The early ratings are in for Trump’s first speech to Congress, and former President Barack Obama beat President Trump big league. Trump drew 17% fewer viewers that Obama did in 2009.
Variety reported, “Across seven networks — ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC — Trump’s speech notched a 27.8 household rating in those early ratings. Across these same networks, President Obama’s first address of a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24, 2009, drew an overnight household rating of 33.4, a difference of about 17%. Fox News drew the biggest household rating of these networks, with a 6.4. It was followed by NBC (5.5), CBS (4.6), ABC (4.0), CNN (3.0), Fox Broadcasting (2.3), and MSNBC (2.0).”
The bar has been set so low for Trump among the pundit class that they are praising him for managing to read from a script for an hour without wetting himself in front of Congress.
The brutal truth is that President Trump’s speech didn’t move the needle an inch on policy. The bully pulpit is only effective when the occupant of the White House can utilize the public platform to get things done. Trump didn’t offer any specifics or bring unity towards Republicans on health care. He didn’t build a consensus on tax cuts. He made a bunch of pie in sky promises about child care, his border wall, destroying ISIS, and the economy that are never going to happen.
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Trump loves ratings, and the ratings say that Obama was more popular than Trump. Republicans can spin the speech in a million different ways. However, the truth remains that this president is speaking to a much smaller audience that Obama had.
A substantial number of Americans are tuning this president out less than two months into his term.
This is terrible news for Trump, as history suggests that as his term goes on, he is likely to get less popular. If the trend were to continue through his first term, by the time he runs for reelection, Trump’s national audience could be reduced to nothing but Republicans and conservatives.
The numbers don’t lie. Trump is no Obama, and the American people are already ignoring his presidency.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
