Nearly 58 million American television viewers watched the vice-presidential debate between Democratic Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday.
That is more than a third (36 percent) more than in 2016, according to data from market research firm Nielsen. Then 37 million people watched the debate between the then running mates Pence and the Democrat Tim Kaine.
The actual number of Americans who watched the Pence-Harris showdown is higher because the people who followed the debate online are not included in the numbers.
The first election debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden was still significantly more Americans, with 73 million.
Eighteen TV channels in the country broadcast the debate between the vice presidential candidates. Fox News Channel had the most viewership, 11.9 million.
The record for the most-watched debate among the vice-presidential candidates remained. That was established in 2008 when Biden took on Sarah Palin. At the time, nearly 70 million Americans were watching.
The debate between Pence and Harris in the run-up to the presidential election in November this year was under a magnifying glass, mainly due to Trump’s corona contamination.
The right hands of the president and Biden had to demonstrate their ability to take over the reins in the White House should allow the president to drop. Many analysts also see Harris and Pence as potential presidential candidates for the 2024 election.