The Fox News Channel’s late night comedy-talk program Gutfeld! earned its highest ratings ever thanks to an appearance by former President Donald Trump.

The show, taped on Wednesday and aired in prime-time, drew 4.9 million viewers, including 744,000 viewers among adults ages 25 to 54 years old (A25-54), the key demographic most-attractive to cable news advertisers.

It was Trump’s first late night appearance since 2016, when he appeared on NBC’s “The Tonight Show” while running as the Republican nominee for the White House. Trump won the election in 2016, only to lose as an incumbent in 2020; he is running for a second term in the White House this year.

Gutfeld! consistently scores as the highest-rated late night talk show program on network television, earning higher marks compared to similar fare on ABC, CBS and NBC, even though it airs about 90 minutes earlier than shows on those networks.

On Wednesday, Trump’s appearance helped it solidify its lead in prime-time television, earning higher ratings than the debut of “Survivor” on CBS and “The Golden Bachelorette” on ABC.

Gutfeld! averaged 2.7 million viewers during the third quarter of 2024, as well as 408,000 viewers in the key demographic of adults ages 25 to 54 (A25-54) that are attractive to cable news advertisers.

Nielsen MRI Fusion said Gutfeld! attracted more viewers who identify as Democrat or independent compared to all other late night programs on broadcast and cable TV.

The Fox News Channel is operated by Fox News Media, a unit of Fox Corporation.