The lone 2024 vice presidential debate between Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz scored an average of 43.
1 million TV viewers Tuesday, a steep decline from the comparable matchup that took place four years ago. CBS News staged the debate between the running mates of former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, which was moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. The telecast was shared with other major broadcast networks and cable news channels.
The total for the 15 networks measured by Nielsen was down 25% from the 57.9 million viewers who watched former President Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, face off against Vice President Biden’s running mate, Harris, in 2020. The event from the CBS Broadcast Center on Manhattan’s West Side was ranked ninth out of the 12 vice presidential debates held since 1976.
The average audience for the previous 11 was 46.7 million. The largest audience for a vice presidential debate was 70 million in 2008 when Biden, then Barack Obama’s running mate, faced off against Sarah Palin, who ran on the Republican ticket with John McCain.
After the cacophony of the Trump years, the civility of the 2024 vice presidential debate evoked an earlier era of political discourse. The two candidates acknowledged when they agreed on aspects of policy and showed warmth to each other afterward on the stage. Brennan and O’Donnell focused on issues and.
