Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s townhall got over 2 million more total viewers than President Donald Trump’s on Thursday, according to early numbers.
Biden garnered 12.7 million total viewers during his ABC News townhall, while Trump’s NBC News event drew in 10.4 million, according to current ratings statistics. While Biden’s event was 90 minutes and Trump’s was 60 minutes, the numbers were only gathered during the 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. time slot, according to Variety.
According to preliminary numbers released by Nielsen, Biden’s straightforward ABC broadcast bested Trump’s oft-contentious NBC special report by almost two million total audience members. https://t.co/YNsjkmityK
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) October 16, 2020
The complete ratings numbers will be released later Friday, with Biden’s lead expected to shrink somewhat thanks to NBC’s stream being shared between its affiliates, various CNBC channels and MSNBC, according to Variety. (RELATED: ‘We’re On The Same Side’: Trump Pushes Back On Savannah Guthrie Over Mask Question)
While both events covered a range of topics, neither candidate received a single question regarding recent allegations in the New York Post that Biden was aware of and participated in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China, something the Democratic nominee has previously denied.
Trump’s event was hosted by NBC host Savannah Guthrie and Biden’s ABC townhall was hosted by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
This post will be updated when the full ratings have been released.