Trump town hall on Fox gets more viewers than CNN's DeSantis-Haley debate

Both events took place in Des Moines, Iowa as the state's caucuses are just days away.

Published: January 12, 2024 7:42am

Updated: January 12, 2024 8:01am

More TV viewers tuned into the town hall event this week on Fox News featuring former President Donald Trump than the CNN debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley – as all three bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

According to the Nielsen company, 4.3 million viewers tuned into the Wednesday night event with Trump, the frontrunner, compared to the 2.6 million who watched DeSantis and Halley, Trump's closest challengers, in a debate during the same primetime slot, according to Associated Press.

Both events took place in Des Moines, Iowa, with the state's caucuses Monday.

Trump has qualified for all the Republican primary debates, but has not participated in any of them.