Gilli-BLAND: Ratings For Gillibrand’s CNN Town Hall Are Embarrassingly Low

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who recently threw her hat into the circus of candidates vying for the coveted 2020 Democrat presidential nomination, appeared on CNN for a town hall event on Wednesday that went belly-up on viewership. The Democrat got crushed by other news networks and her counterparts appearing in their own televised town halls for CNN.

According to Mediaite, the New York Democrat captured only 491,000 total viewers. By comparison, Senator Kamala Harris (D-NY), who is also a 2020 presidential contender, brought in 1.95 million total viewers when she appeared on CNN for her town hall event, The Hollywood Reporter noted.

A Mediaite report gave fuller context for Gillibrand’s dismal performance:

[In] the first quarter of 2019, CNN’s 10 p.m. host Don Lemon doubled those numbers: on average, he bagged 1.16 million total viewers and 361,000 in the demo.

Gillibrand’s town hall was also the lowest rated show on cable Tuesday night at 10 p.m. While less than half a million people watched Gillibrand, a whopping 2.5 million tuned in to watch Fox News host Laura Ingraham, while over on MSNBC Lawrence O’Donnell drew 1.9 million viewers.

In the demo, MSNBC more than doubled CNN with 300,000 viewers, while Fox News more than tripled CNN with 434,000 viewers.

Ouch.

Senator Gillibrand has tried to her hardest to flex her intersectionality muscles and score diversity points wherever possible — a strategy that has yielded less than impressive results. For example, when appearing alongside self-styled civil rights activist Al Sharpton at the National Action Network’s King Day Public Policy Forum on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the senator decided to preach a sermon to the congregation in, well, animated fashion. The performance was widely panned as awkward pandering.

“We will wear the belt of truth because we know the truth,” emphasized Gillibrand, waving her arms. “We speak truth to power. We will put on the bright breastplate of righteousness because we know right from wrong.”

“And we will not forget it,” the senator continued. “We will hold that shield of faith, as Dr. King said, faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase. So hold on to that faith tightly.”

Gillibrand’s also tried to fashion herself as a “young mother.” However, Gillibrand is a 54 year old woman; she’s four years into an AARP membership.

The senator has also sought to capitalize on the #MeToo movement for her own benefit. But she’s been hit with a snag there, too: Gillibrand has close ties to former President Bill Clinton, a man who has been accused of sexual misconduct by some 14 women.

In 2017, Gillibrand denounced Bill Clinton, saying he should have left the Oval Office after his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a young White House intern, was revealed.