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President Biden’s State of the Union address grabs ratings

By Evelyn Ulrich

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. In his first State of the Union address, Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 01: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol House Chamber on March 1, 2022 in Washington, DC. In his first State of the Union address, Biden spoke on his administration’s efforts to lead a global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, work to curb inflation, and bring the country out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty Images) /
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President Biden gave his first State of the Union address this past Tuesday night.  Topics that were covered in his hour-long speech included highlights from his first year, the Covid-19 pandemic, price inflations, cheaper costs for diabetic insulin, hopes for eliminating cancer, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

In a time where network television and awards season is struggling to make ratings, the State of the Union address prevailed.

Ratings-wise, the State of the Union address grabbed a cool 38 million in the rating audience with Fox News taking the lead with 7.21 million and ABC taking second place with 6.3 million.  While the numbers do seem impressive, Biden’s State of the Union fell short from past presidents’ addresses. Bill Clinton’s first SOTU drew in 48.5 million back in 1994, while his successor, George W. Bush claimed 51.77 million in 2002. Obama brought in just over 48 million in 2008, and Trump received 45.55 million for his first year’s SOTU in 2018.

In April 2021, following Biden’s monumental win of the presidency, his address with Congress achieved just below 27 million in the audience, which is significantly less than his State of the Union results.  It also beat out the four former presidents’ second State of the Unions by a small fraction.

The ABC Network took the highest in the 25-54 age demographics with a 1.54 rating while the cable news network CNN came in second with the demographic rating of 1.47.

Biden also took the time to recognize thirteen-year-old Joshua Davis, who has Type 1 Diabetes and needs daily Insulin.  The President wants to enable cutting costs with drug companies, whose profits emerge higher than the actual cost to make the medicines, which places a financial strain on families and those who are in dire need of care and treatments.

Speaking for the latter, several members of the audience showed unity with Ukraine by wearing enameled dual US and Ukrainian flag pins, as well as extending their support for the Ukrainian people. Biden also quoted the inspiring Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zalanskyy, who stated ‘“Light will win over darkness” from his European Parliament speech.

Related Story. Time Magazine names Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Person of the Year. light

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