More than 32 million watched Trump's 2026 State of the Union Address
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More than 32M watched Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address
More than 32 million people tuned in to watch President Trump’s annual State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The 32.6 million figure is down from the 36 million who watched the president’s first address to Congress of his second term last year, but it ranks slightly higher than the 32.2 million viewers who watched former President Biden’s final address to a joint session of Congress before he left the White House.
Trump’s first-ever State of the Union Address in 2017, which was watched by more than 47 million, had some of the highest viewership in the modern television era, but it ranked behind former President Obama’s 2009 speech, which pulled in a whopping 52 million viewers that year.
The Nielsen figures, released Thursday, do not reflect viewers who watched the speech on a livestream, saw clips of the president’s remarks on social media, or watched it in full after it had concluded.
Many of the major news networks have seen viewership declines in recent years, due primarily to cord-cutting across the business and a pivot by consumers to streaming platforms or social media for news and commentary on current events.
Trump’s speech Tuesday was the longest State of the Union in history, stretching nearly two hours and covering a number of topics ranging from immigration to the economy, foreign policy and health care.
The president admonished Democrats who would not stand in support of his immigration agenda and mocked former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during the prime-time address, winning praise from some of his most loyal supporters and pushback from Democrats on Capitol Hill, some of whom walked out of the chamber during the speech.
The president also sought to promote patriotism during the prime-time event, welcoming the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team and announcing he was awarding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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