en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_the_Union
2 corrections found
President Donald Trump giving his sixth State of the Union address
Trump’s February 24, 2026 speech was his fourth official State of the Union address, not his sixth. The Senate and House records distinguish his 2017 and 2025 speeches as addresses to Congress rather than State of the Union addresses.
Full reasoning
Official congressional records do not count all of Trump’s speeches before Congress as State of the Union addresses. The U.S. Senate’s Joint Sessions page lists Trump’s 2017 and 2025 appearances as "address to Congress", while listing only 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2026 as "State of the Union". The U.S. House’s official list of in-person Annual Message and State of the Union addresses likewise shows Trump entries only for January 30, 2018; February 5, 2019; February 4, 2020; and February 24, 2026. That makes the 2026 speech Trump’s fourth official State of the Union address. It was his sixth speech before a joint session of Congress if you also include the two non-SOTU addresses in 2017 and 2025, which appears to be the source of the mistake.
2 sources
- U.S. Senate: Joint Sessions & Meetings of Congress
The Senate lists Feb. 24, 2026 as 'President Donald J. Trump, State of the Union' and Mar. 4, 2025 plus Feb. 28, 2017 as 'President Donald J. Trump address to Congress,' distinguishing those two from official State of the Union addresses.
- List of In-Person Annual Message and State of the Union Addresses | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives
The House’s official list includes Trump State of the Union entries on Jan. 30, 2018; Feb. 5, 2019; Feb. 4, 2020; and Feb. 24, 2026.
Television ratings for recent State of the Union addresses
This table includes several speeches that were not official State of the Union addresses. For example, the 2025, 2021, 2017, 2009, 2001, and 1993 entries were first-year addresses to Congress.
Full reasoning
The table heading says it shows ratings for recent State of the Union addresses, but the table itself includes several first-year presidential speeches that were not official State of the Union addresses. The U.S. Senate’s official Joint Sessions page lists, for example, March 4, 2025 and April 28, 2021 as "address to Congress", not State of the Union. Nielsen’s own historical ratings table marks these entries with an asterisk and explains that single asterisks denote speeches that were officially "Addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress." So the heading is overbroad/misleading because the table mixes actual State of the Union addresses with non-SOTU joint addresses.
2 sources
- U.S. Senate: Joint Sessions & Meetings of Congress
The Senate lists Mar. 4, 2025 and Apr. 28, 2021 as 'President Donald J. Trump address to Congress' and 'President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. address to Congress,' while other entries are specifically labeled 'State of the Union.'
- 32.6 Million Watch 2026 State of the Union Address | Nielsen
Nielsen’s historical table includes a note: '* Single asterisks denote addresses that were officially "Addresses to Joint Sessions of Congress."' The table includes starred entries such as 3/4/2025 and 4/28/2021.