George W. Bush’s 2002 State of Union most viewed, not Trump’s
President Donald Trump gestures at the end of his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. (Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTO — President Donald Trump says the ratings for his first State of the Union address this week are “the highest number in history,” but that is not true.
Nielsen reports that about 45.6 million tuned in to watch Trump Tuesday night. That’s below viewership for President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union, which was about 48 million, and Trump’s own joint address to Congress last year.
It also trails the 46.8 million viewers who tuned into President Bill Clinton’s first State of the Union speech, and the 51.7 million who watched President George W. Bush’s 2002 address.
Trump falsely argued last year that his inauguration was the most well-attended one ever.
