Vice President Kamala Harris‘ interview with Fox News drew an audience of 7.1 million viewers, more than double the number of viewers who tuned in to former President Donald Trump‘s town hall earlier in the day, the network announced Thursday afternoon.
Harris sat down with the network’s chief political anchor, Bret Baier, on Wednesday, just hours after Trump participated in a town hall of women voters. The appearances came less than three weeks before Election Day as polls still point to a close race in battleground states.
About 2.9 million people tuned in to Trump’s town hall with anchor Harris Faulkner, the network said.
The announcement quickly drew comparisons between the two appearances on social media, though daytime programing typically draws fewer viewers than evening programing. Trump also appears on Fox News more frequently than Harris, while Harris’ interview drew particular interest because it is her first on the network.
Former President Donald Trump attends a town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on October 14. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigns in Greenville, North Carolina, on October 13. Harris’ Fox News interview drew 7.1 million viewers on October 16.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images; Alex Wong/Getty Images
Still, Harris’ interview drew more viewers than the former president’s other recent Fox News appearances. His September 18 interview with Greg Gutfeld averaged 4.9 million viewers, according to the network.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment via email.
Baier usually attracts an audience of about 2.3 million viewers, per Fox‘s figures from October 14, which it said was more than any competing show in that time slot. Faulkner typically attracts an audience of 1.7 million, according to Fox.
Harris’ interview made headlines for contentious moments on issues like immigration and transgender rights. At one point, Harris pushed back on Baier for showing a clip of Trump defending himself against criticism over his “enemy within” remarks, rather than the comments themselves.
“Bret, I’m sorry, that is not what he has been saying about the ‘enemy within’ that he has repeated when speaking about the American people,” Harris said. “That’s not what you just showed.”
Trump repeated claims about his perceived “enemy within” comment—referring to political rivals during the town hall—while also discussing issues like immigration, IVF and abortion.
“It’s back in the states, where they can have the vote of the people. It’s exactly where they want to be,” Trump said on the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
“Remember this, this issue has torn this country apart for 52 years. So we got it back in the states, we have a vote of the people, and it’s working its way through the system, and ultimately it’s going to do the right thing.”
Trump also called himself the “father of IVF,” which Harris reposted on X, formerly Twitter, and asked what he was talking about.
“His abortion bans have already jeopardized access to it in states across the country – and his own platform could end IVF altogether,” she posted ahead of her Fox appearance.
After weeks of criticism from Republicans that she had not made any media appearances, Harris has ramped up her campaign along with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, with podcast tapings, a one-on-one chat with Oprah, and late-night show slots.
Trump, meanwhile, this week canceled interviews with CNBC and NBC News.
