Trump breaks Clinton's record for longest presidential address to Congress
President Donald Trump broke former President Bill Clinton's record for a State of the Union or Joint Session of Congress speech Tuesday night.
Trump's speech clocked in at one hour, thirty-nine minutes and 32 seconds, according to data compiled by the University of California-Santa Barbara’s The American Presidency Project. Clinton’s final State of the Union in 2000, lasted one hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.
The American Presidency Project has tracked the time of the State of the Union addresses since Lyndon B. Johnson's in 1964.
Congressional speeches averaged approximately one hour and 20 minutes in Trump's first term with the 2019 State of the Union being the longest at 1:22:25.
Trump defended the actions from the early days of his administration, including tariffs on Mexico and Canada, in an attempt at rhetorical shock and awe.
Longest speech becomes rhetorical brawl
The speech quickly became a reflection of a divided nation, with Trump haranguing the liberal opposition in Congress and multiple Democrats launching protests throughout.
Representative Al Green, a Texas Democrat, stood and yelled, "You don't have a mandate," before Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ordered him removed. Green announced in February that he would file articles of impeachment against Trump over “injustice in Gaza.”
"I'll accept the punishment. It's worth it to let people know that there's some of us who are going to stand up to against this president's desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security," Green told a media scrum captured by CSPAN.
As Trump was complaining about Democratic support, California Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros yelled: "But the stock market," while Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib yelled, "Save Medicaid."
Many Democrats left throughout the speech, with some revealing black T-shirts with the word "RESIST" in white letters on the way out.
Several of those who remained until the latter half of the speech began shouting and then chanting "January 6" as Trump talked about defending law enforcement officers during his speech.
How does Trump's speech compare to Biden's State of the Union?
Former President Joe Biden's congressional speeches hovered around the one-hour mark throughout his term.
President Biden's Congressional addresses have clocked in at:
- 2021: Just over 1:05
- 2022: Just under 1:02
- 2023: 1:13
- 2024: Just over 1:07
Who has the shortest State of the Union speech?
Richard Nixon is responsible for the shortest recorded State of the Union speech, with his January 20, 1972 address lasting only 28:55.
Watch: Donald Trump's speech to the Joint Session of Congress
Paste BN streamed Trump's speech live, and you can re-watch it here: