Some highlights from Trump’s record-setting address to Congress
Here are some takeaways from Trump’s speech:
Trump gives longest address
Trump gave the longest-ever address to a joint session of Congress by any US president, clocking in at more than one hour and 40 minutes.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, went for significantly less time last year, coming in at one hour and seven minutes.
During Trump’s first joint address to Congress in 2017, he spoke for just over an hour, in what was a surprisingly presidential address, a departure from tonight’s speech. He averaged just around an hour and 20 minutes for the next three State of the Union speeches in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively, according to the American Presidency Project. It’s the highest average in modern presidential history, according to the project.
Trump came close to Clinton’s record in 2019, when his speech went for one hour and 22 minutes.
Republican Trump’s speech beat the previous record set by Democratic President Bill Clinton in his State of the Union address in 2000.