Trump and Harris’ First Showdown Attracts More Viewers Than With Biden

Millions of Americans tuned in on Tuesday to watch the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, with 57.75 million viewers watching on television, according to early Nielsen data.
The contentious 90-minute debate, hosted by ABC News and simulcast across several other networks, was the first—and possibly the only—time during this shortened campaign that both nominees shared the stage.
This debate drew the largest TV audience of the year, reflecting a 12 percent increase from June when over 51 million people watched the first—and last—debate between Trump and President Joe Biden of this election. Biden’s poor performance in that debate led to his downfall, as party leaders urged him to step aside from the presidential race.
That’s 6.5 million more viewers than the debate in June between Trump and President Biden.
Still, the debate fell short of the 2016 record, when 84 million viewers tuned in for the first matchup between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Leading up to the event, polls showed an extraordinarily close race, with Harris and Trump nearly tied in the national popular vote and within the margin of error in many battleground states.
While both campaigns have claimed victory in the debate, with Trump even calling it “his best debate performance in history,” several political experts and analysts believe Harris had a stronger showing. She frequently baited Trump on key issues, leaving him visibly agitated—a reaction his GOP advisors had reportedly feared.
Encouraged by her performance, the Harris campaign quickly challenged Trump to another showdown, with Fox News offering to host it. On Monday, the Trump campaign didn’t rule out the possibility of another debate, as they believe one may already be scheduled, but stated they are “less inclined” to participate.
“I’d be less inclined to because we had a great night. We won the debate. We had a terrible, terrible network,” Trump told Fox and Friends.
However, while both campaigns try to call it a win, there’s evidence that the debate didn’t lead to big shifts among viewers. About 6 in 10 debate-watchers said that Harris outperformed Trump, while about 4 in 10 said that Trump did a better job, according to a flash poll conducted by CNN.
The next showdown will be the vice presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, scheduled for October 1, 2024, and will be hosted by CBS News.