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The Ratings Show Primetime Congressional Hearings Were A Failure

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


The congressional hearings that aired in primetime television on the incident at the Capitol that happened on January 6, 2021 were an abysmal failure.

The ratings are in and, despite being on CNN, MSNBC and just about every major network the hearings only garnered around 20 million viewers, Just The News reported.

Almost 20 million viewers tuned in for the hearings on Thursday night, according to The Hill. By contrast, President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in March pulled in 38 million viewers. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union attracted over 45 million, per the New York Post.

The 20 million figure did stand above a typical congressional hearing, The Hill noted, citing the roughly 9 million viewers for Trump’s first impeachment trial.

But considering that it was on virtually every network and in primetime those numbers are disappointing.

And it comes as one of the heads of the committee received more disappointing news.

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Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney may have had her big moment on television during the primetime January 6 hearings, but that is an island of good news in a sea of news that could spell the end of her career.

She was live on Thursday night rehashing the January 6, 2021 incident at the Capitol but at the same time, she has to deal with the fact that her primary opponent, back by former President Donald Trump, Harriet Hageman is now ahead of Rep. Cheney by double digits.

A microscopic 28 percent of Wyoming voters say they would vote for Cheney, a new poll from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates showed, The Daily Mail reported.

“The survey of 400 likely Republican primary voters in the deep red state shows that 56 percent would vote for Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman over the incumbent if the election were held today,” it said.

The 28 points that divide them falls well outside the 4.9 percent margin of error for the poll taken June 1 and 2 that was released this week.

Even less respondents had a favorable view of their current at-large congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representative – with just 26 viewing her favorably and a whopping 73 percent having an unfavorable opinion of Cheney.

When former President Trump backed Hagerman in the Fall he said she “is running against warmonger and disloyal Republican” Cheney.

“Harriet is a fourth-generation daughter of Wyoming, a very successful attorney, and has the support and respect of a truly great U.S. Senator, Wyoming’s own Cynthia Lummis,” Trump continued.

“Harriet Hageman adores the Great State of Wyoming, is strong on Crime and Borders, powerfully supports the Second Amendment, loves our Military and our Vets, and will fight for Election Integrity and Energy Independence (which [President Joe] Biden has already given up),” he added.

“Unlike RINO Liz Cheney, Harriet is all in for America First. Harriet has my Complete and Total Endorsement in replacing the Democrats’ number one provider of sound bites, Liz Cheney. Make America Great Again!” the former president concluded.

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But last month Cheney has announced that she will run for re-election.

In a video released on social media, the anti-Trump lawmaker awkwardly responds to questions about whether she would bow out of the race as former President Donald Trump has endorsed her primary opponent.

“If we set aside our founding principles for the politics of the moment, the miracle of our constitutional republic will slip away,” Cheney says in the video. “We must not let that happen.”

“In Wyoming, we know what it means to ride for the brand. We live in the greatest nation God has ever created, and our brand is the U.S. Constitution,” she tweeted. “I’m running for re-election and asking for your vote because this is a fight we must win.”

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Her announcement comes two days before Trump will hold a rally in support of Harriet Hageman, an attorney from Wyoming.

“This Save America rally is a continuation of President Trump’s unprecedented effort to advance the MAGA agenda by energizing voters and highlighting America First candidates and cause,” a press release about the event says.

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