President Trump's Republican convention speech draws 2.5 million viewers on Fox News

September 11, 2026 10:22 AM EDT

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

By Aditya Soni

Sept ‌11 (Reuters) - U.S. President ​Donald ​Trump's speech on the opening night of the Republican midterm convention drew about 2.5 ‌million viewers on Fox News, according to Nielsen ⁠data, potentially undercutting his claim the event "beat the NFL" opening ‌night.

Fox News was the only ‌major cable network to carry Trump's roughly two-hour address in full. The Murdoch family-controlled network averaged 2.5 ​million viewers during the speech, ahead of MS NOW's 1 million and CNN's 441,000 in the ⁠same window.

Trump used the convention to appeal to voters to treat November's ​midterm elections as a referendum on him.

He urged voters to "pretend I'm on the ballot" during ​the two-day gathering that kicked ‌off what Republicans hope will be a Trump-focused campaign aimed at galvanizing the party's ⁠base and recreating the turnout that powered his 2016 and 2024 election victories.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump ⁠said the gathering was "far bigger, better, and more important than ​anyone thought possible" and that "the overall numbers beat the NFL," without specifying figures or methodology.

The convention coincided with the NFL season ‌opener between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.

Ratings for the game are not ‌yet available, but the NFL averaged about 18 million ⁠viewers per game last ‌season, and last ​year's opener drew close to 28 million.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi ‌Majumdar)



Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Reuters