Trump Hit with ‘Embarrassing’ New Statistic

An estimated 24.6 million people tuned in to watch President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, marking the smallest viewership for the event in recent history. This is down from the 33.8 million who watched Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and the 30.6 million who tuned in for Trump’s first term in 2017, according to Nielsen.

Inauguration viewership has fluctuated significantly over the years, with highs and lows. For example, 41.8 million viewers watched Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1981, while George W. Bush’s second term kick-off in 2004 drew just 15.5 million.

One factor that might have impacted Trump’s viewership is the length of the broadcast. The 24.6 million number represents the average number of viewers who watched coverage across 15 networks from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Typically, inauguration coverage doesn’t extend this long, which can cause the average to drop as viewers tune out over time.

Nielsen did not provide a breakdown for viewership before 4 p.m., the usual end time for most inauguration coverage in past years, so it’s unclear how many people watched during the more traditional viewing window.

Fox News Channel was the clear leader in viewership during the ceremony. Between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern, when Trump took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural speech, Fox drew in 10.3 million viewers. For comparison, ABC had 4.7 million, NBC had 4.4 million, CBS had 4.1 million, CNN had 1.7 million, and MSNBC attracted just 848,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.

In 2021, when Joe Biden was sworn in, CNN and MSNBC pulled in a combined 13.4 million viewers, while Fox News had only 2.4 million.