MSNBC and CNN attracted 6.4 million and 4.4 million, respectively,” the outlet noted.
The number was short of the first debate between Biden and Trump in 2020 which reached 73.1 million viewers.
The statistics come as the Harris campaign has called for Trump to hold a second debate with Harris in October.
As RSBN previously reported, Trump shared his initial reaction to a second debate during a post-debate interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday.
“Her campaign is saying, the Washington Post is reporting, that she wants a second debate,” Hannity told the 45th president.
“She wants it because she lost,” Trump replied.
In a Wednesday Truth Social post, he elaborated on his initial reaction to a second debate.
“In the World of Boxing or UFC, when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!’ Well, it’s no different with a Debate. She was beaten badly last night. Every Poll has us WINNING, in one case, 92-8, so why would I do a Rematch?” Trump wrote.
The 45th president also complained about taking on three opponents during the debate, calling out the bias of ABC’s moderators.
“People are just starting to give me credit for having a GREAT DEBATE. The Voters and Voter Polls showed it, but the Fake News Media wasn’t giving the credit that was due. Now they are seeing the results with independent Voters, Evangelicals, and more – and saying, WOW!” Trump posted to his Truth Social account late Wednesday.
“Remember, I wasn’t debating one person, I was debating three. They should fire everybody at ABC Fake News, whose two lightweight ‘anchors’ have brought disgrace onto the company!” he added.
