Fox News reaches 12.8 million viewers for GOP primary debate, despite Donald Trump’s absence
By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News reached an estimated 12.8 million viewers on two television channels and its streaming network for the first GOP presidential primary debate of the 2024 season, even though former President Donald Trump skipped it. Eight other candidates showed up in Milwaukee to spar on campaign issues. The viewership wasn’t close to the 24 million who watched the first GOP primary debate with Trump in August 2015. But it was larger than the 12.5 million who watched a 2016 primary debate that Trump also skipped, even though it’s a far different television world. There was no clear comparison with Tucker Carlson’s interview with Trump, posted Wednesday night on social media.