CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Joe Biden was judged for his small crowds during the primary, and it seems his numbers aren’t improving as the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nominee.
Only an estimated 24.6 million people saw this cycle’s Democratic standard-bearer on Thursday accept his party’s nomination on TV, compared to an average of 30 million who tuned in four years ago for Hillary Clinton, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Biden did draw more viewers than former President Barack Obama and his 2020 running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, on Wednesday. Obama and Harris pulled 22.8 million people a day earlier in the four-day, mostly virtual schedule.
Nielsen’s data on the convention’s closing night doesn’t include the number of supporters who tuned in to watch Biden’s address, made after launching his first White House bid in 1987, via livestreams. The Biden campaign told reporters Tuesday an additional 10.2 million viewers saw the confab’s opening program online, including former first lady Michelle Obama’s keynote.
Biden’s socially distanced broadcast was aired from Wilmington, Delaware, after his more traditional Milwaukee plans were scrapped amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The two-term vice president’s audience size follows a downward trend, as the nominating process continues to wrap up before delegates gather in their party’s respective convention hall.
In 2016, President Trump attracted 32.2 million people on July 21 for the Cleveland Republican convention, a week before Clinton’s speech in Philadelphia. In 2012, 30.3 million viewers watched Republican nominee Mitt Romney in Tampa, Florida, that August, while 35.7 million people saw Barack Obama in Charlotte, North Carolina, the following month.
The national political focus now shifts to Trump and the 2020 Republican National Convention. The GOP will host party business meetings this weekend in Charlotte, coinciding with Trump’s visit to North Carolina on Monday. Republicans will then echo Democrats’ 9 to 11 p.m. prime-time programming, with more of an emphasis on live rather than prerecorded segments.
