Trump’s wild GOP convention speech was a ratings failure

Donald Trump’s mission to drum up votes for the upcoming midterm elections might be starting to backfire. In addition to drawing widespread criticism from within his own party, the president’s opening speech at the GOP’s Midterm Convention on Wednesday night also proved to be a bomb with TV viewers.

The purpose of the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention was to highlight the Trump administration’s “achievements” and rally support for GOP candidates just ahead of the November elections. However, during opening night of the convention in Dallas, Texas, Trump delivered a meandering, two-hour speech that included a number of wild claims, promises, and statements that are already being widely disputed and discredited.

Related: Trump admits anti-transgender attacks are one of GOP’s ‘great sound bites’

While Fox News’s coverage of the convention dominated the primetime time slot Wednesday night with an average of 2.3 million viewers, as Deadline reported, it was still less than its viewership in September of 2025, which averaged 2.54 million viewers. Audience numbers did peak during Donald Trump’s speech from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET with 2.5 million viewers; however, during September of last year, Hannity drew an average of 2.89 million in the 9 p.m. hour, and Gutfeld! pulled in an average of 2.94 million in the 10 p.m. slot.

CNN’s primetime coverage averaged 441,000 viewers, compared to its 543,000 average in September of 2025. The only outlet that reported higher numbers during the speech was MS NOW with 1.1 million viewers in the primetime slot, a significant increase from its 810,000 average during September of last year – but unlike Fox News and CNN, MS NOW televised very little of Trump’s speech and focused more on analysis from Jen Psaki and Lawrence O’Donnell.

While Trump fans in attendance cheered during his opening night speech at the GOP convention, TV viewers (and many within his own party) were less enthused. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The speech immediately began receiving criticism for its inclusion of numerous false statements and facts, including long-debunked lies about elections and immigration, as reported by CNN. Trump also incorrectly stated inflation is stabilizing in the U.S., claiming “almost every item” is getting less expensive – while in reality, prices continue to rise nationwide. He also falsely claimed to have kept “every single promise” he made on the campaign trail.

Yet another outlandish claim was Trump’s pledge to give every U.S. citizen a $5,000 stimulus check if the Republicans retain control of Congress after the midterms, and many GOP members were quick to call out the impossibility of carrying out such a promise.

Related: Donald Trump closes transphobic Republican National Convention with long, lie-filled speech

In addition to the backlash about false facts and empty promises, the final night of the convention included more of the strange behavior and narcissistic comments we’ve come to expect from Trump.

“Please raise your right hand,” Trump said at one point in a clip published by USA Today, proceeding to pledge allegiance to himself, “the greatest president in the history of the United States that loves us so much he can’t even breathe.”

Trump then concluded his closing remarks by warning the crowd to remember to vote so they don’t “go to hell.”

“You know what happens if you don’t vote? You go to hell, you know that? Okay? You go to hell, and I don’t want that to happen to you, so please go and vote.”