President Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress, at nearly one hour and five minutes, was historically long by modern standards, by C-SPAN's count.
Biden was either cognizant of his speech's record length or just being polite when he ended his speech, closing with the words: "Thank you for your patience."
Biden has already modified the ubiquitous modern ending to presidential speeches — some variation of "Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America" — by swapping out God blessing America with the prayer: "May God protect our troops." Thanking Congress — and viewers at home — for their patience is a new one. Not everyone loved it, but there was a general agreement he earned points for honesty. Peter Weber
The Week
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