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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on February 1, 2018 in a Tweet: \"45.6 million people watched (the State of the Union), the highest number in history. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * National * Polls and Public Opinion * Donald Trump ![\\"President](\\" President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill. (AP) ![\\"Manuela](\\" By Manuela Tobias February 1, 2018 # Trump\'s State of the Union ratings are not the highest in history Television ratings have long been a fixation for former reality TV star President Donald Trump, so it’s no wonder he shined a spotlight on the ratings for his first State of the Union. \"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. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart!\" Trump tweeted on Feb. 1, 2018. > 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. > @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 > million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart! > > — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2018 Trump exaggerated crowd sizes before, so we wondered whether ratings backed up his latest boast. His claim about Fox News holds up, but not so much for total State of the Union viewership. State of the Union ratings The Nielsen Company, the primary collector of television ratings data, indeed reported that 45.6 million Americans above the age of 2 tuned into the president’s address across 12 networks between 9 and 10:30 p.m. That wasn’t a record, though. Trump came in sixth in total State of the Union viewers since Nielsen began collecting the data in 1993. George W. Bush garnered 62 million viewers in 2003; Bill Clinton 53 million in 1998; W. Bush 51.8 million in 2002; Obama 48 million in 2010; and Clinton 45.8 million in 1994. The ranking is even lower when we also count first addresses to the Joint Sessions of Congress. That’s the first-term equivalent of the State of the Union, but the president is assumed to be too new to describe how the nation is faring. Including those addresses, Trump’s State of the Union ranks ninth, outdone by his own first address to the Joint Sessions of Congress, which had 47.7 million viewers. Clinton ranks first with 66.9 viewers in 1993, and Obama’s 2009 address had 53.2 million viewers. When we asked about the \"highest number in history,\" the White House said Trump had been talking about cable news history. That works only if we exclude Trump’s Joint Address to Congress in 2017 and only include the three major cable networks (CNN, Fox News Network and MSNBC) dating back to 2001, when all three aired the address. Nielsen does not track State of the Union viewership from cable and broadcast networks separately, so we tallied up ratings for the major networks across the years. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" black/4590875651af69b2c789ceab409664dd.jpg\\") ![](\\" black/72988380e8c8bd188dc360d11552e4a0.jpg\\") X posts stated on August 18, 2024 in X post Photo shows “pallets or containers of bricks have been found near locations designated for protests related to the Democratic National Convention” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • August 20, 2024 That wasn’t clear in the tweet, however, as the 45.6 million people encompassed watchers of both cable and broadcast networks. Fox News Fox News had an average of 11.5 million viewers between 9 and 10:30 p.m., according to Nielsen. Using the same data set, Fox reported 11.7 million viewers between 9:15 to 10:30 p.m. (The speech ran from 9:09 to 10:30 p.m.) That was a record high for Fox News during a State of the Union speech. It came in second for a presidential address to Congress only to Trump’s Address to the Joint Sessions of Congress last year. Fox indeed beat out the other major networks, as Trump claimed. CNN raked in 3.1 million viewers and MSNBC had 2.7 million viewers during the State of the Union. ABC delivered 5.4 million viewers, NBC 7.1 million, CBS 7 million and FOX 3.6 million, according to Nielsen. If, as the White House explained, Trump was talking only about cable news networks, that wasn’t the first time Fox News beat out the other cable networks during a State of the Union address. While the time stamps vary slightly for each network, Fox beat out CNN and MSNBC every year according to Nielsen, save for 2016. Our ruling Trump said \"45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in.\" 45.6 million people watched Trump’s State of the Union, but that wasn’t the highest number in history. Five other State of the Union speeches raked in more viewers, and eight other presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress did, too. If we only look at cable news airings of the State of the Union among the major networks, this year indeed raked in the highest numbers. That wasn’t clear in the tweet. Fox News delivered 11.7 million viewers for the duration of the president’s speech, give or take a few minutes. It beat every other network airing the speech. That wasn’t a first, though, as the network’s ratings have consistently beaten other cable providers’ during the event. Given the misleading nature of the first statement, and the accuracy of the second, we rate Trump’s statement Mostly False. Share the Facts 2018-02-01 22:38:56 UTC PolitiFact ![\\"PolitiFact\\"](\\" logo-big.jpg\\"/) 3 1 7 ![\\"PolitiFact](\\" mostlyfalse.jpg\\") PolitiFact Rating: Mostly False \"45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in.\" Donald Trump President of the United States ![](\\" In a tweet Thursday, February 1, 2018 2018-02-01 Read More info #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Donald J. Trump, Tweet, Feb. 1, 2018 Email interview, Steven Cheung, Feb. 1, 2018 TV ratings, The Nielsen Company Fox News press release, Fox News Channel was the most-watched network in all of television for last night’s State of the Union address, Jan. 31, 2018 Nielsen.com, Nearly 48 million Americans watch President Donald Trump\'s first address to Congress, March 1, 2017 Nielsen.com, Nearly 46 million viewers watch President Trump\'s State of the Union address, Jan. 31, 2018 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Manuela Tobias ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on October 11, 2018 in a campaign ad: \"Washington Heidi supports sanctuary cities, where illegal immigrants can be released on our streets, like this criminal, who was let go and then sexually assaulted a child.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 19, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on October 9, 2018 in blog post: \"Indiana has purged no less than 20,000 voters in violation of a federal court order.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 17, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" National Taxpayers Union stated on October 10, 2018 in Washington Examiner op-ed: \"The latest round of tariffs now means that the total tax increase on Americans from enacted tariffs exceeds the tax increases from the Affordable Care Act.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 12, 2018 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") TheLastLineOfDefense.org stated on January 12, 2019 in a post on Facebook: \"Nancy Pelosi Removed From Benefit for ‘Being So Drunk She Couldn’t Stand Up’ \" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 23, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on January 19, 2019 in In a blog post: \"Pelosi’s Secret Overseas Mission Included 93 Family Members\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 23, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on January 8, 2019 in a televised speech: Says Sen. Charles Schumer \"repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past along with many other Democrats. They changed their mind only after I was elected president.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 9, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on January 8, 2019 in a televised speech: \"At the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Manuela Tobias • January 9, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Eric Swalwell stated on November 12, 2018 in a tweet: \"15,000 troops will not see their families for #Thanksgiving because of @realDonaldTrump’s Scaravan Stunt. Oh yeah, it’s also costing you 200 million dollars.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • November 15, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump Jr. stated on November 12, 2018 in in a tweet: \"Nearly 200,000 Florida voters may not be citizens.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Amy Sherman • November 13, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party stated on November 1, 2018 in a Facebook ad: \"Attention hunters: Voting in North Dakota could cost you your out-of-state hunting licenses.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • November 2, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on October 26, 2018 in a campaign rally: \"The Democrat plan would just obliterate Medicare and terminate Medicare Advantage ... seniors who have been paying for this for years (and) will not be taken care of anymore.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Manuela Tobias • November 2, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kevin Cramer stated on October 26, 2018 in U.S. Senate debate: \"Protections on pre-existing conditions have been there since the 1970s.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Manuela Tobias • November 1, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" National Republican Senatorial Committee stated on October 24, 2018 in a digital ad: \"We know dangerous criminals can slip through immigration at airports just like ours. Yet Joe Donnelly stood right here with the radical left against all efforts to secure our most vulnerable entry points.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Manuela Tobias • October 26, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Future45 stated on October 16, 2018 in a campaign ad: Voting for \"any Democrat\" gets you \"socialism ... undefended open borders ... immediate tax increases ... 100 percent government-run health care ...\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 24, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kevin Cramer stated on October 18, 2018 in North Dakota Senate debate: \"The standard of voting in North Dakota is the easiest in the country.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 23, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Senate Leadership Fund stated on October 11, 2018 in a campaign ad: \"Washington Heidi supports sanctuary cities, where illegal immigrants can be released on our streets, like this criminal, who was let go and then sexually assaulted a child.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 19, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on October 9, 2018 in blog post: \"Indiana has purged no less than 20,000 voters in violation of a federal court order.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 17, 2018 ![](\\" ![](\\" National Taxpayers Union stated on October 10, 2018 in Washington Examiner op-ed: \"The latest round of tariffs now means that the total tax increase on Americans from enacted tariffs exceeds the tax increases from the Affordable Care Act.\" ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • October 12, 2018 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") TheLastLineOfDefense.org stated on January 12, 2019 in a post on Facebook: \"Nancy Pelosi Removed From Benefit for ‘Being So Drunk She Couldn’t Stand Up’ \" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 23, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on January 19, 2019 in In a blog post: \"Pelosi’s Secret Overseas Mission Included 93 Family Members\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 23, 2019 ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on January 8, 2019 in a televised speech: Says Sen. Charles Schumer \"repeatedly supported a physical barrier in the past along with many other Democrats. They changed their mind only after I was elected president.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Manuela Tobias • January 9, 2019 ### Trump\'s State of the Union ratings are not the highest in history * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: A video shows a body that Israel embedded with a bomb exploding during a Palestinian funeral procession. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in a post: “ESPN has fired Shannon Sharpe.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Gideon Hess • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a post on Threads: An image shows Travis Kelce responding to Elon Musk X post that followed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Madison Czopek • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 12, 2024 in an Instagram post: Former President Donald Trump admitted during the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he “blew up the Nord Stream pipeline.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 10, 2024 in a Facebook post: Patron, Don Julio and Pink Whitney tequila recalled because they contained fecal matter. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Elissa Slotkin stated on September 11, 2024 in a TV ad: Mike Rogers supported “laws that could eliminate IVF and birth control.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 11, 2024 in an Instagram post: \"Debate moderators made the false claim to Donald Trump that there is nowhere in the United States where abortion is legal up until birth.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Jeff Cercone • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 12, 2024 in a Facebook post: ABC News fired presidential debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Yes on 4 stated on September 10, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s six-week abortion law has “no real exceptions. Not for her health. Not even for rape.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • September 13, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 11, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: Imagen muestra carnet del Partido Comunista de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 13, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts. 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456 million people watched the highest number in history FoxNews beat every other Network for the first time ever with 117 million people tuning in