NEW YORK – Around 24.6 million viewers tuned in to watch President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. This number is the lowest for any inauguration event since Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
The Nielsen Company reported a notable drop from Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, which had 33.8 million viewers, and Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, which attracted 30.6 million viewers. Inauguration viewership has seen significant fluctuations over the years. The highest recorded was 41.8 million for Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in 1981, while George W. Bush’s second term kicked off with only 15.5 million viewers in 2004.
The longer coverage of Trump’s inauguration may have contributed to the smaller audience. The 24.6 million represents the average number of viewers across 15 networks from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. Typically, inauguration coverage has been shorter, and longer broadcasts can lead viewers to tune in and out throughout the day.
When looking at more specific viewing habits, Fox News Channel led the pack with 10.3 million viewers during Trump’s swearing-in and inaugural speech from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Other networks followed, with ABC at 4.7 million, NBC at 4.4 million, CBS at 4.1 million, CNN at 1.7 million, and MSNBC at 848,000.
In comparison, during Biden’s inauguration four years prior, CNN and MSNBC attracted 13.4 million viewers, while Fox News only had 2.4 million during that event.
David Bauder covers media for the AP. You can follow him on Twitter at @dbauder.
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