President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress was seen by 36.6 million people, according to final figures from Nielsen Media Research.
The address aired on Tuesday night from approximately 9:15 to 11:00 p.m. and was seen across 15 networks. Peak viewership occurred between 9:45 to 10:00 p.m. when an average of 37.9 million viewers tuned in. (All times Eastern)
Trump’s address to Congress performed better than President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union address in 2024. That speech drew 32.2 million total viewers, which translates to a +14% bump for Trump’s speech.
However, Trump drew a bigger audience during the final address of his first administration in 2020. 37.2 million total viewers watched that speech versus the 36.6 million who tuned in on Tuesday, a dip of -1% relative to five years ago.
Fox News was the most watched network during Trump’s address, with 10.703 million total viewers and 1.933 million viewers in the Adults 25-54 demo. It was the highest-rated joint address to Congress in cable news history, and the network drew Tuesday night’s largest television audience.
ABC News was the most-watched broadcast network and the second most-watched network in total viewers and the demo, with 6.332 million total viewers and 1.708 A25-54 viewers. This was the network’s second consecutive broadcast win for a presidential address to Congress.
Over on the cable news side, CNN placed second over MSNBC in both measured categories with 1.929 million total viewers and 585,000 demo viewers versus 1.924 million and 237,000. The margin of victory among total viewers was slim as only 5,000 viewers separated the two networks.
Fox News was also the most-watched cable network between 11 and 11:30 p.m. when Sen. Elissa Slotkin from Michigan gave the Democratic response. FNC saw 6.374 million total viewers and 1.070 million demo viewers during that half-hour, while MSNBC finished second in total viewers with 2.208 million total viewers, and CNN was No. 2 in the demo with 362,000 demo viewers.
The final viewership data from Nielsen Media Research is below.
9:15 — 11:00 p.m.
FNC — 10,703,000 total viewers; 1,933,000 A25-54
ABC — 6,332,000 total viewers, 1,708,000 A25-54
CBS — 4,009,000 total viewers; 1,065,000 A25-54
NBC — 3,909,000 total viewers; 1,085,000 A25-54
FOX — 2,652,000 total viewers; 892,000 A25-54
CNN — 1,929,000 total viewers; 585,000 A25-54
MSNBC — 1,924,000 total viewers; 237,000 A25-54
FBN — 245,000 total viewers; 47,000 A25-54
11 — 11:30 p.m.
FNC — 6,374,000 total viewers; 1,070,000 A25-54
MSNBC — 2,208,000 total viewers; 233,000 A25-54
CNN — 1,430,000 total viewers; 362,000 A25-54
