Donald Trump Humiliated by Low Viewership After Delivering Longest State of the Union Address in History

President Donald Trump’s first official State of the Union (SOTU) address of his second term was a humiliating ratings bust as it saw a 12 percent decline in viewership compared to his 2025 address to Congress, according to preliminary data from Nielsen.

Viewership for this address was lower than President Joe Biden’s 2024 SOTU (32.2 million) and significantly lower than Trump’s own first-term high of 47.7 million in 2017.

Clocking in at one hour and 47 minutes, the February 24 speech set a new record for the longest State of the Union address in history, surpassing former President Bill Clinton’s 2000 record of one hour and 28 minutes.

Approximately 27.8 million people tuned in across the seven major broadcast and cable networks.

This is down from the 31.45 million viewers who watched his 2025 address to a joint session of Congress.

Predictably, Fox News led all networks with 9.1 million viewers.

Only 38 percent of viewers had a "very positive" reaction to the speech, the lowest for any of Trump's five major addresses to Congress.

Analysis from The Guardian — which noted that the president “had run out of steam" — and Axios characterized the address as a "rose-colored spectacle" that failed to align with public concerns over affordability, inflation and immigration.

Critics noted that while Trump touted a "Golden Age," 65 percent of Americans disapproved of his handling of inflation.

Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats opted to skip the event in a massive coordinated boycott and a rally on the National Mall organized by MoveOn and MeidasTouch, featuring speakers like Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

While dozens boycotted, other leaders like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) attended, with Jeffries advising members to either skip or remain in "silent defiance,” and Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) heckling the president as he spoke.

As Trump defended his administration’s immigration policies and called for an end to "sanctuary cities," Omar repeatedly shouted, "You have killed Americans!" She later clarified on social media that she was referring to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two constituents during ICE enforcement actions.

In response, the POTUS lashed out in a Truth Social screed, writing, “When you watch Low IQ Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union, such an important and beautiful event, they had the bulging, bloodshot eyes of crazy people, LUNATICS, mentally deranged and sick who, frankly, look like they should be institutionalized.”

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who remained stone faced during the speech, accused the president of using the address to "further divide us as a nation" and described the tone as "angry."

Multiple New York Times columnists critiqued the speech; Jamelle Bouie cited "braying racism," while Elizabeth Williamson called it a "tedious, tiresome performance."

The Daily Beast described the address as a "craven, meandering, mean-spirited flop" that felt more like a game show than a report to Congress.

The New Republic referred to the president as a "malicious buffoon" and characterized the administration as an "affront to everything we have... as Americans."