Last night’s Republican prime time debate on Fox News attracted a huge audience. According to Nielsen’s overnight rating, as reported on Slate, its rating was 16.0, indicating a viewership of 23 million viewers. That’s the same as the rating for the National Basketball Association finals, almost three times the rating for the most-watched 2012 Republican debate and about 60 percent as high as the first Obama-Romney debate in the fall.
One reason was undoubtedly the presence of Donald Trump, who used to be in the TV business among others. But it’s not clear whether Trump’s candidacy will benefit. The Fox News interviewers, especially Megyn Kelly, asked him some tough questions, which he clearly didn’t appreciate. And viewers who tuned in to see The Donald also saw the other nine Republican candidates on the stage, each one of which had his good moments — more in some cases than in others — which may have appealed to viewers who knew little or nothing about them. This is a strong Republican field — stronger perhaps than many who tuned in to see Trump may have realized.
Barack Obama’s dismal performance and Mitt Romney’s strong performance in the first 2012 general election debate clearly swayed public opinion and shifted some vote numbers. So it’s possible that this debate may move some poll numbers to, and to the benefit of one or more of the candidates other than Trump. The Republican brand, it’s often noted, has dismal ratings, including among many Republican voters. It may have gotten a boost Thursday night, and presumably thanks to The Donald.
