Fact Check: Is Trump's claim the GOP midterm convention streaming beat NFL true?
DALLAS, TEXAS: Following the Republican Midterm Convention on September 10, President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post that the convention streaming numbers beat NFL records. The claim has led to speculation and questions from social media users, who are questioning its authenticity, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Republican Midterm Convention streaming beat NFL
A day after the Republican convention, President Trump took to his official Truth Social handle, writing, “The Republican Midterm Convention last night, in Dallas, was a major, sold-out hit, far bigger, better, and more important than anyone thought possible."
"It was really something, streaming all over the place, and really big numbers, despite going up against the NFL. The overall numbers beat the NFL.”
Trump advisor Alex Bruesewitz wrote in a post on X, “Livestreams on @TeamTrump’s TikTok generated more than 70 million combined impressions across nights one and two.”
The White House also cited an article on the conservative website Breitbart that reflected the same.
Fact Check: The claim is misleading
The claim, however, is misleading, as social media experts clarified that online impressions do not necessarily reflect actual reach.
Nick Reiners, a senior analyst, stated that impressions are “not comparable to Nielsen ratings in any meaningful sense.”
According to a report by NBC Sports, Nielsen ratings for the league's season opener between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, which was aired at the same time as Trump’s address, drew 25.1 million viewers.
Trump’s live first-night speech aired on Fox News averaged 2.5 million viewers, while Newsmax had about 400,000 viewers and NewsNation had about 125,000.
An expert noted that the “most-viewed YouTube videos of Trump’s night one speech have only hundreds of thousands of views.”
Overall, the television and streaming audience for Trump was somewhere around 3.3 million, which is far less than the 25.1 million from the NFL season opener.
Donald Trump promised $5000 if Republicans won midterms
During the convention, Trump announced a proposal to issue $5,000 checks to adult Americans if Republicans win the midterm election.
“So if the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the Trump dividend,” the president told attendees.
Later, when asked whether Congress would need to approve such a disbursement of funds, Trump told CBS News, “We think not,” and added, “I think they will do it if we needed it.”
