Fox News Channel’s Trump town hall crushes viewership of CNN’s Haley-DeSantis debate
Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum co-moderated Trump event that averaged 4.4 million viewers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News Channel’s town hall with former President Trump averaged 4.4 million total viewers on Wednesday night, crushing viewership of a CNN debate between former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump’s town hall, co-moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, topped CNN’s GOP primary debate by 64% and was the most-watched program on linear television from 9-10 p.m. ET.
CNN’s debate averaged 2.6 million viewers from 9-11 p.m. ET, a smaller audience than Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity received in November when he moderated the historic debate between DeSantis and Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ town hall with former President Trump, co-moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, averaged 4.4 million total viewers on Wednesday night. (Reese Strickland for FOX News)
The Haley-DeSantis showdown was CNN’s lowest-rated debate since the 2016 election cycle.
Fox News also crushed CNN in the demographic most coveted by advertisers, as the Trump town hall averaged 576,000 adults age 25-54 while the CNN debate averaged 515,000 viewers in the critical category.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}During the town hall, Trump signaled that he has already decided who he will choose to be his running mate in 2024.
"I can't tell you that, really, I mean, I know who it's going to be," Trump said when he was asked who his running mate will be in 2024.
"We'll do another show sometime," Trump said when pushed by MacCallum to "give us a hint."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS IOWA'S REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES APPROACH
CNN’s debate between former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley averaged 68% fewer viewers than former President Trump’s town hall on Fox News. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump’s town hall wasn’t the only dominant performance for Fox News this week, as the network also held town hall events with Haley and DeSantis. Baier, the "Special Report" chief political anchor, and MacCallum, executive editor and anchor of "The Story," co-moderated all three Fox News town hall events.
On Monday, Fox News’ town hall with Haley averaged 2.2 million total viewers from 6-7 p.m. ET while CNN managed an average audience of only 687,000 in the same timeslot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The following night, Fox News’ town hall with DeSantis also averaged 2.2 million total viewers from 6-7 p.m. ET compared to 705,000 viewers that CNN attracted during the same time.
MORE THAN 5 MILLION VIEWERS TUNED IN TO FOX NEWS' GROUNDBREAKING DESANTIS-NEWSOM DEBATE
"The Story" executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum and "Special Report" chief political anchor Bret Baier moderated three critical town hall events ahead of the Iowa caucuses. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)
Combined, the three Fox News town halls co-moderated by Baier and MacCallum averaged nearly nine million viewers over three nights ahead of the Iowa caucuses.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Baier and MacCallum also co-moderated the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee last year, which averaged 13 million viewers – a staggering 10 million more than CNN managed on Wednesday – and is the most-watched debate of the 2024 cycle to date.
Baier and MacCallum will co-host "Democracy 2024: Iowa Caucuses" coverage on Monday on Fox News Channel.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.