OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Fox News co-host Kayleigh McEnany returned to “Outnumbered” after being absent for weeks and delivered a brutal verbal beatdown to President Joe Biden over his “weak” foreign policy. McEneny has been away from the show following the birth of her second child in December.
“Here is the problem with that. The only time I see President Biden get tough is when he goes against the MAGA crowd and other Americans. North Korea fired off ICBMs over the weekend. No one talks about it. I do believe if President Trump was in office it would be a kind of news story we would hear more about. What is happening in Iran? Now what’s really happening is the reconstitution of Russia, Brazil, and other nations petitioning to be part of it. There are some things happening right now that beneath the surface, the big shifts that we have to make sure don’t fall apart or everything will fall apart. The other line that stood out to me this war was never a necessity but a tragedy. It was an avoidable tragedy. To your point about the Trump Administration. I maintain this wouldn’t have happened. We saw Crimea taken in the Obama years and now exerting force and trying to redraw the map again,” McEnany said.
“Peace is maintained by having a strong defense and being unequivocal and strong about using offense when necessary. Peace is maintained by not capitulating to the enemies and why under your prior boss’s administration we saw no invasions. There were no dips into the southern airspace and global humiliation which is what is occurring now. President Biden said the defense of freedom is not a day’s work. It takes many. He is right. We’ve seen it be totally eroded under his lack of leadership. Pushing further a little bit on the Josh rogue article you touched on there. He makes the point it is so obvious as China maintained on that Munich stage that the world was watching that we chased them around and demanded an apology and they gave none,” she added.
WATCH:
Last month, the former Trump administration press secretary announced she had written a book, “Serenity in the Storm: Living through Chaos by Leaning on Christ.”
I’m excited to reveal the cover of my upcoming book “Serenity in the Storm: Living through Chaos by Leaning on Christ”!
Pre-order here (available wherever books are sold!): https://t.co/3Kbx4COvE8 pic.twitter.com/QJpnAEkj4Y
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) January 8, 2023
McEnany’s meteoric rise to cable news stardom continued before she left to have her baby as her “Outnumbered” program on Fox News drew even more viewers.
The daily line-up of programming on the Fox News Channel is continuing to dominate the cable news industry, and once again, one of the network’s shows was the top-rated program of the week, according to a new analysis of television viewership.
According to AdWeek, in the 25-54 age group, “The Five” was the most-watched program last week, scoring 390,000 in the coveted advertiser demographic, far ahead of Jake Tapper’s 128,000 on CNN and an unmeasurable figure for MSNBC in the same 5 p.m. EDT slot.
The outlet noted (in thousands):
Total Day: FNC: 245 | CNN: 105 | MSNBC: 108
Prime: FNC: 345 | CNN: 130 | MSNBC: 179
The outlet also noted (in millions of viewers):
Total Day: FNC: 1.914 | CNN: 540 | MSNBC: 960
Prime: FNC: 2.701 | CNN: 593 | MSNBC: 1.451
Notably, in the 11 p.m. EDT slot, Fox News’ hit late-night comedy show “Gutfeld!” — hosted by The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld — was also dominant last week, averaging 2.2 million viewers, which rivals the broadcast network late-night shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS.
Fox News dominated in the January cable news ratings as well, drawing more viewers, on average, than both CNN and MSNBC combined. Jesse Watters was part of two shows — The Five and “Jesse Watters Primetime” — that were in the top 5 for viewership in January.
“Fox News still led in total day viewers, averaging 1.35 million viewers, which was down 4% from the same month a year earlier. MSNBC averaged 703,000, up 7%, while CNN posted 524,000, up 7%. In the 25-54 demo, Fox News averaged 173,000, down 23%, while CNN was up 7% with 107,000 and MSNBC rose 5% to 78,000,” Deadline reported.
The outlet added:
The Five was the top show in total viewers, averaging 3.38 million, followed by Tucker Carlson Tonight with 3.19 million, Jesse Watters Primetime with 2.84 million, Hannity with 2.57 million, and Special Report with Bret Baier at 2.42 million.
In the 25-54 demo, Tucker Carlson Tonight averaged 448,000, followed by The Five with 379,000, Jesse Watters Primetime with 319,000, Hannity with 307,000, and Gutfeld! at 301,000.
Fox News averaged 1.95 million viewers, down 13%, while MSNBC posted 1.05 million, down 9%, and CNN was at 629,000, down 1%. In the 25-54 demo, CNN averaged 144,000, which was up 3%. That still trailed Fox News, which averaged 239,000, down 29%. MSNBC posted 109,000, down 16%.
Fox News has previously gotten fantastic news about The Five.
The show has become the most watched show in cable news, averaging a total audience of 3.332 million viewers for the week that ended January 22nd, Nielsen ratings showed, Forbes reported.
“After The Five, the highest-rated shows of the week were Tucker Carlson Tonight (3.086 million viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (2.647 million viewers), Hannity (2.386 million viewers), and Special Report with Bret Baier (2.367 million viewers)—all airing on the Fox News Channel,” the report said.
Forbes reported: “In prime time, Fox News led the cable news networks with an average total audience of 1.996 million viewers—beating CNN and MSNBC combined. Overall, Fox had fully 92 of the 100 highest-rated cable news telecasts for the week. Among viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by advertisers, Tucker Carlson Tonight was first with 442,000 viewers, followed by The Five (374,000 viewers), Hannity (303,000 viewers), Jesse Watters Primetime (266,000 viewers) and Special Report with Bret Baier (256,000 viewers).”
