CNN Thinks They've Hit Jackpot with Pence Town Hall, Then Stats for Total Viewership Come In
Even a town hall with former Vice President Mike Pence wasn’t enough to reverse CNN’s ailing ratings fortunes.
Jake Tapper’s broadcast with Pence had a smaller audience than both Fox News and MSNBC on Wednesday, according to Mediaite.
The prime-time event with the former Vice President drew 1.186 million viewers, which was larger than Tapper’s usual draw, according to Mediaite.
Tapper’s competitors were able to attract more attention, even without the assistance of a former Vice President.
Fox News’ “Hannity” took the ratings cake with 3.038 million viewers, according to Mediate.
Even far-left MSNBC had more viewers than Tapper’s Pence town hall.
MSNBC’s “Alex Wagner Tonight” drew an audience of 1.542 million.
Tapper has struggled mightily in the ratings department since CNN’s management moved him to prime time, replacing equally ratings-challenged host Don Lemon.
Even an interview with President Joe Biden wasn’t enough for him to beat out Fox’s Sean Hannity in October.
The channel’s dismal ratings have spurred network-wide changes at CNN, with many of the network’s most aggressively partisan hosts ushered out of the door.
Pence has sought to elevate his national media profile amid the release of his new book, even appearing for interviews and events with left-wing news outlets like CNN.
Pence called Jan. 6, 2021, the most “difficult day of my public life” in the CNN event, recalling some of the intimate details of his separation from former President Donald Trump in the closing weeks of the administration in which he served as Vice President.
Pence has spoken candidly about some of his differences with former President Donald Trump in his media tour touting the release of “So Help Me God,” his personal memoir.
“I think we’ll have better choices than my running mate,” says former VP Mike Pence to Jake Tapper at a CNN Town Hall.
Pence and Gov. DeSantis may run against Donald Trump in 2024 after GOP regains control of the House with a slim majority. @DanielStrauss4 joined to discuss. pic.twitter.com/vBopsIdgW2— CNN Early Start (@EarlyStart) November 17, 2022
The former Indiana governor has indicated he expects Republicans to have “better choices” in the 2024 Republican primary than Donald Trump, a remark some have interpreted as an allusion to his own presidential campaign.
Pence is right to point out the vice president has no constitutional power to arbitrarily shut down the Senate certification of a presidential election, but that doesn’t make him “the guy” for the GOP in 2024.
Perhaps Pence would’ve been better off telling his story on Fox News or MSNBC, where he could’ve at least expected more than one and a half million viewers.
Especially if he plans on using the media tour as a prequel to an ill-advised 2024 presidential campaign that won’t do much good for anyone.
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