The Hollywood Reporter said early viewing figures showed 45% of people actively watching television tuned in during the time period of the president’s speech (9:00 to 9:15 p.m. Eastern) to one of the networks airing it, including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox (broadcast), Fox News (cable), NBC, and MSBNC.

However, that number rose to about 47% in the next 15-minute block, during which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented a response. Those viewership numbers correspond to 28.1% and 29.3% of all people who watch television, respectively, or about 35 to 40 million people across the time periods.

Opposition response usually draws a reduced viewership, as people gradually tune out during a presidential address, making the higher ratings more striking, even if the numbers were just slightly above the president’s speech.

A Fox Sports executive tweeted early on Jan. 9 that the Democratic response outpaced the president’s speech with viewers on CNN (by 26%), MSNBC (by 15%), and ABC (by 3%), while CBS saw 3% more viewers for Trump. NBC, Fox, and Fox News had equal viewership.

Combined overnight ratings of seven national networks:

9-9:15, including President Trump’s address to the nation: 28.1 rating / 45 share

9:15-9:30, including Pelosi/Schumer response: 29.3 rating / 47 share

— Michael Mulvihill (@mulvihill79) January 9, 2019

Trump used his speech to blame Democrats for the partial government shutdown due to their unwillingness to fund his vision of a super-tall, multi-hundred-mile wall to supplement existing fencing and border security at the U.S./Mexico border. Pelosi said the speech was “full of misinformation and even malice.”

U.S. government statistics under both Obama and Trump show a continued decline in border crossing attempts and apprehensions, with levels at their lowest in 12 years.