Trump's TV ratings for his first speech to Congress sunk way lower than Obama's

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March 1, 2017 4:47 PM

The TV numbers for President Donald Trump's first address to Congress don't paint an optimistic picture for future State of the Union speeches' viewership.

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017. Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. listen.

The television ratings for President Donald Trump's first major congressional address failed to beat those of former President Barack Obama's speech.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Trump's hour-long address, which was broadcast Tuesday night across all four major TV networks and the cable-news networks, earned a 27.8 rating in early numbers. Total viewer numbers and final ratings are still not in.

Trump's early ratings are a huge 17% fall from Obama's first congressional address in 2009, which earned a 33.4 early rating. Final numbers showed that 52.4 million total viewers tuned into the 44th president's speech.

After the first congressional address, the annual televised speech is referred to as the State of the Union in the remaining years that a president serves. Trump's lower ratings don't bode well for the future as history proves that the ratings for State of the Unions rarely improve upon those of the first congressional address.

As for the networks who carried Trump's address, Fox News topped both broadcast and cable-news ratings. NBC was the winner among broadcast networks.

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