Historically, the first debate of the election cycle has the biggest audience.
In 2020, the first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden had 73 million television viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s about 10 million more viewers than the presidential debate before it.
Ahead of Thursday night’s debate, TMJ4’s Tom Durian wanted to know if people in the Milwaukee area would be watching President Biden and former President Trump face off.
The response was pretty mixed.
“Absolutely not,” said Kristin Gravelle. “It’s too stressful for me. I feel like I’m not a big supporter of either really.”
TMJ4, Tom Durian
“I plan on tuning in,” said John Ewing. “I’m actually going to be on the road tomorrow so I won’t see it live but I’ll definitely be watching.”
“Debates have always been a part of my keeping, but this is particularly, I would say, interesting,” added his friend Chris Trost.
TMJ4, Tom Durian
Tom asked Nelson Bennet what topics he hopes to hear discussed during the debate.
TMJ4, Tom Durian
“Well I am sure its going to bounce up and back — oh he’s a felon, or what about the borders. The country is saddled with certain events, certain situations I hope we get clarity but we’ve got some problems,” Bennet said.
Half the voters Tom talked to said they planned to watch the debate live. Others said they would seek out clips from the debate once it was over.
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