--- title: Obama's Final State of the Union Was His Least-Watched description: State of the Union ratings have been dropping steadily for the better part of two decades canonical: https://time.com/4180013/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-obama-lowest/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-13T23:44:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:31.585Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama's Final State of the Union Was His Least-Watched og:description: State of the Union ratings have been dropping steadily for the better part of two decades og:url: https://time.com/4180013/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-obama-lowest/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa07727889c14780/69887917ab6d77d1d16a7f7a/gettyimages-504727302.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3813 og:image:height: 2145 og:image:alt: GettyImages-504727302 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama's Final State of the Union Was His Least-Watched twitter:description: State of the Union ratings have been dropping steadily for the better part of two decades twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa07727889c14780/69887917ab6d77d1d16a7f7a/gettyimages-504727302.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's Final State of the Union Was His Least-Watched > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: State of the Union in Under 4 Minutes [Watch (HLS stream): State of the Union in Under 4 Minutes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IYWlSLur.m3u8) (3:59)  _Published 2016-01-13. State of the Union in Under 4 Minutes_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 13, 2016 11:44 PM UTC  President Barack Obama waves at the conclusion of his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill January 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. In his final State of the Union, President Obama reflected on the past seven years in office and spoke on topics including climate change, gun control, immigration and income inequality. President Barack Obama waves at the conclusion of his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill January 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. In his final State of the Union, President Obama reflected on the past seven years in office and spoke on topics including climate change, gun control, immigration and income inequality. Pool—2016 Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 13, 2016 11:44 PM UTC President Barack Obama gave his final State of the Union Tuesday and it was the lowest-rated of his annual speeches. Roughly 31.3 million viewers tuned in to see Obama make his [last State of the Union](http://time.com/4178440/state-of-the-union-donald-trump/) speech, according to ratings data released Wednesday by Nielsen. While this may seem like a lot of people, it isn’t [when compared to the earlier years of his presidency](http://time.com/4173599/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-social-media/) or even to other speeches during other administrations. Obama’s 2010 State of the Union speech garnered roughly 48 million viewers. President George W. Bush’s last State of the Union in 2008 was watched by 37.5 million Americans. State of the Union ratings have been dropping steadily for the better part of two decades, as Americans have more entertainment options on any given night. **Read More:** [Why Fewer People Will Watch Obama’s Last State of the Union](http://time.com/4173599/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-social-media/) Even though viewership is down on the television screen, numbers on the second screen have continued to rise. This year some 9.8 million Twitter users in the U.S. saw one or more tweets about the State of the Union, while 2.6 million tweets were sent about the speech, according to Nielsen. ## Transcript Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, My Fellow Americans. Tonight marks the eighth year that I've come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I'm gonna try to make it a little shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa. I've been there. [ LAUGH ] I'll be shaking hands afterwards if you want some tips. But for my final address to this chamber, I wanna focus on the next five years, the next ten years. And four big questions That I believe we as a country have to answer. First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? How do we make technology work for us and not against us? How do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman? How can we make our politics reflect What's best in us and not what's worst. The United States of America right now has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. We're in the middle of the longest streak of private sector job creation in history. More than 14 million new jobs, the strongest two years of job growth since the 1990s, Our unemployment rate cut in half. Priority number one is protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks. [ APPLAUSE ] The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. [ APPLAUSE ] When you come after Americans, we go after you and it may take time but we have long memories and our reach has no limits Our foreign policies to be focussed on threat from ISIS and Al- Qaeda but it can't stop there. The world will look to us to help solve these problems and our answer needs to be more than tough talk. War calls to corporate bombs [ INAUDIBLE ]. We also can't Try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. But on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us. And make sure other countries pull their weight. Leadership means a wise application of military power. And rallying the world behind causes that are right. The future we want. Opportunity and security for our families, a rising standard of living, a sustainable peaceful planet for our kids. But I can't do these things on my own. So my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, Whether you prefer one party or no party, whether you supported my agenda or fought as hard as you could against it, our collected futures depends on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. But I can promise that a little over a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I will be right there with you as a citizen. Inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that helped America travel so far. That's the America I know. that's the country we love. Clear eyed, big hearted, undaunted by challenge. Optimistic, that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. [ APPLAUSE ] That's what makes me so hopeful about our future. I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people. And that's why I stand here as confident as I have ever been that the state of our union [ APPLAUSE ] Is strong. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. God bless. [ APPLAUSE ] God bless the United States of America. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4180013/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-obama-lowest/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4180013/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-obama-lowest/"},"headline":"Obama's Final State of the Union Was His Least-Watched","datePublished":"2016-01-13T23:44:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:31.585Z","description":"Ratings have been dropping steadily for the better part of two decades","url":"https://time.com/4180013/state-of-the-union-tv-ratings-obama-lowest/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","state of the union"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa07727889c14780/69887917ab6d77d1d16a7f7a/gettyimages-504727302.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfa07727889c14780/69887917ab6d77d1d16a7f7a/gettyimages-504727302.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-504727302","caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: President Barack Obama waves at the conclusion of his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill January 12, 2016 in Washington, D.C. 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