In an analysis of the Jan. 6 committee hearings, Newsweek summarizes public interest in the hearings and what the fallout might be for Trump.
The article reports that the first live primetime hearing on June 9 attracted 20 million viewers across the news networks, according to the Nielsen ratings. However, those numbers have started to fall, albeit with the subsequent hearings not being played in primetime slots.
UC's David Niven, an associate professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, was among the experts cited in the article.
"Ironically, one of Trump's great political strengths is that there are so many things wrong with him that it is hard to hold people's focus on just one thing for any length of time," Niven told Newsweek.
The hearings in and of themselves might not get the best ratings, but what matters is if the committee persuades the Department of Justice that Trump committed a number of crimes during his attempts to overturn the election results in the run-up to the January 6 attack.
Each session, Niven said, "is a reminder that Trump lied, Trump connived, and ultimately, Trump unleashed a torrent of violence against innocent people trying to lawfully do their jobs."
Niven is an often-cited expert on American politics. His research focus is on political campaigns, gerrymandering, political communication and death penalty policy.
UC's School of Public and International Affairs was created out of the former Department of Political Science, which dates to 1914. Experts from the school are regularly cited in national and international media outlets.
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