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
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.