Trump’s wild GOP convention speech was a ratings failure

Donald Trump’s mission to drum up votes for the upcoming midterm elections might be starting to backfire. In addition to drawing widespread criticism from within his own party, the president’s opening speech at the GOP’s Midterm Convention on Wednesday night also proved to be a bomb with TV viewers.The purpose of the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention was to highlight the Trump administration’s “achievements” and rally support for GOP candidates just ahead of the November elections. However, during opening night of the convention in Dallas, Texas, Trump delivered a meandering, two-hour speech that included a number of wild claims, promises, and statements that are already being widely disputed and discredited. Related: Trump admits anti-transgender attacks are one of GOP’s ‘great sound bites’ While Fox News’s coverage of the convention dominated the primetime time slot Wednesday night with an average of 2.3 million viewers, as Deadline reported, it was still less than its viewership in September of 2025, which averaged 2.54 million viewers. Audience numbers did peak during Donald Trump’s speech from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET with 2.5 million viewers; however, during September of last year, Hannity drew an average of 2.89 million in the 9 p.m. hour, and Gutfeld! pulled in an average of 2.94 million in the 10 p.m. slot. CNN’s primetime coverage averaged 441,000 viewers, compared to its 543,000 average in September of 2025. The only outlet that reported higher numbers during the speech was MS NOW with 1.1 million viewers in the primetime slot, a significant increase from its 810,000 average during September of last year – but unlike Fox News and CNN, MS NOW televised very little of Trump’s speech and focused more on analysis from Jen Psaki and Lawrence O’Donnell. While Trump fans in attendance cheered during his opening night speech at the GOP convention, TV viewers (and many within his own party) were less enthused