The longest State of the Union addresses in recent history, ranked
Tech Insider
President Donald Trump has given five of the 10 longest State of the Union speeches since they were tracked in 1964.
Kenny Holston/The New York Times/via REUTERS
The American Presidency Project tracks the length of presidents' State of the Union speeches.
Donald Trump holds the record for the longest address, at 1:47, in 2026.
Trump and Bill Clinton have given nine of the top 10 longest State of the Union speeches.
Some US presidents have more of the gift of the gab than others.
The American Presidency Project has tracked the length of every president's State of the Union address since 1964, with the timer beginning when the president opens with "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker."
In the State of the Union, which is mandated by the Constitution, presidents typically highlight their administration's accomplishments and lay out their legislative agenda in a speech before a joint session of Congress.
Presidents usually also introduce their legislative priorities in a joint address during their first year in office, a tradition started by President Ronald Reagan. Though this speech doesn't technically qualify as a State of the Union, it is widely regarded as such and is included in the American Presidency Project's dataset.
On average, State of the Union speeches from 1964 to 2025 have lasted 56 minutes and 24 seconds, according to the American Presidency Project. President Richard Nixon gave the shortest-ever State of the Union speech in 1972 at 28 minutes and 55 seconds.
President Donald Trump and President Bill Clinton have given nine of the top 10 longest State of the Union speeches in history. In 2026, Trump broke his own record when his joint address to Congress clocked in at 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Here's how the top 10 longest State of the Union addresses stack up.
10. President Joe Biden spoke for 1 hour and 13 minutes at his 2023 State of the Union address.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 07: President Joe Biden speaks as Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), right, listen during a State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
9. President Bill Clinton's 1998 State of the Union address spanned 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 43 seconds.
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 27: STATE OF THE UNION--President Clinton during his State of the Union Address at the Capitol.
Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
8. In 2020, Trump gave a 1-hour, 18-minute, and 4-second State of the Union address the night before the Senate voted in his impeachment trial.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rips up pages of the State of the Union speech after U.S. President Donald Trump finishes his State of the Union speech in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Trump delivers his third State of the Union to the nation the night before the U.S. Senate is set to vote in his impeachment trial.
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7. Clinton's 1999 State of the Union speech clocked in at 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 40 seconds.
President Bill Clinton delivers his State of the Union Address to Congress, Washington DC, January 19, 1999.
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6. In 2018, Trump's first State of the Union address ran for 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 32 seconds.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 30: U.S. President Donald J. Trump delivers the State of the Union address as U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (L) and Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) (R) look on in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives January 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. This is the first State of the Union address given by U.S. President Donald Trump and his second joint-session address to Congress.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
5. Trump spoke for 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 25 seconds at the 2019 State of the Union.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol Building on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. A group of female Democratic lawmakers chose to wear white to the speech in solidarity with women and a nod to the suffragette movement.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
4. Clinton's State of the Union address in 1995 lasted 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 58 seconds, making it the third-longest in history.
Washington, DC. 1-24-1995 President William Jefferson Clinton delivers his second address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union. Credit: Mark Reinstein
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3. Clinton's final State of the Union address in 2000 was also the second-longest at 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 49 seconds.
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 27: STATE OF THE UNION -- President Bill Clinton during his last State of the Union Address before Congress.
Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
2. Trump's address to a joint session of Congress in 2025 clocked in at 1 hour, 39 minutes, and 32 seconds.
UNITED STATES - MARCH 4: President Donald Trump delivers his address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2025. Vice President JD Vance, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., listen behind.
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1. Trump's 2026 address was the longest on record, at 1 hour and 47 minutes.
Trump gave his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
