Does Donald Trump care more about TV ratings than election results?


After the third straight night of the Democratic convention squashing the TV ratings of last week's Republican convention, former reality TV star Donald Trump is starting to sweat. Trump declared last week that no one would watch the Democrats' shindig, but seeing as that statement looks a little foolish now, his campaign has launched a wave of emails asking supporters not to tune into Clinton's nomination acceptance speech Thursday night, CNN Money reports.
"Unless you want to be lied to, belittled, and attacked for your beliefs, don't watch Hillary's DNC speech tonight. Instead, help Donald Trump hold her accountable, call out her lies, and fight back against her nasty attacks," the email said. While the message was packaged as a fundraising email, its content certainly makes a reader wonder what Trump's priorities here really are.
Nielsen, which records the number of traditional TV viewers for a given broadcast, reports that 26 million viewers watched the first day of the Democratic convention Monday, versus 23 million for night one of the Republican convention last week. On Tuesday, 24 million tuned in again to watch the Democrats, versus 19 million for the Republicans' second day. The third night of festivities pulled in 24 million viewers for the Democrats, edging out the GOP's third night, which pulled 23.4 million.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot