Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of United States Congress on Tuesday, in what could prove to be a crucial moment as the White House works to strengthen support among Republican voters ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump surpassed the previous record set by Bill Clinton in 2000, whose address lasted one hour and 20 minutes. He also exceeded his own previous record of a one-hour-and-40-minute address to United States Congress, set last March during an annual speech that was not formally classified as a State of the Union.
How long is the state of the union address 2026?
His address ran for about one hour and 48 minutes, making it the longest speech delivered before a joint session of United States Congress in at least six decades, according to The American Presidency Project, which has recorded the duration of such speeches since 1964.
During the first 75 minutes of the speech, he made only brief mention of Venezuela, while Russia and Ukraine received almost no attention. His push to acquire Greenland, an issue that has strained relations with European allies, was not addressed at all.
How speech durations have changed in US
A look at time duration of all speeches, including State of the Union speeches and other addresses to Congress by Trump and other former presidents in the country.
According to data compiled by The American Presidency Project, the longest speeches before a joint session of United States Congress have been delivered in recent years. Donald Trump’s address on February 24, 2026 lasted about 107.7 minutes, making it the longest on record since 1964.
His March 4, 2025 speech followed at 99.5 minutes, while earlier lengthy addresses included those by Bill Clinton in 2000 and 1995, which ran 88.8 and 85 minutes respectively. Trump’s earlier speeches in 2019, 2018 and 2020 also rank among the longest, each exceeding 78 minutes.
Several other presidents delivered notably long addresses as well. Joe Biden’s 2023 speech lasted 73 minutes, while Lyndon B. Johnson delivered a 71.3-minute address in 1967. Barack Obama frequently gave speeches lasting over an hour, including a 69.3-minute address in 2010, while many of Clinton’s speeches during the 1990s also exceeded 60 minutes. Most modern addresses have generally ranged between about 50 and 70 minutes.
Earlier speeches tended to be shorter overall. Addresses by George W. Bush, George HW Bush, and Jimmy Carter typically lasted under an hour, while speeches by Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Richard Nixon were often shorter still. The briefest speech in the dataset was Nixon’s 1972 address at 28.9 minutes, illustrating how the length of presidential addresses has expanded significantly over time.
