Even though President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in history, fewer Americans tuned in this year.
Preliminary data released by Nielsen on Wednesday showed an estimated 12% decline in total State of the Address viewership among the seven most-watched networks: ABC, CBS, CNN, MS Now, NBC, Fox News and Fox Broadcast Network.
Trump’s 108-minute speech drew about 27.8 million viewers, down from 31.45 million viewers last year when he addressed a joint session of Congress.
President Donald Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union address drew a smaller audience than last year’s address to a joint session of Congress. /Kenny Holston-Poole/Getty Images
Fox News Channel ranked first with 9.1 million viewers between 9:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET, but total viewers were still down 15% year over year. It was followed by ABC News (5.1 million viewers), NBC (3.6 million viewers) and CBS (3.3 million viewers).
CNN and MS NOW each have about 2 million viewers, achieving double-digit growth year-on-year.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “The Hollywood Reporter” pointed out that the decline in “State of the Union” ratings after a president’s first year in office is quite common in recent history, with Obama, Bill Clinton and Trump seeing similar declines during their first terms.
Trump, 79, kept his message largely personal, touting the supposed successes of his first year back as president, announcing awards for everyone from hockey goalies to military heroes and introducing a host of guests to showcase his policies.
The president also welcomed the U.S. men’s hockey team in his speech, praising their victory at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
“President Trump absolutely had a huge success tonight,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on her personal X account. “I’m proud to work for him and proud to be an American!”
Meanwhile, Democrats didn’t miss the opportunity to protest. Texas Rep. Al Green was kicked out for holding a sign that read “Black people are not apes,” an apparent reference to Trump’s racist posts on The Truth Society depicting former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Rep. Al Green protested as Trump arrived to deliver his State of the Union address. /Pool/Getty Images
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also heckled Trump during their speeches, sparking a new meltdown from the president on social media.
“When people engage in behavior like this and know that they are dishonest and corrupt politicians who are very detrimental to our country, we should send them back as quickly as possible from whence they came,” he wrote in a lengthy tirade. “They can only harm the United States of America, but there is nothing they can do.”
