President Donald Trump’s speech on the opening night of the Republican midterm convention garnered an average of 2.5 million viewers on Fox News, a figure that fell below the typical viewership for the network's 9-11 p.m. time slot hosts, according to The New York Times.
The viewership numbers were also lower than the audience for segments hosted by Greg Gutfeld and Sean Hannity in that same time frame. The lack of a significant viewership increase, often referred to as a "Trump bump," may also be partly attributed to NBC's broadcast of the NFL's opening night game. Nielsen numbers for the NFL game are expected next week.
Despite these figures, Trump declared the convention speech a success on Truth Social, stating that it was a "major, sold out hit" and that "overall numbers beat the NFL." He also asserted that the American Airlines Center in Dallas was "packed," though reports indicated otherwise.
During his address, Trump made several notable remarks, including a proposal described as a $5,000 bribe to voters, a sexually suggestive joke involving Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas, and a declaration that the United States would have faced "Armageddon" if he had not been elected president.