Biden’s State of the Union TV Ratings Lowest in 30 Years

President Joe Biden’s TV ratings for his first State of the Union address posted the lowest numbers for a rookie in 30 years. Despite being a first-year president, only 38 million Americans tuned in to hear Biden speak.

In contrast, former President Donald Trump’s viewer ratings during his first SOTU was 45.5 million.

RELATED: Republicans Greet Biden’s State of the Union Address With Jeers

Lowest State of the Union TV Ratings In 30 Years

According to Nielsen Media Research, Biden didn’t quite get the reach other Presidents managed in their first SOTU. The President’s 38 million TV ratings represented the lowest figure for a Chief Executive’s first SOTU in 30 years.

Nielsen reported that approximately 27.4 million households watched Biden’s hour-long address live on 16 different networks. This resulted in a 22.4 rating.

In contrast, former President Donald Trump’s first official State of the Union speech in 2018 garnered a 26.9 rating. This translates into an estimated 45.5 million viewers. 

Other Presidents Beat Biden’s TV Ratings

Apart from Trump, Biden’s recent predecessors attracted more Americans to listen to their inaugural SOTU address. In 2010, more than 48 million Americans viewed former President Barack Obama’s first SOTU speech for a 29.8 rating. 

Meanwhile, former president George W. Bush’s 2002 SOTU drew 51.8 million viewers for a 33.6 rating. Finally, former president Bill Clinton managed to attract 45.8 million Americans to listen to his SOTU in 1994. 

Biden’s Low SOTU TV Ratings Actually An Improvement

Ironically, Biden’s low TV ratings on his first SOTU was actually an improvement. His address to a joint session of Congress last April only drew less than 27 million viewers.

It earned a paltry 16.5 rating. That wasn’t an official SOTU address because the rules require the president to sit more than a year in office.

In fairness, Biden’s SOTU also edged Trump’s final SOTU in February 2020, which was 37 million. 

The President took time in his SOTU address to criticize his immediate predecessor, which drew boos from the Republican crowd.

Biden also lauded Ford and GM over electric vehicle initiatives while conveniently forgetting EV market leader Tesla. This drew the ire of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who told CNBC that “Nobody is watching the State of the Union.” 

Fox News Channel Got The Most Viewers

Meanwhile, Fox News grabbed the most viewers among the networks covering the SOTU. Fox drew an average of 7.2 million viewers.

According to the network, Biden’s SOTU drew its highest ratings for a State of the Union address made by a Democrat. 

ABC came in second with 6,3 million viewers, followed by CBS with 4.9 million. Then, CNN managed to get only 4.8 million viewers to its channel, with NBC close behind at 4.7 million viewers.

Bringing up the rear was MSNBC with 4.1 million viewers and the Fox network finished dead last at 1.9 million. 

Watch the NBC News video reporting that President Biden’s Approval Rating Sinks Ahead Of State Of The Union: