Trump’s Arrest and Arraignment: How Cable News Ratings Stack Up

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Fox News Channel dominated coverage for Donald Trump’s Tuesday arraignment, with MSNBC coming second in total viewers throughout the day.

As viewers tuned in to watch the former president stand before the court on 34 charges related to bribing a porn star prior to the 2016 election, Fox News attracted the highest total viewers during the day with 2.3 million total viewers, as well as the highest number of viewers in the key cable demo among adults ages 25-54 with 333,000 demo viewers, according to early Nielsen data.

MSNBC came second in total viewers with 1.6 million total viewers during the total day, with CNN trailing behind in third place with 1.2 million total viewers on average. In the demo, CNN’s coverage for the day earned the network its No. 2 slot among the cable news channel, drawing in 292,000 demo viewers. MSNBC fell slightly behind CNN’s demo figures with 230,000 demo viewers in total day.

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The viewership trend continued throughout primetime, as Fox News Channel maintained its No. 1 spot in both viewerships with 4.4 total viewers and 713,000 demo viewers on average, beating CNN and MSNBC’s combined viewers in primetime. MSNBC came next in total viewers with 2.7 million viewers in primetime, while CNN brought in 1.8 million viewers. In the demo, CNN came second with 487,000 viewers in the demo while MSNBC took the No. 3 spot with 348,000 viewers in the demo.

Fox News also saw a viewership high as Tucker Carlson’s coverage of Trump’s speech from Mar-a-Lago averaged 6.7 million total viewers and 1.1 million viewers in the demo during its 8:15 p.m. to 9 p.m. airing. CNN secured the No. 2 spot in the demo for Trump’s primetime speech with 683,000 viewers in the demo from 8:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

Trump’s arraignment marked an unprecedented moment in history, as the former President arrived at a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts and denied any wrongdoing, including any affair with Stormy Daniels. All eyes were on the former President as he walked, unrestrained and unescorted into the courthouse, with police and courthouse security surrounding him.

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