Nielsen: Trump’s State of the Union Drew 32.6 Million TV Viewers, Down More Than 10% From Last Year

An estimated 32.6 million people across 23.2 million homes watched President Donald Trump deliver the 2026 State of the Union address on Feb. 24, according to new Nielsen data.

The tally is down almost 11% from Trump’s March 4, 2025, State of the Union address, which generated 36.6 million viewers.

Both totals pale in comparison to Trump’s first term speeches as president that generated State of the Union viewership of 47.7 million, 45.5 million, 46.8 million and 37.2 million, respectively.

While coverage varied by network, 15 networks televised the address from approximately 9:12 to 10:59 p.m. ET — with concurrent live streams where available.

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CNN Max to Live-Stream President Biden’s ‘State of the Union Address’ and Republican Response March 7

CNN Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s 24/7 streaming news platform available to Max subscribers, is set to live-stream the March 7 “State of the Union” speech by President Biden, and the Republican party’s follow-up response.

The speech will also be available on CNN connected TV and mobile apps where available, and on CNN.com.

CNN’s pre-show will begin at 8 p.m. ET during a special edition of “Anderson Cooper 360″ with Anderson Cooper in New York; Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C.; Erin Burnett on Capitol Hill; and Dana Bash in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall. 

Abby Phillip, John King, Kasie Hunt, Kaitlan Collins, Jamie Gangel, and David Chalian will provide analysis from D.C. before and after the president’s address. Chalian will also have key data from CNN’s State of the Union instant poll. 

Cooper will be joined by a panel of CNN’s expert political tacticians to analyze Biden’s messaging in his final State of the Union address before the 2024 election.

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CNN’s Manu Raju will be on Capitol Hill capturing reactions from lawmakers. M.J. Lee will be at the White House reporting any news from the Biden Administration and Kristen Holmes will bring the latest from the Trump campaign. Jeff Zeleny will be reporting live from the key swing state of Michigan. Daniel Dale will provide fact checks throughout coverage.

Clarissa Ward will report from Israel and Nick Paton Walsh will be live from Ukraine to provide international perspective.  

Audiences can also test their knowledge of historical presidential addresses with the newly released State of the Union Quiz. 

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