An estimated 67.1 million people tuned in to watch the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, marking a significant increase from the June debate, which ultimately contributed to President Joe Biden’s exit from the race.
The debate, hosted by ABC News but broadcast on 17 different networks, outpaced the June Trump-Biden debate, which drew 51.3 million viewers, the Nielsen company reported. However, Tuesday’s figures fell short of the record-setting 84 million viewers who watched Trump and Hillary Clinton’s first faceoff in 2016. It also lagged behind the first 2020 debate between Biden and Trump, which attracted 73.1 million people.
Harris was generally viewed as having outperformed Trump on Tuesday night, a sentiment that sparked sharp criticism from Trump and his supporters towards ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. The moderators engaged in real-time fact-checking during the debate, addressing and correcting four of Trump’s statements.
Despite some discussions and offers from Fox News Channel for alternative debate formats, no further debates between the two presidential candidates are currently scheduled. However, CBS will host a vice-presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance.
The stakes for Tuesday’s debate were already high, not just because of the imminent election, but because the previous presidential debate initiated a sequence of events that culminated in Biden’s withdrawal from the race after harsh critiques of his performance.
Reactions to ABC’s handling of the latest debate were largely polarized, reflecting the deep divisions between supporters of both sides. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes praised the moderators’ performance on social media, calling their work “excellent,” while conservative commentator Ben Shapiro retorted with a harsh rebuke.
In contrast to CNN’s approach during the June debate between Trump and Biden, where no fact-checking was conducted, ABC took a more proactive stance. They corrected several of Trump’s statements on topics including abortion, immigration, the 2020 election, and violent crime.
