--- title: SOTU: Donald Trump Falsely Calls Ratings Historic description: Trump said Thursday morning that the ratings from his State of the Union were record-breaking. But they actually weren't. canonical: https://time.com/5128429/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-ratings-fact-check/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-01T13:11:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:06:17.433Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Falsely Said His SOTU Was Most Watched in History og:description: His three predecessors had higher ratings at their first speeches og:url: https://time.com/5128429/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-ratings-fact-check/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5685edbf5e7750cd/6988fa28096a94397f6a1503/trump-state-of-union-washington.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: trump-state-of-union-washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Falsely Said His SOTU Was Most Watched in History twitter:description: His three predecessors had higher ratings at their first speeches twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5685edbf5e7750cd/6988fa28096a94397f6a1503/trump-state-of-union-washington.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Said His State of the Union Was the Most Watched in History. It Wasn't > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=7c81d086-bb16-4638-94c1-b67acc11ea0a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 1, 2018 1:11 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress Joshua Roberts—Reuters  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Feb 1, 2018 1:11 PM UTC President Donald Trump touted the ratings from his State of the Union Thursday morning, tweeting that the numbers were record-breaking. But they actually weren’t. “Thank you for all of the nice compliments and reviews on the State of the Union speech. 45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. \[Fox News\] beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning, his third tweet of the day. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/959034299222843394) Trump’s right about the numbers. Per Nielsen data, approximately 45.6 million viewers tuned in to watch his speech. And he’s also accurate that Fox News garnered the highest ratings, although, per Nielsen data, the network actually had 11.5 million viewers, not 11.7\. But he’s not right when he called the numbers the “highest number in history.” Trump’s three immediate predecessors — former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton — all amassed higher ratings from their first State of the Union than he did: 48 million people tuned in to watch Obama in 2010; 51.7 million tuned in to Bush in 2002; and 45.8 million tuned in for Clinton in 1994\. (The President delivers an address to the joint sessions of Congress during his or her first year, and the State of the Union the following year). Trump’s speech, however, did have the highest views since Obama’s in 2010. This is not the first time the President or his administration has inflated statistics in this regard. After Trump’s inauguration, he said 1.5 million people attended — which was dubious [based on photographs](http://time.com/4834745/national-park-service-trump-inauguration-crowd-size-report/) — and his then-Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters, “that was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period.” Spicer later said he [regretted making that claim.](http://time.com/4946886/sean-spicer-inauguration-emmys-regret/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5128429/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-ratings-fact-check/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5128429/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-ratings-fact-check/"},"headline":"President Trump Said His State of the Union Was the Most Watched in History. 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