“President Donald Trump touted the ratings from his State of the Union Thursday morning, tweeting that the numbers were record-breaking. But they actually werent.

“Thank you for all of the nice compliments and reviews on the State of the Union speech. 45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. [Fox News] beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart!” Trump tweeted Thursday morning, his third tweet of the day.

Trump`s right about the numbers. Per Nielsen data, approximately 45.6 million viewers tuned in to watch his speech. And he`s also accurate that Fox News garnered the highest ratings, although, per Nielsen data, the network actually had 11.5 million viewers, not 11.7. But he`s not right when he called the numbers the “highest number in history.

Trump`s three immediate predecessors – former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton – all amassed higher ratings from their first State of the Union than he did: 48 million people tuned in to watch Obama in 2010; 51.7 million tuned in to Bush in 2002; and 45.8 million tuned in for Clinton in 1994. (The President delivers an address to the joint sessions of Congress during his or her first year, and the State of the Union the following year).

Time

President Donald Trump has a long history of exaggerating the size of his crowds and the ratings of his speeches, he`s exaggerated everything from the length of his tiny pecker to his golf handicap to the size of the crowd at his inauguration.

It should come as no surprise that Trump lied when he boasted that the ratings for his State of the Union were record-breaking. They weren`t, not by a long shot.

Any president, especially on his first State of the Union address, has one primary objective: To deliver a speech that is short on inflammatory rhetoric but rich in platitudes that will unify the country.

Although the president`s State of the Union address wasn`t as divisive as his usual stump speech, he still sought to solidify his base by demonizing immigrants from Mexico and Central America.

Trump cares more about his own popularity than he does about the state of the union, as evidenced by his fixation on the rating for his important speech.

Trump`s State of the Union speech was as long and boring as a typical Bill Clinton address, but it wasn`t a ratings blockbuster.

Trump is a reality TV buffoon and his approval ratings as president and the ratings for his speeches will never match the ratings of Celebrity Apprentice.

Read More:

http://time.com/5128429/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-ratings-fact-check/

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