View source for State of the Union

{{short description|Annual report by the president of the United States}}
{{About||the list|List of State of the Union addresses|8=other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
[[File:CONGRESS, U.S. OPENING MESSAGE, 63RD CONGRESS.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|[[Woodrow Wilson]] giving his [[1913 State of the Union Address|first State of the Union address]] on December 2, 1913. This was the first time since 1801 that such an address was made in person before a joint session of Congress,<ref>{{cite journal| title=Presidential addresses to congress: Woodrow Wilson and the Jeffersonian tradition| last=Hendrix| first=J. A.| journal=The Southern Speech Journal| volume=31| issue=4| date=Summer 1966| pages=285–294| doi=10.1080/10417946609371831}}</ref> initiating the modern trend with regard to the State of the Union address.<ref name="AppSou">{{cite web|title=State of the Union Addresses and Messages: research notes by Gerhard Peters|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php|publisher=[[The American Presidency Project]] (APP)|access-date=January 24, 2017|archive-date=April 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406114126/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php|url-status=live|first1=Gerhard|last1=Peters|last2=T. Woolley|first2=John|editor-first1=Gerhard|editor-last1=Peters|editor-last2=T. Woolley|editor-first2=John| location=[[Santa Barbara, California|Santa Barbara]], [[California|CA]]: [[University of California]]}}</ref>]]
In the [[United States]], the '''State of the Union Address''' (sometimes abbreviated to '''SOTU''') is an annual message delivered by the [[president of the United States]] to a [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint session]] of the [[United States Congress]] near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation.<ref name="house.gov">{{cite web |url=http://history.house.gov/Institution/SOTU/State-of-the-Union/ |title=State of the Union Address {{!}} US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |website=history.house.gov |language=en |access-date=January 28, 2018 |archive-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202160617/http://history.house.gov/Institution/SOTU/State-of-the-Union/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CNN 2017-02-27">{{cite news |last=Diaz |first=Daniella |url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/politics/donald-trump-address-not-state-of-the-union/ |title=Why Trump's Tuesday speech isn't a State of the Union address |publisher=CNN |date=February 28, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-date=January 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125174458/http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/27/politics/donald-trump-address-not-state-of-the-union/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The speech generally includes reports on the [[United States federal budget|nation's budget]], economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gpoaccess.gov/sou/index.html |title=Ben's Guide to U.S. Government |publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225175013/http://www.gpoaccess.gov/sou/index.html |archive-date=February 25, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The address fulfills the requirement in [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Section 3: Presidential responsibilities|Article II, Section 3, Clause 1]] of the [[U.S. Constitution]] for the president to periodically "give to the Congress Information of the State of the [[Perpetual Union|Union]], and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient".<ref name="house.gov" /> During most of the country's first century, the president primarily submitted only a written report to Congress. After 1913, [[Woodrow Wilson]], the 28th U.S. president, began the regular practice of delivering the address to Congress in person as a way to rally support for the president's agenda, while also submitting a more detailed report.<ref name="house.gov" /> With the advent of radio and television, the address is now broadcast live in all [[Time in the United States|United States time zones]] on many networks.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/31-7-million-viewers-tune-in-to-watch-pres-obamas-state-of-the-union-adress.html |title=31.7 Million Viewers Tune in to Watch Pres. Obama's State of the Union Address |date=January 21, 2015 |publisher=The Nielsen Company |quote=On Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address. The address was carried live from 9:00 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. on 13 networks and tape-delayed on Univision. |access-date=August 12, 2015 |archive-date=April 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402193916/https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2015/31-7-million-viewers-tune-in-to-watch-pres-obamas-state-of-the-union-adress.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The speech is generally held in January or February, and an invitation to the president is extended to use the chamber of the [[US Capitol#House Chamber|House]] by the [[Speaker of the U.S. House|speaker of the House]]. Starting in 1981, [[Ronald Reagan]], the 40th U.S. president, began the practice of newly [[United States presidential inauguration|inaugurated]] presidents delivering an address to Congress in the first year of their term but not designating that speech an official "State of the Union".<ref name="CRS Tradition Function" />

==Formality==
The practice arises from a duty of the president under the [[State of the Union Clause]] of the [[U.S. Constitution]]:<ref name="KesavanSidak">{{cite journal|first1=Vasan |last1=Kesavan |first2=J. |last2=Gregory Sidak|title=The Legislator-In-Chief|journal=[[William & Mary Law School|William and Mary Law Review]]|date=October 2002|volume=44|issue=1|access-date=June 28, 2012|url=http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1345&context=wmlr|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909104014/https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1345&context=wmlr|at=I. The State Of The Union Clause}}</ref>
{{blockquote|He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.|[[Article Two of the United States Constitution|Article II]], Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution}}

Though the language of the clause is not specific, since the 1930s, the president has made this report annually in late January or early February. Between 1934 and 2024 the date has been as early as January 3,<ref name="CRS Tradition Function">{{cite book |title=The President's State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications |publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]] |date=January 16, 2014 |page=2 |access-date=January 24, 2014 |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40132.pdf |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909104431/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R40132.pdf |first=Colleen |last=J. Shagan}}</ref> and as late as March 7.

While not required to deliver a speech, every president since [[Woodrow Wilson]], with the notable exception of [[Herbert Hoover]],<ref name="AppSou" /> has made at least one State of the Union report as a speech delivered before a joint session of Congress. Before then, most presidents delivered the State of the Union as a written report.<ref name="CRS Tradition Function" />

Since Franklin Roosevelt, the State of the Union is given typically each January before a [[joint session of the United States Congress]] and is held in the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] chamber of the [[United States Capitol]]. Newly [[United States presidential inauguration|inaugurated]] presidents generally deliver an address to Congress in February of the first year of their term, but this speech is not officially considered to be a "State of the Union".<ref name="CRS Tradition Function" />

What began as a communication between president and Congress has become in effect a communication between the president and the people of the United States. Since the advent of radio, and then television, the speech has been broadcast live in all United States time zones on most networks, preempting scheduled programming. Since at least the 1960s, in order to reach the largest audience, the speech has typically been given at 9 p.m. ([[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]], [[UTC−05:00|UTC−5]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=State of the Union: Five facts about the famous US speech |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47132198 |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909105010/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47132198 |url-status=live |work=[[CBBC Newsround|Newsround]] |access-date=January 5, 2022 |date=February 5, 2020}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Washington - State of the Union.djvu|thumb|upright|[[George Washington]]'s handwritten notes for the first State of the Union Address, January 8, 1790. [[:File:Washington - State of the Union.djvu|Full 7 pages]].]]

[[George Washington]] delivered the first regular annual message before a [[Joint session of the United States Congress|joint session of Congress]] on January 8, 1790, in [[New York City]], then the provisional U.S. capital. In 1801, [[Thomas Jefferson]] discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person, regarding it as too monarchical (similar to the [[Speech from the Throne]]). Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when [[Woodrow Wilson]] re-established the practice despite some initial controversy, and an in-person address to Congress has been delivered nearly every year since. However, there have been exceptions to this rule, with some messages being given solely in writing, and others given both in writing and orally (either in a speech to Congress or through broadcast media).<ref name="app">{{cite web |title=State of the Union Messages |publisher=[[The American Presidency Project]] |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909105909/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-documents-archive-guidebook/annual-messages-congress-the-state-the-union|editor-first1=John|editor-last1=T. Wolley|editor-last2=Peters|editor-first2=Gerhard|first1=Gerhard|last1=Peters|first2=John|last2=T. Woolley|access-date=September 25, 2006}}</ref> The last president to give a written message without a spoken address was [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1981, days before his term ended after his defeat by [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref name="AppSou" />

For many years, the speech was referred to as "the President's Annual Message to Congress".<ref name="CRS FAQ">{{cite web|first1=Maria|last1=Kreiser|first2=Micheal|last2=Greene|first3=Michael|last3=Kolakowski|first4=Thomas H.|last4=Neale|name-list-style=amp|title=History, Evolution, and Practices of the President's State of the Union Address: Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|date=January 29, 2024|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44770.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44770.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=April 28, 2021}}</ref> The actual term "State of the Union" first emerged in 1934 when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] used the phrase, becoming its generally accepted name since 1947.<ref name="CRS FAQ" />

{{listen
| title=State of the Union (Four Freedoms)<br>(January 6, 1941)
| filename=FDR's 1941 State of the Union (Four Freedoms speech) Edit 1.ogg
| description=[[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]'s January 6,<br>1941 State of the Union Address,<br>
  introducing the theme of the<br>[[Four Freedoms]] (starting at 32:02)
| image=[[File:FDR in 1933.jpg|alt=Franklin Delano Roosevelt headshot|100px]]
| pos=left
}}
Prior to 1934, the annual message was delivered at the end of the calendar year, in December. The ratification of the [[Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution|20th Amendment]] on January 23, 1933, changed the opening of Congress from early March to early January, affecting the delivery of the annual message. Since 1934, the message or address has been delivered to Congress early in the calendar year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Speech: Where and When|url=https://history.house.gov/Institution/SOTU/Where-When/|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909110452/https://history.house.gov/Institution/SOTU/Where-When/|publisher=Office of Art and Archives, [[Office of the Historian]]}}</ref>

The Twentieth Amendment also established January 20 as the beginning of the presidential term. In years when a new president is inaugurated, the outgoing president may deliver a final State of the Union message, but none has done so since [[Jimmy Carter]] sent a written message in 1981. In 1953 and 1961, Congress received both a written State of the Union message from the outgoing president and a separate State of the Union speech by the incoming president. Since 1981, in recognition that the responsibility of reporting the State of the Union formally belongs to the president who held office during the past year, newly inaugurated presidents have not officially called their first speech before Congress a "State of the Union" message.<ref name="CRS FAQ" />

[[File:President Ronald Reagan's First State of the Union Address 1982.gif|thumb|left|upright|The text of the first page of [[Ronald Reagan]]'s first State of the Union Address, given January 26, 1982]]

[[Warren Harding]]'s 1922 speech was the first to be broadcast on radio, albeit to a limited audience,<ref name="CNN 2013-02-11">{{cite news |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/politics/state-of-the-union-firsts/index.html|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909062100/https://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/11/politics/state-of-the-union-firsts/index.html|title=State of the Union firsts|first=Robert|publisher=[[CNN]]|last=Yoon|date=February 12, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2017}}</ref> while [[Calvin Coolidge]]'s [[1923 State of the Union Address|1923 speech]] was the first to be broadcast across the nation.<ref name="CNN 2017-02-27" /> President Roosevelt's address in [[1936 State of the Union Address|1936]] was the first delivered in the evening,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-first-evening-Annual-Message/|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|publisher=[[Office of the Historian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909110829/https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-first-evening-Annual-Message/|date=January 3, 1936|title=The First Evening Annual Message|website=history.house.gov|language=en|access-date=January 18, 2019}}</ref> but this precedent was not followed again until the 1960s. [[Harry S. Truman]]'s 1947 address was the first to be broadcast on television. In 1968, television networks in the United States for the first time imposed no time limit for their coverage of a State of the Union address. Delivered by [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], this address was followed by extensive televised commentary by, among others, [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] and [[Milton Friedman]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kurlansky |first=Mark |title=1968: The Year That Rocked the World |url=https://archive.org/details/1968yearthatrock00kurl |url-access=registration |year=2004 |publisher=Ballantine |location=New York |isbn=0-9659111-4-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/1968yearthatrock00kurl/page/44 44]}}</ref> [[Bill Clinton]]'s [[1997 State of the Union Address|1997 address]] was the first broadcast available live on the [[World Wide Web]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/Joint_Meetings/100tocur.html#31|title=Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, and Inaugurations|author=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|Office of the Clerk]]|publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118033531/http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/Joint_Meetings/100tocur.html|archive-date=January 18, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Ronald Reagan]]'s [[1986 State of the Union Address|1986 State of the Union]] Address was the first to have been postponed. He had planned to deliver the speech on January 28, 1986, but it was delayed for a week following the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] that morning.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/12886b.htm |title=Address to the nation on the ''Challenger'' disaster |access-date=July 4, 2006 |archive-date=February 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219124528/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/12886b.htm |date=January 28, 1986 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="NYT 1986-01-29">{{cite news |title=The Shuttle Explosion: Reagan Postpones State of the Union Speech |first=Bernard |last=Weinraub |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909111348/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/29/us/the-shuttle-explosion-reagan-postpones-state-of-union-speech.html |url-status=live |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 29, 1986 |page=A9 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/29/us/the-shuttle-explosion-reagan-postpones-state-of-union-speech.html}}</ref> Reagan instead addressed the nation from the [[Oval Office]] about the disaster.<ref name="NYT 1986-01-29" />

In [[1999 State of the Union Address|1999]], Bill Clinton became the first president to deliver an in-person State of the Union address while [[Federal impeachment trial in the United States|standing trial]] for [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeachment]]; the speech occurred the same day that Clinton's defense team made its opening statement in [[impeachment trial of Bill Clinton|Clinton's impeachment trial]], though he did not mention the proceeding.<ref name="Politico 2019-12-20">{{Cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/20/pelosi-invites-trump-to-deliver-state-of-the-union-on-feb-4-088744|quote=In January 1999, Bill Clinton's defense team delivered its opening statement in the president's Senate trial on the same day the Democrat gave his second-to-last State of the Union address.|first1=John|last1=Bresnahan|first2=Darren|last2=Samuelsohn|archive-date=September 9, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909111752/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/20/pelosi-invites-trump-to-deliver-state-of-the-union-on-feb-4-088744|url-status=live|title=Pelosi invites Trump to deliver State of the Union on Feb. 4|website=Politico|date=December 20, 2019 |language=en|access-date=December 20, 2019}}</ref>

On January 23, 2019, the [[2019 State of the Union Address|2019 State of the Union]] speech by [[Donald Trump]], originally planned for January 29 was canceled after an exchange of letters with [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Nancy Pelosi]] in which she stated she would not proceed with a vote on a resolution to permit him to deliver the speech in the House chamber until the end of [[2018–19 United States federal government shutdown]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-state-of-the-union/index.html|location=Washington|first2=Manu|last2=Raju|first3=Ahley|last3=Killough|title=Pelosi denies Trump use of House chamber for State of the Union|last1=Liptak|first1=Kevin|publisher=CNN|date=January 23, 2019|access-date=January 24, 2019|archive-date=September 9, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909112229/https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/politics/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-state-of-the-union/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This decision rescinded an earlier invitation from the speaker, reportedly the first time in American history that a Speaker had "disinvited" the president from delivering the address.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-first-president-in-history-disinvited-from-delivering-state-of-the-union-2019-1|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909112610/https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-first-president-in-history-disinvited-from-delivering-state-of-the-union-2019-1|date=January 25, 2019 |title=Trump is right, he's the first president in US history to be disinvited from delivering the State of the Union|last=Haltiwanger|first=John|website=[[Business Insider]]|access-date=January 24, 2019}}</ref> Trump and Pelosi later agreed to hold the speech on February 5.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/us/politics/state-of-the-union-pelosi-trump.html|location=Washington |title=Trump to Deliver State of the Union Next Week |last=Stolberg| first=Sheryl Gay|date=January 28, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 4, 2019| language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909112854/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/us/politics/state-of-the-union-pelosi-trump.html}}</ref>

==Delivery of the speech==
Because the address is made to a joint session of Congress, the House and Senate must each pass a resolution setting a date and time for the joint session. Then, a formal invitation is made by the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|speaker of the House]] to the president typically several weeks before the appointed date.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-extends-president-obama-formal-invitation-deliver-state-union-address |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107054556/http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-extends-president-obama-formal-invitation-deliver-state-union-address |url-status=dead |title=Speaker Boehner Extends President Obama Formal Invitation to Deliver State of the Union Address |date=January 11, 2011 |publisher=Speaker Boehner's Press Office}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-invites-president-obama-report-state-union |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103051425/http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-invites-president-obama-report-state-union |url-status=dead |location=Washington, DC |title=State of the Union 2015 |date=December 19, 2014 |publisher=Speaker Boehner's Press Office}}</ref>

===Invitations===
Every member of Congress can bring one guest to the State of the Union address. The president may invite up to 24 guests to be seated in a box with the [[First Lady of the United States|first lady]]. The Speaker of the House may invite up to 24 guests in the Speaker's box. Seating for Congress on the main floor is by a first-in, first-served basis with no reservations. The [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]], [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court justices]], members of the [[Diplomatic Corps]], and military leaders (the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] and [[Commandant of the Coast Guard]]) have reserved seating.<ref name="CRS Tradition Function" />

===Protocol of entry into the House chamber===
By approximately 8:30&nbsp;p.m. on the night of the address, the members of the House have gathered in their seats for the joint session.<ref name="CRH414-2010">{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=1 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=1 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |format=PDF |title=Joint Session of Congress Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 228 to Receive a Message from the President |journal=Congressional Record |date=January 27, 2010 |page=H414}}</ref> Then, the deputy [[Serjeant-at-arms|sergeant at arms]] addresses the speaker and loudly announces the vice president and members of the Senate, who enter and take the seats assigned for them.<ref name="CRH414-2010" />

The speaker, and then the vice president, specify the members of the House and Senate, respectively, who will escort the president into the House chamber.<ref name="CRH414-2010" /> The deputy sergeant at arms addresses the speaker again and loudly announces, in order, the [[dean of the Diplomatic Corps]], the [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice of the United States]] and the [[Associate Justice|associate justice]]s, and the Cabinet, each of whom enters and takes their seats when called.<ref name="CRH414-2010" /> The justices take the seats nearest to the speaker's rostrum and adjacent to the sections reserved for the [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<ref name="CNN2008" />

[[File:Livingood Obama State of the Union 2011.jpg|thumb|The sergeants at arms [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives|of the House]] (left) and [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate|of the Senate]] (right) wait at the doorway to the House chamber before President [[Barack Obama]] enters to deliver the [[2011 State of the Union Address]].]]

Just after 9:00&nbsp;pm, as the president reaches the door to the chamber,<ref name="CRH415-2010">{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=3 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=3 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |format=PDF |title=Joint Session of Congress Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 228 to Receive a Message from the President |journal=Congressional Record |date=January 27, 2010 |page=H415}}</ref> the [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives|House sergeant at arms]] stands just inside the doors, faces the speaker, and waits until the president is ready to enter the chamber.<ref name="CNN2008">{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/28/se.01.html |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909114045/https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/se/date/2008-01-28/segment/01 |url-status=live |first1=Wolf |last1=Blitzer |author-link1=Wolf Blitzer |first2=Suzanne |last2=Malveaux |author-link2=Suzanne Malveaux |first3=Jim |last3=Acosta |author-link3=Jim Acosta |first4=Jessica |last4=Yellin |author-link4=Jessica Yellin |first5=John |last5=King |author-link5=John King (journalist) |first6=Gloria |last6=Borger |author-link6=Gloria Borger |first7=Jeffrey |last7=Toobin |author-link7=Jeffrey Toobin |first8=Ed |last8=Henry |author-link8=Ed Henry |first9=Dana |last9=Bash |author-link9=Dana Bash |first10=William |last10=Schneider |publisher=CNN |type=Transcript |title=President Delivers State of the Union Address |date=January 28, 2008}}</ref> When the president is ready, the sergeant at arms announces the entrance, loudly stating the phrase: "Mister/Madam Speaker, the president of the United States!"<ref name="CRH415-2010" />

As applause and cheering begin, the president slowly walks toward the speaker's [[Podium|rostrum]], followed by members of the congressional escort committee.<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> The president's approach is slowed by pausing to shake hands, hug, kiss, and autograph copies of the speech for members of Congress.<ref name="CNN2008" /> After taking a place at the [[Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|clerk]]'s desk,<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> the president hands two envelopes containing copies of the speech to the speaker and vice president. The ovation lasts an average of 2 to 3 minutes<ref name="ABC Dukakis 2014-01-28">{{cite news |last=Dukakis |first=Alexandra |title=The 7 Strangest State of the Union Rituals |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=January 28, 2014 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/the-7-strangest-state-of-the-union-rituals |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115155/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/the-7-strangest-state-of-the-union-rituals |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2024}}</ref>

After continuing applause from the attendees has diminished, the speaker introduces the president to the representatives and senators, typically stating: "Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States."<ref name="CNN2008" /><ref name="CRH415-2010" /> This leads to a further round of applause and, eventually, the beginning of the address by the president.<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> The speaker may opt not to introduce the president, as was demonstrated in [[2019 State of the Union Address|2019]] and [[2024 State of the Union Address|2024]].

===Designated survivor and other logistics===
[[File:2007 State of the Union Address – George W. Bush Library.webm|thumb|thumbtime=00:35|President [[George W. Bush]] with [[President of the Senate|Senate President]] (U.S. vice president) [[Dick Cheney]] and House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] during the [[2007 State of the Union Address]]. It marked the first time that a woman occupied the House Speaker chair.]]
Customarily, one cabinet member (the [[designated survivor]]) does not attend the speech, in order to provide continuity in the [[United States presidential line of succession|line of succession]] if a catastrophe disables the president, the vice president, and other succeeding officers gathered in the House chamber. Additionally, since the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, a few members of Congress have been asked to relocate to undisclosed locations for the duration of the speech to form a [[Rump legislature|rump Congress]] in the event of a disaster.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roberts|first1=Roxanne|title=The truth behind the 'designated survivor,' the president of the post-apocalypse|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-truth-behind-the-designated-survivor-the-official-in-charge-of-the-post-apocalypse/2016/09/20/75201a9e-7a95-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html|access-date=January 31, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 20, 2016|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125191644/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-truth-behind-the-designated-survivor-the-official-in-charge-of-the-post-apocalypse/2016/09/20/75201a9e-7a95-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, each chamber of Congress has formally named a separate designated survivor.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schultheis|first1=Emily|title=Joint session 2017: The history of the "designated survivor"|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joint-session-2017-the-history-of-the-designated-survivor/|access-date=January 31, 2018|agency=CBS News|date=February 28, 2017|archive-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204151417/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joint-session-2017-the-history-of-the-designated-survivor/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Oritz|first1=Erik|title=Designated survivors recount nights as doomsday presidents|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/designated-survivors-recount-nights-doomsday-presidents-n720691|access-date=January 31, 2018|agency=NBC News|date=January 30, 2018|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114220152/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/designated-survivors-recount-nights-doomsday-presidents-n720691|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:President Biden Addresses a Joint Session of Congress.webm|thumb|President [[Joe Biden]] with [[President of the Senate|Senate President]] (U.S. vice president) [[Kamala Harris]] and House Speaker Pelosi during the [[2021 Joe Biden speech to a joint session of Congress|2021 joint session address]]. It marked the first time that a woman had occupied the Senate President chair. As this speech occurred early during Biden's first year, it is not considered an official State of the Union.]]
Both the speaker and the vice president sit at the speaker's desk, behind the president for the duration of the speech. If either is unavailable, the next highest-ranking member of the respective house substitutes. Once the chamber settles down from the president's arrival, the speaker officially presents the president to the joint session of Congress. The president then delivers the speech from the podium at the front of the House Chamber.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Forrest |first1=Jack |last2=Mullery |first2=Will |title=Who sits where at the State of the Union: A visual guide |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115714/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/07/politics/seating-guide-state-of-the-union-dg/index.html |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/03/politics/seating-guide-trump-congress-dg |publisher=CNN |date=March 7, 2024 |access-date=September 9, 2024}}</ref>

For the [[2011 State of the Union Address|2011 address]], Senator [[Mark Udall]] of [[Colorado]] proposed a break in the tradition of seating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] on opposite sides of the House;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2011/01/udall-wants-parties-together-at-sotu-047554|archive-date=September 9, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909120256/https://www.politico.com/story/2011/01/udall-wants-parties-together-at-sotu-047554|url-status=live|title=Mark Udall wants parties together at State of the Union|last=Epstein|first=Jennifer|date=January 13, 2011|work=Politico}}</ref> this was in response to the [[2011 Tucson Shooting]] in which Representative [[Gabby Giffords]] was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt.<ref name="rival">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-jan-21-la-na-congress-civility-20120122-story.html|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909120504/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-jan-21-la-na-congress-civility-20120122-story.html|title=Rival parties to mix it up – nicely – at State of the Union|last=Hennessey|first=Kathleen|location=Washington, D.C.|date=January 21, 2012|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Approximately 60 legislators signed on to Udall's proposal;<ref>{{Cite news|title=44 - Sixty lawmakers back bipartisan State of the Union seating plan|first=Felicia|last=Sonmez|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/nearly-sixty-lawmakers-back-bi.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122023821/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/nearly-sixty-lawmakers-back-bi.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2011|access-date=April 14, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> a similar plan for the [[2012 State of the Union Address|2012 address]] garnered bipartisan seating commitments from more than 160 lawmakers.<ref name="rival" /> Efforts to intersperse the parties during the State of the Union have since waned, and by the [[2016 State of the Union Address|2016 address]], seating had largely returned to the traditional partisan arrangement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singer|first=Paul|title=State of the Union bipartisan seating stunt fizzles|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/11/state-of-union-bipartisan-seating-stunt-fizzles/78624490/|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909120743/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/11/state-of-union-bipartisan-seating-stunt-fizzles/78624490/|access-date=April 14, 2021|website=USA Today|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Content of the speech===
The contents of the speeches typically contain information and status updates of the country and federal government during the incumbent president's administration.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ted |last=Widmer |title=The State of the Union Is Unreal |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 31, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/opinion/31widmer.html?ex=1296363600&en=52500d95fa74b0eb&ei=5090 |access-date=January 22, 2007 |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102074850/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/opinion/31widmer.html?ex=1296363600&en=52500d95fa74b0eb&ei=5090 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has become customary to use the phrase "The State of the Union is strong", sometimes with slight variations, since President [[Ronald Reagan]] introduced it in his 1983 address.<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30">{{Cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-word-nearly-every-president-uses-to-describe-the-state-of-the-union|title=The word nearly every president uses to describe the state of the union|last=Desjardins|first=Lisa|date=January 30, 2018|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|access-date=February 7, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209021143/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-word-nearly-every-president-uses-to-describe-the-state-of-the-union|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been repeated by every president in nearly every year since, with the exception of [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30" /> [[Gerald Ford]]'s 1975 address had been the first to use the phrasing "The State of the Union is...", though Ford completed the sentence with "not good."<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30" />

Since Reagan's 1982 address, it has also become common for presidents of both parties to honor special guests sitting in the gallery, such as American citizens or visiting [[Head of state|heads of state]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arrigo |first1=Anthony F. |title=Look out for the 'Skutnik' during Trump's State of the Union |url=https://theconversation.com/look-out-for-the-skutnik-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-109762 |access-date=February 4, 2019 |work=The Conversation US |date=February 4, 2019 |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314181115/https://theconversation.com/look-out-for-the-skutnik-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-109762 |url-status=live}}</ref> During that 1982 address, Reagan acknowledged [[Lenny Skutnik]] for his act of heroism following the crash of [[Air Florida Flight 90]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/three-decades-of-skutniks-began-with-a-federal-employee/2012/01/24/gIQAricyPQ_story.html |title=Three decades of 'Skutniks' began with a federal employee |first=Ed |last=O'Keefe |newspaper=Washington Post |date=January 24, 2012 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=December 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226095549/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/three-decades-of-skutniks-began-with-a-federal-employee/2012/01/24/gIQAricyPQ_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, the term "[[List of Lenny Skutniks|Lenny Skutniks]]" has been used to refer to individuals invited to sit in the gallery, and then cited by the president, during the State of the Union.<ref>{{cite news |title=Small Business Owners Should Be Obama's Lenny Skutnik |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/01/25/small-business-owners-should-be-obamas-lenny-skutnik/ |work=Forbes |first=Addison |last=Wiggin |date=January 25, 2011 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125192710/https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/01/25/small-business-owners-should-be-obamas-lenny-skutnik/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bonding">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71639F937A1575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=Bonding as New Political Theater: Bring On the Babies and Cue the Yellow Dog |work=The New York Times |first=Francis X. |last=Clines |date=August 24, 1996 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301040658/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71639F937A1575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |url-status=live}}</ref>

State of the Union speeches usually last a little over an hour, partly because of the large amounts of applause that occur from the audience throughout. The applause is often political in tone, with many portions of the speech being applauded only by members of the president's own party. As non-political officeholders, members of the Supreme Court or the Joint Chiefs of Staff rarely applaud in order to retain the appearance of political impartiality. In recent years, the presiding officers of the House and the Senate, the speaker and the vice president, respectively, have departed from the neutrality expected of presiding officers of deliberative bodies, as they, too, stand and applaud in response to the remarks of the president with which they agree.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}

==Opposition response==
{{Main|Response to the State of the Union address}}

Since 1966,<ref name="res">{{cite web |author=Office of the Clerk |title=Opposition Responses to State of the Union Messages (1966–present) |url=http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/art_artifacts/stateunion.html |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=January 23, 2007 |archive-date=January 31, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070131204156/http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/art_artifacts/stateunion.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the speech has been followed on television by a response or rebuttal by a member of the major political party opposing the president's party. The response is typically broadcast from a studio with no audience. In 1970, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] put together a TV program with their speech to reply to President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], as well as a televised response to Nixon's written speech in 1973.<ref name="'70s 47">{{cite book |title=How We Got Here: The '70s |last=Frum |first=David |author-link=David Frum |year=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |isbn=0-465-04195-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/47 47] |url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/47 |url-access=registration}}</ref> The same was done by Democrats for President Reagan's speeches in 1982 and 1985. The response is not always produced in a studio; in 1997, the Republicans for the first time delivered the response in front of high school students.<ref name="jcwatts">{{cite news |first=Richard E. Jr. |last=Sincere |work=Metro Herald |date=February 1997 |title=O.J., J.C., and Bill: Reflections on the State of the Union |url=http://www.arg-media.com/articles/domestic/dom43.htm |access-date=January 23, 2007 |quote=Watts told his audience—about 100 high school students from the CloseUp Foundation watched in person, while a smaller number watched on television at home—that he is 'old enough to remember the Jim Crow' laws that affected him and his family while he grew up in a black neighborhood in small-town Oklahoma. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020731143540/http://www.arg-media.com/articles/domestic/dom43.htm |archive-date=July 31, 2002}}</ref> In 2010, [[Governor of Virginia|Virginia governor]] [[Bob McDonnell]] gave the Republican response from the [[Virginia House of Delegates|House of Delegates]] chamber of the [[Virginia State Capitol]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], in front of about 250 attendees.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012704953.html|title=Virginia Gov. McDonnell gives Republican Party response to State of the Union|last=Kumar|first=Anita|date=January 28, 2010|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 17, 2019|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125121629/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/27/AR2010012704953.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2004, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s response was delivered in [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for the first time, by [[Governor of New Mexico|New Mexico governor]] [[Bill Richardson (politician)|Bill Richardson]].<ref name="spa04">{{cite news |first=Byron |last=York |title=The Democratic Response You Didn't See |date=January 21, 2004 |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/209216/democratic-response-you-didn-146-t-see |work=National Review |access-date=January 23, 2007 |quote=And then there was the Spanish-language response—the first ever—delivered by New Mexico governor, and former Clinton energy secretary, Bill Richardson. |archive-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209183253/https://www.nationalreview.com/articles/209216/democratic-response-you-didn-146-t-see |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, [[Minnesota]] Congresswoman [[Michele Bachmann]] also gave a televised response for the [[Tea Party Express]], a first for a political movement.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/26/AR2011012603412.html |title=Michele Bachmann offers Tea Party response to President Obama's State of the Union Address |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 26, 2011 |access-date=January 15, 2015 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125191642/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/26/AR2011012603412.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, the Republican response was delivered by Senator [[Katie Britt]] on March 8 (Women's International Day) from her kitchen table. The first Independent response was delivered by [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2024 |title=Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "State Of The Union" Address: 80% Of Americans Don't Want To Choose Between The Lesser Of Two Evils |first=Tim|last=Hains|url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/03/11/robert_f_kennedy_jr_state_of_the_union_address_80_of_americans_dont_want_to_choose_between_the_lesser_of_two_evils.html |access-date=March 11, 2024 |website=RealClear Politics |language=en |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909131420/https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/03/11/robert_f_kennedy_jr_state_of_the_union_address_80_of_americans_dont_want_to_choose_between_the_lesser_of_two_evils.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Significance==
[[File:President Trump Delivers the State of the Union Address.webm|thumb|thumbtime=11:03|President [[Donald Trump]] with Senate President (U.S. vice president) [[Mike Pence]] and House Speaker [[Paul Ryan]] during the [[2018 State of the Union Address]].]]
Although much of the pomp and ceremony behind the State of the Union address is governed by tradition rather than law, in modern times, the event is seen as one of the most important in the US political calendar. It is one of the few instances when all three branches of the US government are assembled under one roof: members of both houses of [[United States Congress|Congress]] constituting the [[legislature]], the president and [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] constituting the [[Executive (government)|executive]], and the [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice]] and [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate justices]] of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] constituting the [[judiciary]]. In addition, the military is represented by the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], while foreign governments are represented by the [[Diplomatic corps|dean of the Diplomatic Corps]]. The address has also been used as an opportunity to honor the achievements of some ordinary Americans, who are typically invited by the president to sit with the [[First Lady of the United States|first lady]].<ref name="Bonding" />

==Local versions==
Certain [[U.S. state]]s have a similar annual address given by the [[Governor (United States)|governor]]. For most of them, it is called the [[State of the State address]]. In Iowa, it is called the Condition of the State Address; in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, the speech is called the State of the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] address. The mayor of the [[District of Columbia]] gives a State of the District address. [[American Samoa]] has a State of the Territory address given by the governor. [[Puerto Rico]] has a State Address given by the governor. In [[Guam]], the governor delivers an annual [[List of Governors of Guam#Powers and Duties|State of the Island Address]].

Some cities or counties also have an annual [[State of the City Address]] given by the mayor, county commissioner or board chair, including [[Sonoma County, California]]; [[Orlando, Florida]]; [[Gwinnett County, Georgia]];<ref>{{cite web|title=Official page on Gwinnett County Website|url=https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/departments/boardofcommissioners/stateofthecounty|access-date=March 9, 2022|archive-date=March 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308054719/https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/web/gwinnett/departments/boardofcommissioners/stateofthecounty|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Cincinnati]], Ohio; [[New Haven, Connecticut]]; [[Parma, Ohio]]; Detroit, Michigan; [[Seattle]], Washington; [[Birmingham, Alabama]]; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; [[Buffalo, New York]]; [[Rochester, New York]]; [[San Antonio]], Texas; [[McAllen, Texas]]; and [[San Diego]], California. The Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in [[Nashville, Tennessee]] gives a speech similar called the State of Metro Address. Some [[university president]]s give a State of the University address at the beginning of every [[academic term]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.unh.edu/president/sotu-2015 |title=UNH State of the University 2015 |date=February 17, 2015 |work=The University of New Hampshire |access-date=August 12, 2015 |archive-date=July 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722235250/http://www.unh.edu/president/sotu-2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.scu.edu/president/publiccommentary/state-of-university-2015.cfm |title=State of the University 2015 |date=February 19, 2015 |publisher=Santa Clara University |access-date=August 12, 2015 |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908013653/http://www.scu.edu/president/publiccommentary/state-of-university-2015.cfm |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some elementary and secondary schools and school districts also hold a "State of the School(s)" address at the beginning of each calendar year. Private companies usually have a "State of the Corporation" or "State of the Company" address given by the respective CEO.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.inc.com/jeremy-goldman/why-your-company-deserves-a-state-of-the-union-address.html |title=Why Your Company Deserves a 'State of the Union' Address |first=Jeremy |last=Goldman |date=January 20, 2015 |work=Inc. |access-date=August 12, 2015 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203150829/https://www.inc.com/jeremy-goldman/why-your-company-deserves-a-state-of-the-union-address.html |url-status=live}}</ref> As well, the commissioners of some North American professional sports leagues, in particular [[Major League Soccer]] and the [[Canadian Football League]], deliver annual "State of the League" addresses, usually in conjunction with events surrounding their respective leagues' championship games.

The State of the Union model has also [[State of the European Union|been adopted]] by the [[European Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://euobserver.com/9/30747 |title=EU has survived economic crisis, Barroso says in first State of Union address |date=September 7, 2010 |website=[[EUobserver]] |access-date=September 7, 2010 |archive-date=May 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503222508/http://euobserver.com/9/30747 |url-status=live |first=Andrew |last=Rettman |location=[[Brussels]]}}</ref> In France, President [[Emmanuel Macron]] initiated a similar event in 2017, again in 2018, but the practice did not continue the following years.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-lacks-fire-in-first-state-of-the-union-a-la-francaise/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909055529/https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-lacks-fire-in-first-state-of-the-union-a-la-francaise/ |access-date=September 9, 2024 |date=July 3, 2017 |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |first=Pierre |last=Briançon |work=[[Politico]] |title=Macron lacks fire in first 'state of the union' à la française |location=[[Paris]]}}</ref>

In [[Spain]], the [[Congress of Deputies]] adopted the tradition under the name "Debate on the State of the Nation" in 1983. The [[Prime Minister of Spain|Prime Minister]] gives an address for an undetermined length of time, and afterwards each of the [[Parliamentary group (Spain)|parliamentary groups]] have the chance to respond in an address with a maximum length of thirty minutes. These are sorted by the amount of deputies that each parliamentary group holds, thus starting with the [[Leader of the Opposition (Spain)|leader of the Opposition]]. Since its creation, it has taken place in every non-election year except for 2021, where [[Prime Minister of Spain|Prime Minister]] [[Pedro Sánchez]] was forced to cancel it due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.congreso.es/es/cem/debates-estado-nacion|archive-date=9 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909060703/https://www.congreso.es/es/cem/debates-estado-nacion|trans-title=Debates On The State Of The Nation|language=spanish|url-status=live|title=Debates sobre el Estado de la Nación - Congreso de los Diputados |publisher=[[Congress of Deputies]] |access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/presidente/actividades/Paginas/2021/151221-sanchezcontrol.aspx |date=December 15, 2021 |title=Pedro Sánchez anuncia que el próximo año se celebrará el debate sobre el estado de la nación |access-date=March 17, 2024 |publisher=[[Prime Minister's Office (Spain)]] |trans-title=Pedro Sánchez announces that the debate on the state of the nation will be held next year |language=spanish |archive-date=9 September 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909060314/https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/presidente/actividades/Paginas/2021/151221-sanchezcontrol.aspx |url-status=live |location=Congress of Deputies, Spain}}</ref>

==Historic speeches==
[[File:Second Bill of Rights Speech.ogv|thumb|Franklin Roosevelt proposing a [[Second Bill of Rights]], 1944]]
[[File:"Freedom from Fear" - NARA - 513538.jpg|thumb|upright|''Freedom from Fear'' from [[Norman Rockwell]], 1943]]

* President [[James Monroe]] first stated the [[Monroe Doctrine]] during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress on December 2, 1823. It became a defining moment in the [[foreign policy of the United States]] and one of its longest-standing tenets, and would be invoked by many U.S. statesmen and several U.S. presidents, including [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[John F. Kennedy]], and [[Ronald Reagan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=23|title=Monroe Doctrine (1823)|publisher=ourdocuments.gov|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=March 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310011935/https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=23|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* The [[Four Freedoms]] were goals first articulated by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech, he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: [[freedom of speech]] and expression, [[freedom of worship]], [[Right to an adequate standard of living|freedom from want]], and [[freedom from fear]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/fdr-the-four-freedoms|title=The Four Freedoms|publisher=Four Freedoms Park Conservancy|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125053659/https://www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org/fdr-the-four-freedoms/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* During his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944, FDR proposed the [[Second Bill of Rights]]. Roosevelt's argument was that the "political rights" guaranteed by the constitution and the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] had "proved inadequate to assure us equality in the [[Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness|pursuit of happiness]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/address_text.html|title=State of the Union Message to Congress|publisher=Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum|access-date=January 7, 2020|archive-date=August 18, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818083143/http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/address_text.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This was technically a "Message" and not a speech, as Roosevelt had "a case of the grippe" and could not come; there was no joint session, and a Senate clerk read the message. (Although he did manage to read it as a Fireside Chat over the radio, from his office that same day.)<ref name="DruryS">{{Cite book |title=A Senate Journal: 1943–1945|first1=Allen|last1=Drury|publisher=McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.|year=1963}}Drury, 1963, pp. 43–46, and 53.</ref>
* During his State of the Union address on [[1964 State of the Union Address|January 8, 1964]], Lyndon B. Johnson introduced legislation that would come to be known as the "[[war on poverty]]". This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent. The speech led the [[United States Congress]] to pass the [[Economic Opportunity Act]], which established the [[Office of Economic Opportunity]] (OEO) to administer the local application of federal funds targeted against poverty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lbjlibrary.org/press/civil-rights-tax-cuts-and-the-war-on-poverty|title=President Lyndon Johnson's 1964 State of the Union Address called for a war on poverty|publisher=[[Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum|LBJ Presidential Library]] |access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=March 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316205935/https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Y2O5SDEpdU|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* During his State of the Union address on [[1975 State of the Union Address|January 15, 1975]], [[Gerald Ford|Gerald R. Ford]] very bluntly stated that "the state of the Union is not good: Millions of Americans are out of work.... We depend on others for essential energy. Some people question their Government's ability to make hard decisions and stick with them; they expect Washington politics as usual." Ford said he did not "expect much if any, applause. The American people want action, and it will take both the Congress and the president to give them what they want. Progress and solutions can be achieved, and they will be achieved."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750028.asp|title=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum|publisher=Ford Library Museum|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024214624/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750028.asp|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File: Bush State of the Union 2002.ogg|thumb|right|George W. Bush delivering the 2002 State of the Union]]
* During his [[2002 State of the Union Address|State of the Union address]] on January 29, 2002, President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] identified [[North Korea]], [[Iran]], and [[Iraq]] as representing significant threats to the United States. He said, "States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an [[axis of evil]], arming to threaten the peace of the world". In this speech, he outlined objectives for the [[war on terror]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html|title=President Delivers State of the Union Address|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov|access-date=February 6, 2019|archive-date=May 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502151928/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}

==TV ratings==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Television ratings for recent State of the Union addresses<ref>{{cite web |access-date=September 9, 2024 |via=[[Statista]] |first=Julia |last=Stoll |date=March 11, 2024|archive-date=September 9, 2024 |title=Number of viewers of the State of the Union addresses from 1993 to 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909061259/https://www.statista.com/statistics/252425/state-of-the-union-address-viewer-numbers/ |url-status=live |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/252425/state-of-the-union-address-viewer-numbers/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2024 State of the Union Address Draws Over 32 Million Viewers |url=https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/2024-state-of-the-union-address-draws-over-32-million-viewers/ |website=Nielsen |access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"| Date
!scope="col"| President
!scope="col"| Viewers, millions
!scope="col"| Households, millions
!scope="col"| Rating
!scope="col" class="unsortable"| Networks
|-
!scope="row"| [[2025 Donald Trump speech to a joint session of Congress|2025-03-04]]
| [[Donald Trump]]
| ''TBA''
| ''TBA''
| ''TBA''
| ''TBA''
|-
!scope="row"| [[2024 State of the Union Address|2024-03-07]]
| rowspan="4" | [[Joe Biden]]
| 32.30
| ''TBA''
| ''TBA''
| [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], [[NBC]], [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]], [[Telemundo]], [[Univision]], [[PBS]], [[CNN]], [[CNN en Español|CNNe]], [[Fox Business]], [[Fox News|Fox News Channel]], [[MSNBC]], [[Newsmax]], [[NewsNation]]
|-
!scope="row"| [[2023 State of the Union Address|2023-02-07]]
| 27.30
| 20.00
| 16.1
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, [[NBC LX Home|NBCLX]], NewsMax, NewsNation
|-
!scope="row"| [[2022 State of the Union Address|2022-03-01]]
| 38.20
| 27.41
| 22.4
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, Black News Channel, CNBC, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MNBC, NBCLX, Newsmax, NewsNation
|-
!scope="row"| [[2021 Joe Biden speech to a joint session of Congress|2021-04-28]]
| 26.90
| 19.95
| 16.5
|ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, CNBC, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, Newsy
|-
!scope="row"| [[2020 State of the Union Address|2020-02-04]]
| rowspan="4" | [[Donald Trump]]
| 37.17
| 27.46
| 22.7
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2019 State of the Union Address|2019-02-05]]
| 46.79
| 33.62
| 28.0
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, CNNe, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2018 State of the Union Address|2018-01-30]]
| 45.55
| 32.17
| 26.9
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, Estrella, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2017 Donald Trump speech to a joint session of Congress|2017-02-28]]
| 33.85
| 
| 28.7
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, PBS, CNN, Estrella, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2016 State of the Union Address|2016-01-12]]
| rowspan="8" | [[Barack Obama]]
| 31.33
| 23.04
| 19.6
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Univision, Al Jazeera America, Azteca America, CNN, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, NBC Universo
|-
!scope="row"| [[2015 State of the Union Address|2015-01-20]]
| 31.71
| 23.14
| 19.9
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Univision, Al Jazeera America, Azteca America, CNN, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MundoFox
|-
!scope="row"| [[2014 State of the Union Address|2014-01-28]]
| 33.30
| 23.95
| 20.7
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Univision, Al Jazeera America, Azteca America, CNBC, CNN, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MUN2
|-
!scope="row"| [[2013 State of the Union Address|2013-02-12]]
| 33.50
| 24.77
| 21.8
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Univision, PBS, Azteca America, Centric, CNBC, CNN, Current, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MundoFox
|-
!scope="row"| [[2012 State of the Union Address|2012-01-24]]
| 37.75
| 27.57
| 24.0
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNBC, CNN, FOX Business, Fox News Channel, Galavision, MSNBC, MUN2, Telefutura
|-
!scope="row"| [[2011 State of the Union Address|2011-01-25]]
| 42.79
| 30.87
| 26.6
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Centric, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2010 State of the Union Address|2010-01-27]]
| 48.01
| 34.18
| 29.8
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, BET, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[February 2009 Barack Obama speech to a joint session of Congress|2009-02-24]]
| 52.37
| 37.18
| 32.5
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2008 State of the Union Address|2008-01-28]]
| rowspan="8" | [[George W. Bush]]
| 37.52
| 27.70
| 24.7
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2007 State of the Union Address|2007-01-24]]
| 45.49
| 32.97
| 29.6
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2006 State of the Union Address|2006-01-31]]
| 43.18
| 30.53
| 31.2
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Azteca America, Telefutura
|-
!scope="row"| [[2005 State of the Union Address|2005-02-02]]
| 39.43
| 28.36
| 35.3
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, Telemundo, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Telefutura
|-
!scope="row"| [[2004 State of the Union Address|2004-01-20]]
| 43.41
| 30.29
| 28.0
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2003 State of the Union Address|2003-01-28]]
| 62.06
| 41.48
| 38.8
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2002 State of the Union Address|2002-01-29]]
| 51.77
| 35.55
| 33.6
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[February 2001 George W. Bush speech to a joint session of Congress|2001-02-27]]
| 39.79
| TBA
| 27.6
| ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, FOXNC, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[2000 State of the Union Address|2000-01-27]]
| rowspan="7" | [[Bill Clinton]]
| 31.48
| 22.54
| 22.4
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[1999 State of the Union Address|1999-01-19]]
| 43.50
| 30.70
| 31.0
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[1998 State of the Union Address|1998-01-27]]
| 53.08
| 36.51
| 37.2
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, CNBC
|-
!scope="row"| [[1997 State of the Union Address|1997-02-04]]
| 41.10
| 27.60
| 28.4
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN
|-
!scope="row"| [[1996 State of the Union Address|1996-01-23]]
| 40.90
| 28.40
| 29.6
| ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN
|-
!scope="row"| [[1995 State of the Union Address|1995-01-24]]
| 42.20
| 28.10
| 29.5
| ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN
|-
!scope="row"| [[1994 State of the Union Address|1994-01-25]]
| 45.80
| 31.00
| 32.9
| ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN
|}

==See also==
* [[List of State of the Union addresses]]
* [[List of joint sessions of the United States Congress]]
* [[State Opening of Parliament]]
* [[Weekly address of the president of the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|State of the Union}}
{{Wikisource|Portal:State of the Union Speeches by United States Presidents}}
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php The American Presidency Project: State of the Union Messages], table of all State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to present, with additional data such as word count and guests, from the American Presidency Project at UCSB; as well as other documents related to the presidency
* [http://www.c-span.org/search/?sdate=&edate=&searchtype=Videos&sort=Least+Recent+Event&text=0&tagid%5B%5D=2109&show100=State of the Union videos and transcripts] at C-SPAN (since 1945)
* [http://stateoftheunion.onetwothree.net State of the Union] (Visualizations, statistical analysis, and searchable texts)
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5050 State of the Union Addresses of American Presidents (1790–2002)] (in downloadable electronic file formats)
* [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/top_10_state_of_the_union_addresses/introduction.html?state=play Top 10 State of the Union Addresses], ''RealClearPolitics.com''
* [https://digital.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/corpus/ Corpus of Political Speeches]: free access to political speeches by American and other politicians, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University Library

{{State of the Union}}{{State of the Nations}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:State of the Union addresses| ]]
[[Category:1790 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Annual events in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Article Two of the United States Constitution]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Speeches by heads of state]]