--- title: Trump Congress Address: Seventh Reading Level description: The President's joint address was given at the lowest reading level in recent memory canonical: https://time.com/4686828/donald-trump-congress-address-reading-level/ author: Chris Wilson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-01T14:09:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:18:51.685Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump's Speech Given At Seventh-Grade Reading Level og:description: The President's joint address was given at the lowest reading level in recent memory og:url: https://time.com/4686828/donald-trump-congress-address-reading-level/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c47ecd24b10e4/6988bc800a4a221b739cd1e2/trump-address-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4344 og:image:height: 2444 og:image:alt: Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applaud as President Donald J. Trump arrives to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 28, 2017. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump's Speech Given At Seventh-Grade Reading Level twitter:description: The President's joint address was given at the lowest reading level in recent memory twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c47ecd24b10e4/6988bc800a4a221b739cd1e2/trump-address-congress.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump's Speech Was Given at a Seventh-Grade Reading Level > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=fd2ebb8d-ab47-4ae2-ba4e-b47d7368fbf0&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Closes Address To Congress With Call For Unity [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Closes Address To Congress With Call For Unity](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/glfwSsUN.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2017-03-01. Heralding a "new chapter of American greatness," President Donald Trump stood before Congress for the first time Tuesday night and issued a broad call for overhauling the nation's health care system, significantly boosting military spending and plung_  by [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/)  ## Chris Wilson Mar 1, 2017 2:09 PM UTC  by [Chris Wilson](https://time.com/author/chris-wilson/)  ## Chris Wilson Mar 1, 2017 2:09 PM UTC President Donald Trump’s [first joint address to Congress](http://time.com/4686785/trump-congress-address-analysis/) was delivered at a seventh-grade reading level, according to a [common measure of comprehension](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid%5Freadability%5Ftests#Flesch.E2.80.93Kincaid%5Fgrade%5Flevel) that accounts for sentence length and the number of syllables in each word. According to TIME’s analysis, that makes Trump’s address the most accessible–and also the least complex–of any president’s first joint address going back to Ronald Reagan. While [President Obama’s Feb. 24, 2009 speech](http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=85753) was at a ninth-grade reading level, for example, thanks to his use of words like “equivocation” and “protectionism,” Trump favored shorter sentences with fewer mouthfuls. You can compare the six speeches here: Of course, the intricacy of the language is not the primary factor in what makes an effective speech. Trump’s speechwriters could have goosed the grade level by using the thesaurus function in Microsoft Word and choosing the longest synonym for every term, but the result would have been incomprehensible. (Somehow, the phrase “Designate America Momentous Again” feels less hat-worthy.) But these scores do tell us something about whether the authors wish to reach the widest possible audience or project a level of intellectual acumen. Opting for the former is congruent with the populist message peppered throughout Trump’s first major address. ## Transcript America is willing to find new friends and to forge new partnerships where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict. We want peace wherever peace can be found. America is friends, today, with former enemies. We are one people with one destiny. We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same great American flag. And we all are made by the same God. The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us. We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that [ INAUDIBLE ] our souls, and the confidence that turn those hopes and those dreams into action From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears. Inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past, and guided by a vision, not blinded by our doubts. I am asking all citizens to embrace this renewal of the American spirit. I am asking all members of congress to join me in dreaming big and bold and daring things for our country. I am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment Believe in yourselves, believe in your future, and believe once more in America. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States. 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