Trump's State of the Union Wasn't the Most Watched in History
by EG
Donald Trump's statements about his TV ratings continue to bear little connection to reality. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that ratings for his recent State of the Union address to Congress were "the biggest number in history," something that's demonstrably not true. Trump's ratings were actually significantly below those of Barack Obama's first SOTU address, and they were lower than Trump's first address to Congress last year. They were also lower than the first SOTU addresses of both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
Such a bogus claim should perhaps not be surprising, though, from someone who consistently claimed that The Apprentice was the highest-rated show on TV when it clearly wasn't.
President Donald Trump is saying the ratings for his first State of the Union address this week are "the highest number in history," but that is not true.
Thank you for all of the nice compliments and reviews on the State of the Union speech. 45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2018
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.
Fewer viewers than the first SOTU’s for Obama in 2010, Bush in 2002, Clinton in 1994.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 1, 2018
“Which means Trump’s initial SOTU, the third longest in history, is now also the least watched address in nearly a quarter of a century.”https://t.co/rZUpNhzJF0 https://t.co/VUPGtj6Z5i
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.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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