Clinton-Trump Debate Makes History With Well Over 80 Million People Viewing

Breaks Record Set in 1980

Far more than 80 million people watched the first Clinton-Trump debate Monday night, breaking records. Preliminary numbers show 80.9 million watched on 12 TV channels, not including Univision, C-SPAN, or PBS. The public television station will report figures later Tuesday. Another 2.5 million watched on YouTube. Complete numbers will be released later this week.

The number to beat was the 1980 presidential debate between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, which drew 80.6 million viewers. The first debate between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney pulled in 67 million viewers, CNN’s Brian Stelter reports. He adds the actual numbers are even larger, as “people who watched the debate at parties, bars, restaurants, and offices were not counted.”

By every reliable indication, Hillary Clinton won Monday night’s debate, but also won over younger voters with whom she had been struggling.