President Donald Trump is set to give his first State of the Union (SOTU) address since his second term began. But as criticism continues to surround the president over ongoing mass deportation efforts, a partial government shutdown and his declining approval rating, you may be shocked to know things weren’t always this hectic.
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The State of the Union speech dates all the way to the creation of the U.S. Constitution, which dictates the president “shall from time to time give the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
The vague and pretty chill language quickly manifested in different presidents doing things differently.
Take the nation’s first president, George Washington, who coined the phrase “Annual Message” before State of the Union was ever a thing. He would travel to New York City, where Congress would meet at the time, and give a brief update on how an infant America was growing. And when we say brief, we mean it! Washington goes down in history for the shortest SOTU address: 10 minute, according to NPR.
With new technology came new ways to truly view the president’s address. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge delivered the first “Annual Message” address broadcasted on radio, and by the time Franklin D. Roosevelt came to office, the name had made a sharp pivot to “State of the Union.”
Harry S. Truman gave the first televised State of the Union address back in 1947, and it wasn’t until 1981 when another U.S. president would set a new SOTU record. Jimmy Carter delivered the longest State of the Union in 1981 after writing an over 33,000-word letter to the American people.
Fast forward to more recent presidents like Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Trump where SOTU run times have certainly slimmed down, with Obama and Trump both averaging just over an hour for theirs. Still, the annual event is one of the most anticipated in the country. Historically, a president’s first State of the Union tends to also bring in the most viewership, according to Neilsen.
With all that said, Trump’s address is a chance for the Republican to maybe clear the air with frustrated Americans and explain he plans for the next three years. Experts predict the president will touch on issues of the economy and immigration, and bets are out on just how many times Trump will jab at his Democratic opponents.
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