Donald Trump’s Patriot Games struggled to attract a strong television audience after its airing on ABC.
The event, billed as a major showcase of young American athletes and patriotism, garnered just around 1.21 million views, barely half the audience of other shows that fell into that time slot in previous weeks.
Since Trump first announced the games in December last year, the event has faced heavy criticism, with the latest development only adding fuel to the backlash.
As part of the Freedom 250 events celebrating America’s independence, Trump announced the Patriot Games last year.
However, upon its launch in August, the event drew fewer viewers than expected during ABC’s one-hour telecast, according to viewership data compiled by Awful Announcing’s Manny Soloway.
The event drew just 1.21 million viewers, less than half of the 2.86 million who watched the family game show Press Your Luck in the same time slot the previous week.
Interestingly, the week before that, “Press Your Luck” also averaged 2.88 million viewers, suggesting that the lower viewership for Trump’s Patriot Games was more likely due to a lack of interest in tuning in.
Netizens Mock Trump’s Patriot Games After Low Ratings
When Trump first announced the games, the idea was met with comparisons to “The Hunger Games,” the film franchise in which young people are forced to fight to the death in televised arenas.
Online, critics continued to mock the event after reports emerged that its ABC broadcast attracted disappointing ratings.
“Didn’t even know it was a thing,” one user wrote. “Then again, all things with that guy tend to go poof.”
“Imagine drawing less than half the audience of a popular 80s game show reboot. Lmao,” a second user mocked.
“I’d bet good money that at least half that viewership was dads expecting to see ‘Patriot Games’ and sticking around asleep in their chair waiting for ‘those damned kids in this commercial to get off screen so Harrison Ford can kick some ass,’” one more joked.
Trump’s Patriot Games Were Billed As A First-Of-Its-Kind Event
Details of the Patriot Games were revealed in a statement on the Freedom 250 website ahead of the celebration.
“This first-of-its-kind athletic competition will spotlight male and female high school athletes from every state and territory,” it read. “From opening heats to the live final day in front of a live audience, these competitors will light the torch for a new generation of Americans.”
Trump himself also detailed what the games would involve, saying that it would feature “one young man and one young woman from each state and territory,” but “there will be no men playing in women’s sports.”
Trump Shows Up For Patriot Games Finale
For the games, Trump was in attendance, though he appeared only on the final day, when the top 32 competitors went head-to-head.
After the top three boys and girls emerged from the competition, Trump took the stage to present the winners with their trophies and monetary prizes.
He also appeared to enjoy a lighthearted moment during the event, dancing as the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” played over the speakers while members of the audience chanted, “USA.”
Elsewhere during the event, Trump praised the young athletes, saying that the teens were doing “fantastically well.”
Donald Trump Makes Sports A Major Focus Of His Second Term
Trump’s introduction of the Patriot Games is one of the many ways he has made sports a key attraction during his second term in the White House.
As part of the Freedom 250 celebrations, the president collaborated with UFC CEO Dana White on a mixed martial arts event held on the South Lawn of the White House in June.
The event attracted thousands of attendees despite no public seating being made available, while millions of viewers tuned in via a broadcast on Paramount+.
Aside from this, Trump has also attended major sporting events, making appearances at the Super Bowl earlier in the year and the World Cup final in July.
