Donald Trump Gives CNN The Ratings Boost It Desperately Needs as Struggling Network Smashes FOX and MSNBC With Town Hall Interview
May 11 2023, Published 4:15 p.m. ET
After hurting for ratings, ex-president Donald Trump gave liberal news network CNN a much-needed boost that demolished viewership at competing networks on Wednesday night, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Despite backlash and calls to boycott the network for giving Trump a platform, CNN's Republican town hall event hosted by Kaitlan Collins saw a surge of viewers. CNN quite literally trumped Fox News and MSNBC ratings during the 8 PM timeslot.
Following internal conflict and the ousting of controversial anchor Don Lemon, the network welcomed a positive influx of viewership.
According to Nielsen Fast National data from Wednesday night, 3.2 million viewers watched Collins go head-to-head with the embattled GOP frontrunner. Of those who tuned into the televised town hall, nearly a third of watchers represented a surprising demographic.
An estimated 703,000 CNN viewers were aged 25-34, a key demo for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
While CNN came under fire for hosting the Republican town hall — especially after a jury found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation against E. Jean Carroll just days before — data suggested that the primetime event was a huge win for the network.
Compared to previous weeks' average primetime numbers, CNN toted roughly 500,000 viewers and placed third behind Fox News and MSNBC.
CNN's steady decline in loyal viewers was evident in Chris Wallace's program, which failed to turn a new leaf even after the network rearranged its time slot.
While it may have been for only one night, CNN pulled ahead of its competition.
Amid a string of controversies brought by the Dominion Voting Systems defamation lawsuit, which the conservative network settled for $787.5 million, FOX News fell far behind CNN for Wednesday night's ratings.
The conservative network only saw about 1.412 million viewers — and MSNBC trailed behind in third with 1.372 million.
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As RadarOnline.com reported, Trump slammed Collins as "nasty" after she corrected his statements on stage.
Hot topics of the night included the ex-president's continued refusal to acknowledge the results of the 2020 presidential election and the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.
Trump also declined to apologize to his former vice president Mike Pence, who said Donald had "endangered" his life that day. Instead, he confirmed he would pardon insurrectionists who faced jail time for their actions.
