At 9 pm EDT last night, 90 million viewers tuned in to watch former President Donald Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson. This was only five minutes before the start of the Republican primary debate in Milwaukee, but the interview stole the show. The video view counter on the social platform, X, marked 90 million views just after midnight, making it the most-watched interview in TV history.
Trump’s senior adviser, Susie Wiles, praised the success of the interview and said it showed a clear contrast between President Trump’s engaging with thoughtful policy and the debate on stage which contained “90-second canned sound bites and platitudes.”
“President Trump won this evening’s Republican debate in dominating fashion. More people watched President Trump’s interview with Tucker Carlson than the rest of the field on the debate stage combined,” Wiles said.
The interview was an opportunity for President Trump to set his views on the current presidential race and call Joe Biden a “Manchurian candidate” who was “compromised by China.” He also accused the media of ignoring the fact that China was building military installations in Cuba. He went on to say that the four indictments against him were “trivia, nonsense, and bullshit”.
Trump’s statements elicited a strong reaction from some in the Democratic Party. Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA) called Trump’s remarks “reckless and sensationalized”, while Democratic Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) said that Trump’s comments were “reckless and dangerous” and that he should apologize.
Despite these reactions, many people across both parties have reacted positively to the interview with Carlson. Conservative commentator and Fox News host Greg Gutfeld applauded the timing of the interview and said it was a “Masterstroke” by Trump, while conservative author and journalist Ben Shapiro said he thought it was a “very good interview” and he felt Carlson did a great job of grilling the former president.
Whether or not people agreed with the content of the interview, it undeniably had a huge impact with an impressive 90 million views in just three hours. This is yet another example of Trump’s ongoing influence and ability to draw attention to his views even after leaving the White House.
Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2023
