Social media users had choice words for Donald Trump after the president claimed that his speeches during the Republican midterm convention last week was viewed more than the NFL
Donald Trump compared the viewership numbers of the RNC Midterm convention to the NFL
Donald Trump compared the viewership numbers of the RNC Midterm convention to the NFL(Image: X: @atrupar)
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Fans were left pondering what Donald Trump was talking about when comparing viewing numbers to the NFL.
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On Sept. 9 and 10, the Republican Party held a midterm convention in Dallas ahead of the 2026 elections. Those days also featured marquee matchups between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, a rematch of Super Bowl LX on Sept. 9, and the San Francisco 49ers battling rivals Los Angeles Rams in Australia on Sept. 10.
Considering the enormity of those matchups, the president opted to spout an outrageous claim about the midterm convention, despite evidence that several sets at the American Airlines Center were empty.
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Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump noted that the convention, also known as Trumpapalooza, somehow had more viewers than any of the NFL games that week, despite it generally being known that the NFL's games often are the most viewed programs on any given day.
"[This] came out, I thought I'd show it here, you'd be happy to see," he began to reporters, pulling a sheet of paper, "The other thing that just came out is that the first ever midterm RNC, if you look at the convention that we just had, it was just announced, we had over 100 million live stream views."
He added, "Everyone is amazed because the NFL was our opponent on that one, and the NFL had 25 million. So we had, for the convention, 100 million livestream views, which is a record. And the NFL had 25."
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock (17145300au)
U.S. President DONALD TRUMP speaks during the Republican Mid-Term Convention at the American Airlines Center on September 10, 2026. Several thousand people packed the arena to hear a parade of Republican candidates crucial to success for the upcoming mid-term elections.
Dallas 2026 Mid-Term Convention Day 2, Tx, United States - 10 Sep 2026
Trump made the baffling comments at the Republican midterm convention on Thursday(Image: Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)
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Trump noted that the number he received was from far-right outlet Breitbart, concluding his announcement with, "OK β so that was really great. And I think it had a big impact on things."
A commentator on social media was left perplexed by the assertion, posting on X, "He has a screw loose. Normally, you might expect them to remove him, but that would just open the door to Vance. What a cluster fck." Another post read, "His mouth is moving, yup he is lying for sure."
A third wrote, "There cannot be one person who believes this, my god. Itβs embarrassing." Another commentator pondered where the president's priorities lay, pondering, "Poor guy He cares about ratings, and not lowering prices. F--- him."
By and large, the response to Trump's claim was less than receptive, with many choosing not to believe that the president's speech, let alone any program, would dethrone the NFL.
Notably, the midterm convention was the first of its kind for the Republican Party, with Democrats having done so in decades past.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump proclaimed that his night one speech outperformed the aforementioned Seahawks-Patriots clash. "The overall numbers beat the NFL," he posted before the actual numbers had been released by Nielsen.
For the first night, it was noted that Trump's speech had 3 million viewers, while Seattle and New England's clash drew in 25 million.
Night two produced a similar viewing figure with roughly three million tuning in on FOX News, Newsmax, and NewsNation. Meanwhile, the 49ers' game against the Rams, which was on Netflix, averaged 18.5 million viewers in the United States, per Nielsen.
It appears that the 100 million viewership figure Trump cited included social media impressions, which are not comparable to Nielsen ratings.