President Trump’s address to Congress draws 36.6 million viewers, down from first term
On Tuesday, President Trump gave an unusually lengthy speech to both houses of Congress. However, television viewership for this event didn’t reach the numbers he had garnered in previous speeches.
Based on Nielsen’s statistics, the speech attracted approximately 36.6 million viewers, marking a nearly 14% rise compared to former President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address.
In Trump’s initial speech during his second non-continuous term, the viewership was lower compared to his previous speeches. For instance, his first address back in 2017 had a whopping 47.7 million viewers. His State of the Union speeches, however, drew 45.5 million in 2018, 46.8 million in 2019, and only 37.1 million in 2020.
Trump’s speech lasted an hour and forty minutes, surpassing the record set by former President Clinton during his 2000 State of the Union address, which was one hour and twenty-eight minutes long.
Television
Over the past decade, the television viewing experience has significantly shifted following Donald Trump’s rise in politics, as an increasing number of households have abandoned traditional cable subscriptions.
Several TV news outlets streamed Trump’s speech via YouTube or their own live streaming services. However, these viewership numbers are not always incorporated into the overall Nielsen viewer count.
According to ratings, Fox News boasted the highest number of television audiences for the speech, with approximately 10.7 million viewers tuning in to coverage presented by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. ABC took second place with around 6.3 million viewers, while CBS came in third with about 4 million viewers. NBC followed closely behind with roughly 3.9 million viewers, with the Fox broadcast network garnering approximately 2.7 million viewers. MSNBC had 1.9 million viewers, and CNN rounded out the list with an audience of similar size, also numbering 1.9 million.
During Trump’s rambunctious address, detailing his actions during the initial 43 days of his presidency and outlining future plans, some Democratic representatives in the House chamber disrupted him. Initially, Representative Al Green (D-Texas) was escorted away after he brandished his cane towards the president at the start of the speech.
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2025-03-06 02:31