Newsmax is a TV station that caters as much as possible to far-right extremists and Trump supporters, so it seems unrealistic that an interview with the former president himself would get mediocre ratings, but that is precisely what happened this week. This is just another signal that Trump’s popularity may not be quite as rampant as it used to be because though his supporters are loud, the numbers suggest that they are dwindling in strength.

The interview received only 220,000 views as it aired, meaning it was far from the station’s most-watched hour of the day. In fact, out of everything that aired that day, Schmitt’s segment came in fifth for popularity, falling behind Eric Bolling, Grant Stinchfield, Sean Spicer, and Greg Kelly, when considering the “ideal” advertiser demographic, which includes viewers ages 25-54, the interview lands at number eight, less than half of some of the other pieces.

The importance of such statistics can not be overstated in a station like Newsmax, where an interview with Trump would generally be considered the best segment a host could land. It is true that it drew attention from viewers, but not nearly as much excitement as one would expect when it comes to a news outlet that caters to such a demographic.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch this?

TRUMP: "It's very simple: Our country is going to hell, and we were doing great." https://t.co/hjZXcMz2DA pic.twitter.com/kVeUkItkqk

— Newsmax (@newsmax) February 2, 2022

You can go to Mediaite and see the full numbers, and you should, as they are BRUTAL.

But Trump isn’t bad for Newsmax, as when Trump holds one of his pathetic rallies the network gets great ratings.

Newsmax's audience on a normal Saturday night: Maybe 50,000 viewers. Newsmax's audience for a Trump rally on a Saturday night: 1.5 million + pic.twitter.com/6gDtTwuegh

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 30, 2022

And here’s an incredible video summing up the entire situation, hosted by the indefatigable Christo Aivalis who you really should subscribe to. He just is so good when it comes to analyzing the Former Guy.