Numbers are in on Trump’s convention audience — and it’s bad news for GOP

U.S. President Donald Trump at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 10, 2026. REUTERS/Jessica Koscielniak

On, Wednesday, August 9, the unprecedented Republican Midterms Convention got underway in Dallas. The most prominent speaker on opening night was President Donald Trump, but according to CNN's Brian Stetler, the number of viewers who watched Trump's convention speech paled in comparison to the number of viewers who watched that night's National Football League (NFL) event.

Stetler, writing for CNN, explains, "There were two big events on television last Wednesday night: President Donald Trump's speech at the Republican Party's midterm convention, and the NFL's 2025-26 season kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. The NFL game drew more than 25 million viewers. Trump's speech reached about 3 million viewers."

But Stetler points out that "by the time the Nielsen ratings came in" for Wednesday night, August 9, Trump "had already declared victory for the convention and himself."

Trump, on his Truth Social platform, wrote, "the overall numbers beat the NFL." But in fact, the NFL event was viewed by more than 8 times as many viewers.

"Trump's post was written in such a way that it is hard to fact-check, even now," Stetler notes. "But all the available data indicates that the Seahawks–Patriots Super Bowl rematch was the main attraction on Wednesday night. And that's notable because the GOP decided to schedule the first-of-its-kind convention on the same nights as the first two NFL games of the season. Heading into the convention, there were questions — and concerns and jokes — about whether Trump and the GOP would be overshadowed by the football games."

One media figure who questioned the wisdom of Trump making his convention speech during a major NFL event was Fox News' Jessica Tarlov, a liberal on a predominantly right-wing media outlet.

Tarlov commented, "Programming against the NFL? A mistake for the TV master."

Stetler observes, "Trump spoke for nearly two hours that night, and his speech was shown live on Fox News, as well as two other Nielsen-rated channels: Newsmax and NewsNation. Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers during the speech, an underwhelming total given that the cable network attracts almost as many viewers on a normal night. Newsmax had almost 400,000 viewers during the speech, while NewsNation had about 125,000, according to Nielsen data."

The CNN journalist adds, "Trump appeared preoccupied with the possibility that people would think the event was a dud. He wrote, the next morning on Truth Social, that it was 'a major, sold out hit, far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible. It was really something, streaming all over the place, and really big numbers, despite going up against the NFL. The overall numbers beat the NFL.' He went on to tout the size of the crowds in the Dallas arena, trying to deny reporters' observations of empty seats."

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