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President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address drew an estimated 32.6 million viewers this week, a drop of about 4 million from his 2025 speech to Congress, Nielsen Media Research estimates cited by the Associated Press showed. The broadcast marked the smallest audience for Trump’s annual message, the report said. Nielsen also said the address was the longest televised State of the Union by any president.
Nielsen said Trump’s address aired on 15 television networks and that his viewership in his second term fell below the range he reached earlier. During Trump’s first term, Nielsen said he never dipped below 37.1 million viewers across four State of the Union addresses. Nielsen said Trump also exceeded 40 million viewers from 2017 through 2019, including a peak of 47.7 million for his first State of the Union.
The Nielsen estimate said Tuesday’s audience was comparable to former President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union in 2024, when Biden drew 32.2 million viewers. The report also said the State of the Union remains among the most-watched television events of the year, especially among older viewers.
Nielsen’s age breakdown showed that 23.6 million of Trump’s viewers were 55 and older on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press report. The same estimates put other networks’ audiences below the Fox News figure.
Fox News Channel attracted the largest audience, with 9.1 million viewers watching Trump’s remarks, the report said. ABC News came second with 5.1 million viewers, and no other network exceeded 3.6 million, according to Nielsen estimates cited by the Associated Press.