2024 Elections Live: Biden Continues Calls to Quit; Trump Holds Rallies in Michigan

For better or worse, former President Trump drew a large audience Thursday when he delivered his nomination acceptance speech at the RNC.

An estimated 25.4 million people watched the final night of the convention on one of the 14 networks that covered it, the Nielsen company said Friday. Viewership peaked at 28.4 million between 10:45 and 11 p.m. Eastern, when Trump’s speech began, Nielsen said.

That would be good news for the ex-president. The beginning of his speech, in which he spoke dramatically about the attempt on his life last Saturday, was widely seen as the most effective. As it stretched past 90 minutes and past midnight on the East Coast, Trump went largely off-script with remarks that resembled his typical campaign speech.

Fox News Channel had 9.4 million viewers for Trump’s speech, well ahead of every other network. An estimated 72 percent of viewers were 55 or older, Nielsen said.

It was the most-watched night of the convention, which is customary for the night when the presidential candidate speaks.