The highly anticipated debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump drew in an estimated 67.1 million television viewers, according to Nielsen. Hosted by ABC News, the debate covered a wide range of topics including the economy, immigration, and abortion, marking the first face-to-face confrontation between the two nominees. While this audience size was an increase from the previous debate in June between Trump and President Joe Biden, it fell short of the record-breaking 84 million viewers who watched Trump’s debate with Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The majority of viewers, 41.3 million, were aged 55 and older, with 16.9 million viewers aged 35-54 and 6.5 million aged 18-34. The comparison to the finale audiences of popular sitcoms Seinfeld and Friends highlights the significant interest in the political event.
The Nielsen data only captures television viewers, not accounting for those who watched the debate on social media and streaming platforms. Despite this, Harris was widely considered the winner of the debate, with a CNN flash poll showing 63 percent of viewers believed she outperformed Trump. These results indicate a strong public interest in the debates leading up to the upcoming election, with viewers eagerly tuning in to hear the candidate’s positions on important issues.
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