President Donald Trump set a record for the longest State of the Union address in history Tuesday night with a speech that lasted for more than 100 minutes.
Trump bested his previous mark, set last year, of 99.5 minutes. That speech, though, was not an official State of the Union address, but rather technically an address to a joint session of Congress.
Trump had previewed that this year’s speech would be a long one, saying before it began that “it’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”
Trump tends to speak for longer than other presidents from the modern era. His previous State of the Union addresses averaged over an hour and 20 minutes, according to the American Presidency Project.
Former President Bill Clinton had the second-longest average, at an hour and 14 minutes.
The speech is generally an opportunity for the president to try to convince the public that his tenure has been a success and to bolster support for items on his legislative and administrative agenda.
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Tuesday night’s event was particularly important for Trump because it presented an opportunity for him to try to arrest the slide in his approval ratings. The share of poll respondents who disapprove of his presidency has risen above 56%, according to the RealClearPolitics average.
Trump also has the record for the longest nomination acceptance speech, with his 92-minute address in 2024.