January 6 hearings continue with low ratings

The January 6 hearings went into their second day today (Monday, June 13). As before, the country heard breathless headlines, and testimony saying more about Trump’s not quite loyal staff than about him. But nobody seems to want to talk about the very poor ratings the first hearing got.

Today’s January 6 hearings

Headlines from outlets like NPR and USA Today come with lurid meta-descriptions. “Deadly attack!” screams one, this although only one person died from a shot fired in anger. The testimony focuses on the key dispute between Trump and the Democrats – whether he won or lost. The committee heard only from Bill Barr and other nay-sayers, not from Sidney Powell or Rudy Giuliani.Which means the committee chose to hear, and present, only one side of that affair. That side seeks to paint a picture of Trump seeking to overthrow the very principle of orderly transfer of power.

However, contributor John Anthony points out five things the committee preferred not to discuss. They indicate that Trump set aside his feelings and did what a President should to ensure an orderly transition. Furthermore, they show that Speaker Nancy Pelosi at first took no notice of any danger. But when some two hundred people let Ray Epps and others egg them on, then Congressional leadership panicked.

Congress requested the DOD supply … machine guns, armor-plated Humvees, sniper rifles, plus Abrams tanks … on Pennsylvania Avenue.

If Congress had taken the Department of Defense up on earlier offers of aid, not all the Ray Eppses in the world would have persuaded anyone to enter the Capitol.

Ratings tell the tale

But again, we have heard all weekend that the ratings for the first January 6 hearings were abysmal. “Trainwreck!” screamed one source, which presented this tweet:

Joe Concha then offered context:

The evening newscasts on CBS, NBC & ABC average anywhere from 18 to 20 million viewers combined on a typical night. Those newscasts do not air in primetime. The January 6 hearings airing in primetime Thursday took in just 11+ million viewers on those three same networks.

American Briefing said some 20 million people tuned in, though Presidential debates typically reach at least 63 million viewers.

The key: Fox News didn’t cover the January 6 hearings. And they got higher ratings.

The Western Journal reported that the hearings lost the 18 to 49-year-old demographic. And this morning, Independent Journal Review said flatly that “Viewers changed the channel in droves.” Like all the rest, they showed that many fewer people than average actually watched.

Last – and likely most important – Republicans and Democrats actually agree on one thing, and Democrats won’t like it. Specifically, neither side seems to feel that the January 6 hearings will have any effect on Midterms. Even Democratic strategists admit that people will worry far more about the economy than anything else. And unlike abortion cases, the economy will still be sour, thus making people angry, in November. So Liz Peek at The Hill called it right: these hearings won’t save the Democrats.