Wednesday’s highly anticipated public impeachment hearing amounted to a ratings flop, with only 13 million viewers tuning in, according to reports.
The hearing, which featured Bill Taylor, acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and George Kent, a senior State Department official, was teased as a “bombshell, given House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA) allocating Democrats more time to dominate and minimize GOP voices in the first hour. Nonetheless, Democrats failed to live up to the hype, as reflected in viewership.
According to Axios, Wednesday’s lackluster impeachment hearing drew just 13 million viewers. The number pales in comparison to those who viewed former FBI Director James Comey’s June 2017 testimony and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s September 2018 hearing, which saw 19.5 million viewers and 20 million viewers, respectively.
Of the cable news networks, Fox News led the pack with 2.9 million viewers between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST, followed by MSNBC with 2.7 million, per Axios. CNN fell over one million viewers behind Fox News, attracting 1.8 million viewers. ABC edged out CBS, but both drew around two million viewers, followed by NBC with 1.7 viewers.
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially-charged incident
Frey, Klobuchar call for ICE to leave Minneapolis following deadly CBP shooting in city
Trump Resurrects Reagan-Era Pro-Life Policy, Punishes and Defunds Foreign Abortion Operations, Gender Madness
Trump to skip Super Bowl in California, criticizes performers Bad Bunny and Green Day
Alex Pretti, 37, identified as man fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE agitator allegedly bites off federal officer’s finger during Minneapolis attack
‘Loyal soldier’: A day on the trail with JD Vance, Trump’s ‘human Swiss Army Knife’
READ IT: Bondi sends letter to Gov Walz warning Minnesota’s immigration policies endanger agents
Ever Wonder Why Even Trump Can’t Get Criminal Dems Arrested? They’re Using the ‘Blue Slip’ Trick to Stay Out of Jail and It Has to End
Trump brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’
Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support following fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis
Pritzker urges ‘unified response’ from Democrat, Republican governors after Border Patrol shoots armed man
Elizabeth Smart reveals her kidnapper tried to abduct her teen cousin as his ‘next wife’
Breaking: Armed Illegal Wanted for Assault Shot By Border Patrol in Minneapolis After Attacking Officer, Riots Follow
Chaos Erupts in Minneapolis as Leftists Riot in the Streets Over the Death of Armed Illegal Criminal Who Attacked Officer
The numbers, however, do not reflect those who watched the debate on alternative platforms, as Axios noted.
The impeachment hearing left many Democrats feeling, privately, deflated. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) masterfully made a mockery of Schiff’s “star witness” by demonstrating Taylor’s stunning lack of knowledge:
The hearing forced impeachment-driven Democrats and establishment media outlets to tweak the narrative to focus on what they now claim is President Trump’s “attempted” crimes – bribery and extortion – despite a lack of basis for either accusation.
This exchange between Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) and Wednesday’s witnesses laid out the new narrative:
“So ambassadors, is attempted murder a crime?” he asked, repeating his question. “Is attempted murder a crime?”
“Attempted murder is a crime,” Taylor said.
“Is attempted robbery a crime?” he asked.
“Neither of us is a lawyer,” Taylor began before Castro interrupted.
“I think anyone in this room could answer that question,” he said.
“I’ll go out on a limb and say yes it is,” Taylor said.
“Is attempted extortion and bribery a crime?” Castro asked, trying to draw a parallel.
“I don’t know sir,” Taylor said.
Rep Maxwell Frost allegedly assaulted at Sundance Film Festival in racially-charged incident
Frey, Klobuchar call for ICE to leave Minneapolis following deadly CBP shooting in city
Trump Resurrects Reagan-Era Pro-Life Policy, Punishes and Defunds Foreign Abortion Operations, Gender Madness
Trump to skip Super Bowl in California, criticizes performers Bad Bunny and Green Day
Alex Pretti, 37, identified as man fatally shot by Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis
Anti-ICE agitator allegedly bites off federal officer’s finger during Minneapolis attack
‘Loyal soldier’: A day on the trail with JD Vance, Trump’s ‘human Swiss Army Knife’
READ IT: Bondi sends letter to Gov Walz warning Minnesota’s immigration policies endanger agents
Ever Wonder Why Even Trump Can’t Get Criminal Dems Arrested? They’re Using the ‘Blue Slip’ Trick to Stay Out of Jail and It Has to End
Trump brags about secret weapon that was key to Maduro capture: ‘The discombobulator’
Trump cites armed suspect, lack of police support following fatal Border Patrol shooting in Minneapolis
Pritzker urges ‘unified response’ from Democrat, Republican governors after Border Patrol shoots armed man
Elizabeth Smart reveals her kidnapper tried to abduct her teen cousin as his ‘next wife’
Breaking: Armed Illegal Wanted for Assault Shot By Border Patrol in Minneapolis After Attacking Officer, Riots Follow
Chaos Erupts in Minneapolis as Leftists Riot in the Streets Over the Death of Armed Illegal Criminal Who Attacked Officer
The second round of public impeachment hearings, featuring former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, will air Friday at 9:00 a.m. EST.
Story cited here.
