Donald Trump Withdraws Millions Of Viewers With Rival Interviews On Social Platform X

Former US President Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson. (photo: twitter @TuckerCarlson)

JAKARTA - Former US President Donald Trump, who chose not to take part in the Republican presidential candidate debate at Fox News on Wednesday, August 23, managed to attract millions of viewers to watch - or at least pass - his rival interview on social media platform X.

A 46-minute conversation with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson managed to attract more than 74 million viewers, according to statistics on the platform previously known as Twitter.

Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 24, 2023

Ep. 19 Debate Night with Donald J Trump pic.twitter.com/ayPfII48CO

However, it's unclear how long visitors to the site watched the previously recorded show. View counts on X include anyone passing through the video or watching in just a few seconds, as well as those watching the whole interview. Some viewers may be counted twice if they watch videos at different times or devices.

Carlson posted the interview just minutes before the debate started at Fox on Wednesday night.

"We will get a bigger rating using this crazy platform that you use than maybe a debate," Trump, who has clashed with Fox News over coverage he called unfavorable to Carlson.

Data on how many people watching the debate on Fox is expected to be released on Thursday, August 24

Trump, who lost the 2020 election to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, is the main candidate for a presidential nomination from Republicans in 2024. Carlson is seeking to rebuild his audience after Fox News canceled its most popular event in April following a defamation lawsuit that is detrimental to false claims about election fraud.

He has been releasing regular interviews on X since June. "I think it was a bad decision to get rid of you," Trump told Carlson.