How Long Was Trump's State of the Union? It Just Broke a Record Clinton Set in 2000

Speaker Mike Johnson had set the over-under at 90 minutes. He probably should have gone higher.

President Donald Trump delivered his 2026 State of the Union address on Tuesday night and ran the clock to approximately one hour and 48 minutes, making it the longest speech before a joint session of Congress in at least 60 years, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, which has tracked the length of every presidential address to Congress since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

The record that fell belonged to Bill Clinton. His final State of the Union, delivered on 27 January 2000, ran 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 49 seconds and had held for more than two decades. Trump surpassed it by roughly 20 minutes, NPR said.

Trump had telegraphed the length himself. 'A long speech, because we have so much to talk about,' he said ahead of the address. Few expected he meant quite this long. His first-term State of the Union speeches averaged 80 minutes, already the highest average of any president. Tuesday's effort pushed well past even that, per PBS News.

Trump Breaks His Own Record From 2025

What gives this record some additional texture is that Trump was already the benchmark coming in. His March 2025 address to Congress ran 100 minutes, eclipsing Clinton's 2000 mark. That speech was technically a joint address rather than a State of the Union, since it came only six weeks into his second term. Tuesday's address carried the official designation and went further still, according to Axios, clocking in at approximately 108 minutes.

Of the nine longest State of the Union addresses ever recorded, five now belong to Trump and four to Clinton, per CNBC. The gap between those two and everyone else is considerable. Barack Obama usually finished in about an hour. George W. Bush rarely crossed 50 minutes.

Richard Nixon, for context, still holds the other end of the spectrum. His shortest address, delivered in 1972, ran under 30 minutes.

What Filled Nearly Two Hours of the State of the Union

The speech, themed 'America at 250: Strong, Prosperous and Respected,' began at 9:11 p.m. EST. Trump opened on the economy, and spent significant time on tariffs and affordability, the latter a subject he acknowledged is a top concern for Americans.

'After just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before,' Trump told the joint session. Republicans gave him a standing ovation. Most Democrats stayed seated.

Immigration, which carried him to victory in 2024, received comparatively little attention. Foreign policy came up late, with Trump addressing the war in Ukraine and the situation in Iran, and acknowledging that 25,000 Ukrainian and Russian soldiers die on the battlefield every month.

Six medals were presented during the address. US Men's Hockey Team goalie Connor Hellebuyck received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskan was awarded the Legion of Merit for his role in the aftermath of the July 2025 Central Texas floods.

The night was not without disruption. Texas Representative Al Green was removed from the chamber after holding up a sign that read 'Black people aren't apes!' in reference to a video Trump had posted on Truth Social depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic response, focusing on affordability. California Senator Alex Padilla delivered the party's address in Spanish, per Fox News.

Johnson's 90-minute over-under turned out to be conservative. The president beat it by nearly 18 minutes.