Republican Debate; CNN Debate Viewers.
BALDWIN: I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN. And history has now been made for this network. Our Republican presidential debate here was appointment viewing last night from millions of potential voters. We now have the number, nearly 23 million people tuned in making it the most watched program in CNN's history. Let's bring in our senior media correspondent and host of "Reliable Sources" Brian Stelter. So, incredible just to know that this has happened in the last 24 hours. And I'm just curious, you know, when you compare those kind of numbers to, what, I don't know, Monday night football, how do they compare?</s>BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Monday night football, this Monday, had 14 million viewers.</s>BALDWIN: Wow.</s>STELTER: My favorite show on TV, "The Walking Dead," its finale had 16 million viewers earlier this year. We are talking about the debates now being one of the biggest shows on all of TV. These are NFL football size numbers. In Some cases even bigger. And here's two comparisons to put it into real perspective, to show you what Donald Trump has done to this race and to this GOP primary. The highest rated primary debate in CNN's history, before last night, was back in 2008. It was Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama. It was their first head to head matchup. And that had 8 million viewers. And that was huge at the time. And then the highest rated program on all of CNN ever, you go back to 1980, the biggest show ever on this network was a debate between Al Gore and Ross Perot over NAFTA. It was in 1993. It's very famous. It was a "Larry King Live" episode and it had 16 million. So we're talking about a whole new level when it comes to these debates. And for the candidates who did well last night, it means they did well in front of so many more viewers than they would have had in the past.</s>BALDWIN: Yes.</s>STELTER: That's thanks definitely to Donald Trump.</s>BALDWIN: Yes.</s>STELTER: But also to the other candidates and interest in this race. The Fox debate had a few more viewers, 24 million. CNN having 23 million. And now the pressure's on CNBC because they have the next Republican debate, Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: For the next - yes, I wanted to say, whatever the reason, whoever the reason for folks to tune in, it's just so awesome that people are engaging in politics, especially so early.</s>STELTER: Yes, it is.</s>BALDWIN: So that was the - that was the biggie, that was the biggie debate. Just quickly, how did the 6:00 p.m. with the four - four men on stage, how did that - how</s>STELTER: Yes, you know, I'm glad you mentioned that. I was looking at the numbers just now. I'm kind of a ratings junkie. What's amazing is that more than 6 million viewers tuned in for that debate as well. Usually that time of day maybe a million people are watching CNN. The fact that 6 million people came in for what was called a junior varsity debate shows that this isn't just all about Donald Trump. This is also, like you said, about engagement in the political process. I do wonder how much lower the Democratic debates might rate. You know, we'll find out starting in October. But clearly Donald Trump is driving people to debates that never would have tuned in for a debate before.</s>BALDWIN: It's true. It's true. We'll see, in Vegas, Brian Stelter, thank you.</s>STELTER: Thanks.</s>BALDWIN: Here are some adjectives. Stale, lackluster, that is how some critics are describing Donald Trump's performance last night. So after weeks of skyrocketing poll numbers, could Donald Trump, the man who has really defied political gravity thus far this season, come falling back to earth? Joining me now, Kellyanne Conway, president and CEO of The Polling Company. And, I should mention, total transparency, one of your clients is a Ted Cruz super PAC. So, Kellyanne, welcome.</s>KELLYANNE CONWAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, THE POLLING COMPANY: Thank you, Brooke.</s>BALDWIN: Just a heads up for everyone watching, you know, because a lot of these campaigns obviously look at the numbers. The numbers help determine some of these debates. The first post-debate polling will come out over the course of the next week. you know, reaction from Americans who tuned in last night, 23 million. Who do you think, based upon what you watched and what you know about polling, who will rise, who will fall?</s>CONWAY: Well, Brooke, I think most people will stay where they are and that - probably some of them are happy because maybe their debate performance was not their best moment. Carly Fiorina clearly will get a bump in the polls and she'll get a bump in the polls for a couple of reasons. As many people have said today right, left and center, she dominated the debate. She's fresh, she's new, she's accessible, she seemed very relatable. But she also had what people really appreciate, which is a command of the issues. And I think she'll get a bump in the - in the polls that maybe wouldn't come to some candidates in the past if they're outsiders because this has been the summer of the outsider. All the outsiders have ascended. Carson, Fiorina and certainly Trump.</s>BALDWIN: Right.</s>CONWAY: And I think he's - people didn't know what to expect. Some of us, I'm sure you, have heard her deliver some of these issue - these issue positions before. But I think Carly Fiorina projected to America's women last night what we all know in the workplace, which is, hey, guys, if you just give us a chance, we'll shine. And she did that. I also think Donald Trump may lose a little bit of support. But, remember, when his - when he is attacked, his voters feel like they're being attacked. It's a very unusual construct. And the four or five reasons that usually push a candidate out of the race don't seem to apply to Donald Trump. People get out of the race because they can't raise money. Not a problem for him. They can't get traction in the polls. They can't get traction on an issue. They have an inability to get earned media. Whoo. And then finally, they need to walk back either a gaffe they just said or a past transgression that's been revealed. People almost expect him to have transgressions and gaffes and outrageous comments. It's part of why they like him. But I think the big winner last night was the voter because debates are a direct form of democracy for those who can't write checks for thousands of dollars and need the candidates on their own.</s>BALDWIN: Why - what kinds of questions too, because a lot of - you know, there was a lot of substance. I mean that's what Tapper wanted.</s>CONWAY: Yes.</s>BALDWIN: It was a lot of, you know, national security, foreign policy. And I'm curious if you're asking any sort of issue-based questions for these polls post-debate?</s>CONWAY: Well, especially within the Republican primary electorate, Brooke, the big issues tend to be national security and foreign affairs this year, right up there with economic security and taxes and economic growth really. If you think about places like South Carolina and the SEC primary states that will vote on March 1st, very early in the contest after Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire, those southern states have large military connections in many of these Republican households. Very concerned about the state of foreign affairs. So I think one question will be asking in our polling is, close your eyes, who can you see as your commander-in-chief? And then on the other side of the ledger, who can you not see as your commander-in-chief? Because, ultimately, Brooke, every voter is going to have to ask that question of this Republican field. When all is said and done, when the fund-raising figures are in, when the super PACs do their thing, when people perform well and get poll bumps in debates, you have to be able to see these outsiders included as your commander-in-chief. A very serious issue.</s>BALDWIN: Absolutely right. That's absolutely right.</s>CONWAY: We're also going to be asking, you know, we know that Republican primary voters are more concerned about say Common Core than contraception. They're more likely to talk about Israel, Iran and ISIS than they are about climate change. This is the Republican primary electorate. And particularly for Republican primary women this year, their - they talk a lot more like Republican primary men than they do other women. Partisanship is a greater determinant of your vote than your gender. So it's been really fascinating in -</s>BALDWIN: Yes, all -</s>CONWAY: So -</s>BALDWIN: No, no, all of those issues, all themes through our, what, five hours if you add it all up last night -</s>CONWAY: Right.</s>BALDWIN: And we're all curious to sort of see how it all looks, you know, and when it comes to numbers and responses within the next week. Kellyanne Conway, thank you for your time today. I really appreciate it.</s>BALDWIN: Thank you, Brooke. Enjoyed it.</s>BALDWIN: From the, you know, hard numbers, let's talk about how people were standing, how people were slouching, how people were pursing their lips or using their fingers. Did it work for them? Body language matters. We talk to an expert, next. Also this, if Lindsey Graham is president, everyone's going to drink more. This is what he says. He certainly shined in the undercard debate. But the next round may not actually include a JV debate period. How that could change the race moving forward. You're watching CNN's special live coverage here from the Reagan Presidential Library.