Monday's ceremony follows the usual pattern for presidents beginning a second term. Donald Trump ‘s second inauguration as president wasn’t as widely viewed as his first, keeping with a historical pattern for second-term presidents.

An average of 24.6 million viewers watched Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on Monday per Nielsen. That’s a lower total than what was achieved by both of the two most recent inauguration broadcasts: 27% below the 33.

Inauguration viewership has varied over the years, from a high of 41.8 million for Reagan in 1981 to a low of 15.5 million for Bush's second term in 2004.

President Donald Trump’s early inauguration ratings are in, and it appears a sophomore slump has hit viewership of his second term. Nielsen found that ratings across ABC, CBS and NBC’s coverage of Trump’s swearing in as 47th president on Monday hovered around 26.

Fox News was the most-watched network for the event while MSNBC topped CNN for inauguration coverage for the first time.

Viewership for the inauguration was down from President Joe Biden’s 2021 ceremony, according to Nielsen figures.