MSNBC Trump special conquers CNN Dem debate in ratings

In a battle of special programming, MSNBC’s two-hour special “Trump: The First Month” beat CNN’s “Democratic Leadership Debate” during the 10 p.m. hour on Wednesday night, according to Nielsen Research. 

The Trump special hosted by Rachel Maddow, Brian Williams and Chris Matthews drew 1.911 million total viewers and 427,000 in the 25–54 age demographic that advertisers covet. 

{mosads}CNN’s debate from Atlanta featured top candidates to take over as the head of the Democratic National Committee. It delivered 1.027 million total viewers and 379,000 in the demographic. CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash and “New Day” anchor Chris Cuomo moderated the event.

Despite the impressive numbers for MSNBC and CNN, Fox’s “Hannity” still won the timeslot, with 2.718 million total viewers and 563,000 viewers in the younger demographic.

Past elections have seen precipitous declines in ratings after election night, but MSNBC is up 55 percent in total viewers from the same month in 2016, while Fox is up 31 percent and CNN is only down 5 percent, according to Nielsen.