14 million tune in for Democratic debate as cable news ignores Trump's Hillary Clinton rant

Some 14 million people watched the Democratic debate on Thursday night. Cable news networks, meanwhile, did not bother to air a speech by Trump, which attempted to counterprogram the event.

“Thursday night’s debate featuring ten presidential candidates averaged 14 million viewers across ABC and Univision,” CNN reported. “The debate ratings were head and shoulders above everything else on TV Thursday night.”

By contrast, Trump’s speech to Republicans at the Congressional Institute in Baltimore was not aired on cable news networks — not even the usually Trump-friendly Fox News. In that speech, Trump rehashed the 2016 campaign and attacked his former rival, Hillary Clinton.

For comparison, during the primetime slot in which the Democratic debate aired, Fox News had an average of 2.2 million viewers in the week of Sept. 2.

The debate was a ratings success even though it was up against an MLB game and an NFL game.

Democrats during that debate spoke at length about the future of their party and the country, with candidates like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) calling out Trump’s immigration policies and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke slamming him for inspiring the alleged white supremacist shooter in El Paso last month.

The ratings success of the debate continues the trend of high interest in the Democratic contest, even with a large presidential field.

Recent polling has shown voters turning away from Trump and backing several of the leading Democratic candidates — Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Warren, Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Kamala Harris (D-CA), as well as South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — instead of him.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.