U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his first State of the Union speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applaud January 27, 2010l in Washington, DC. (Photo: Tim Sloan-Pool/Getty Images)
'Delivered From the Heart!': Trump Lies About Historic SOTU Viewership
Fact check: Trump's address actually had "fewer viewers than the first SOTU's for Obama in 2010, Bush in 2002, Clinton in 1994."
President Donald Trump lied in a tweet Thursday morning when he bragged that his State of the Union was watched by the "highest number [of people] in history"--a demonstrably false claim.
While Trump appeared to be citing Neilsen ratings released Wednesday which said that 45.6 million watch his speech, that number falls well short of the number of people who watched President Barack Obama's first SOTU and isn't even as many people as watch Trump's first joint statement to Congress last year.
As the New York Daily News points out:
About 48 million people watched Obama's first speech to Congress on Jan. 27, 2010, the data-collecting Nielsen Company said in a statement Wednesday.
Trump, who's famously obsessed with TV ratings, also saw his SOTU fall behind his own first joint address to Congress. That speech, delivered on Feb. 28, drew 47.7 million viewers.
On Twitter, Trump was not spared fact-checking, ridicule, and derision after he again--like he did for his inauguration address--tried to claim credit for a crowd size that wasn't:
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This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
President Donald Trump lied in a tweet Thursday morning when he bragged that his State of the Union was watched by the "highest number [of people] in history"--a demonstrably false claim.
While Trump appeared to be citing Neilsen ratings released Wednesday which said that 45.6 million watch his speech, that number falls well short of the number of people who watched President Barack Obama's first SOTU and isn't even as many people as watch Trump's first joint statement to Congress last year.
As the New York Daily News points out:
About 48 million people watched Obama's first speech to Congress on Jan. 27, 2010, the data-collecting Nielsen Company said in a statement Wednesday.
Trump, who's famously obsessed with TV ratings, also saw his SOTU fall behind his own first joint address to Congress. That speech, delivered on Feb. 28, drew 47.7 million viewers.
On Twitter, Trump was not spared fact-checking, ridicule, and derision after he again--like he did for his inauguration address--tried to claim credit for a crowd size that wasn't:
President Donald Trump lied in a tweet Thursday morning when he bragged that his State of the Union was watched by the "highest number [of people] in history"--a demonstrably false claim.
While Trump appeared to be citing Neilsen ratings released Wednesday which said that 45.6 million watch his speech, that number falls well short of the number of people who watched President Barack Obama's first SOTU and isn't even as many people as watch Trump's first joint statement to Congress last year.
As the New York Daily News points out:
About 48 million people watched Obama's first speech to Congress on Jan. 27, 2010, the data-collecting Nielsen Company said in a statement Wednesday.
Trump, who's famously obsessed with TV ratings, also saw his SOTU fall behind his own first joint address to Congress. That speech, delivered on Feb. 28, drew 47.7 million viewers.
On Twitter, Trump was not spared fact-checking, ridicule, and derision after he again--like he did for his inauguration address--tried to claim credit for a crowd size that wasn't: