Former vice president Joe Biden formally accepted the nomination to become the Democratic presidential candidate two weeks ago, while Donald Trump accepted the renomination from the Republican party. Over the weekend, following the conventions of both parties, Nielsen ratings revealed that Biden’s speech at the DNC had higher ratings than that of Trump’s RNC address.
CNN reports that Biden’s speech at the Democratic convention was viewed by 24.6 million viewers across 13 cable and broadcast networks. Trump’s speech at the Republican convention last week only garnered 23.8 million, trailing behind the former vice president. The Democratic Convention overall received higher ratings compared to the Republican Convention.
Although this is usually of little importance, Trump is known for being very particular about ratings. The president has often tweeted about getting higher ratings and his claims are usually not accurate. The Biden campaign nevertheless, celebrated the high ratings the DNC, and most especially Biden’s speech to the party while also seeing it as a potential attack towards Trump.
Trump has yet to comment on the overall ratings but it is likely that he may boast about the ratings received on Fox News — a network that usually portrays Trump in a favorable light.
The Biden campaign’s National Press Secretary TJ Ducklo tweeted rapid response director Andrew Bates regarding the news. “I always forget, does @RealDonaldTrump care about his television ratings? Or is that not something he cares about? Like, do you think it’ll trigger him that @JoeBiden’s speech got way bigger ratings than his did?” tweeted Ducklo. Bates responded by noting how Trump broke the Hatch Act as well as his handling of COVID-19 as well as the division stoked by his constant calls for law and order from the recent protests calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism.
Meanwhile, the former vice president will be traveling to Pennsylvania this week on Monday to address the division stoked by Trump during this time, instead of visiting Wisconsin where Trump is to visit the day after on Tuesday.
Biden’s decision to deliver his address in Pennsylvania was made to distance himself from the protests that would escalate into violence. The former vice president will continue to reiterate that the current civil unrest is a result of Trump’s racial rhetoric that only appears to exacerbate racial tensions rather than settle them.