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Second 2024 GOP Primary Debate Viewership Drops 27% From First Debate to 9.5 Million

  • The second Republican presidential primary debate averaged 9.5 million viewers across Fox News, Fox Business, Univision, and streaming, down 27% from the first debate's 13 million.
  • The debate was still the highest-rated program on TV that night but had the lowest viewership for a GOP debate since Trump entered the 2016 race.
  • Trump skipped the debate, instead giving a speech viewed by 500,000, while the debate featured combative exchanges between Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie and others.
  • In contrast, Trump's first debate in August 2015 drew an outsized 24 million viewers at the start of the 2016 cycle.
  • Analysts attribute the lower viewership to less interest without Trump on stage and declining cable news audiences tuning into debates.
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