RNC night one ratings down 5 million viewers compared to 2016 despite dramatic Trump appearance

Monday night’s coverage drew 18.1 million viewers across 12 broadcasters and cable networks

Despite Donald Trump’s dramatic appearance days after an assassination attempt, the opening night of the Republican National Convention drew in five million fewer viewers than the first night of the convention back in 2016 – when he became the party’s presidential candidate for the first time.

According to Nielsen, Monday night’s coverage of the event in Milwaukee drew 18.1 million viewers across 12 broadcasters and cable networks, down from 23 million viewers across seven networks in 2016.

Fox News had the highest ratings for its RNC coverage, with 6.9 million viewers as of 10pm on Monday.

Next was ABC with 2.3 million viewers, NBC with 2.2 million, CBS with 1.8 million, MSNBC with 1.3 million and CNN with 1.1 million.

On MSNBC on Tuesday, host Lawrence O’Donnell waded in on the numbers, saying “this is a very low-rated convention.”

“He did everything he could to pump up Monday night’s ratings that are lower than the Monday night ratings of his 2016 convention,” said O’Donnell, a longstanding critic of Trump.

“I’ve written episodes of drama series that have gotten bigger ratings,” he added, a reference to his work as a writer and producer on NBC drama The West Wing.

“I used to get 20 million people routinely on Wednesday nights at 9pm.”

Donald Trump is seen at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday July 16 2024 (AP)

The disappointing ratings came despite several significant landmarks unfolding at the RNC that day.

Trump unveiled JD Vance as his vice presidential pick in a Truth Social post on Monday, before making his first public appearance since surviving the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania at the weekend.

The former president entered the RNC auditorium on Monday night with a bandage over his ear, as the crowd cheered and shouted “fight, fight, fight.”

On Tuesday, he returned to the RNC to watch two old rivals, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, take to the stage to endorse him in the election.

Now, Vance is set to take to the stage on Wednesday for his first major address since he was tapped to be Trump’s new running mate. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, is also set to address the crowd, before Trump will close out the convention on Thursday night.

Trump’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the ratings.