state of the union 2018
The ratings are in, and 45.6 million people watched Trump's first State of the Union
As a former reality TV star, President Trump has always been about the ratings, and he should be pretty happy with the number of people who tuned in to his first State of the Union address Tuesday night.
Nielsen estimates that 45.6 million viewers watched the State of the Union on 12 broadcast and cable networks, well above the number of people who watched his inauguration (30.6 million). That number is down 2 million from his address to the joint sessions of Congress last year, and also not as high as former President Barack Obama's first address to the joint sessions of Congress and SOTU — he had 52.4 million viewers in 2009 and 48 million in 2010.
Nielsen says more than half of the combined total of viewers, 26.6 million people, were 55 and older, and Fox News had about 1 of every 4 viewers, setting a record for the highest-rated State of the Union address in cable history. Only 4.2 million adults between 18 and 34 tuned in.