World

More than 67 million people watched Trump-Harris debate

The viewing figure tops the roughly 51 million people who watched Trump debate then-candidate President Joe Biden in June

By Reuters
September 12, 2024
A member of the media uses phone as a screen displays the presidential debate, as Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris attend a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, September 10, 2024. — Reuters
A member of the media uses phone as a screen displays the presidential debate, as Republican presidential nominee, former US President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris attend a presidential debate hosted by ABC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, September 10, 2024. — Reuters

The US presidential debate between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump drew 67.1 million television viewers, according to Nielsen data released on Wednesday.

Tuesday night's event was the first time the candidates in the November 5 presidential election had met face to face.

The viewing figure tops the roughly 51 million people who watched Trump debate then-candidate President Joe Biden in June.

It does not capture the full extent of online viewing, which has grown in popularity as traditional TV audiences decline.

The record TV audience for a presidential debate occurred in 2016, when 84 million people tuned in to watch Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton debate Trump.