President Joe Biden, who is known for his loquacity, delivered his longest State of the Union speech yet on Tuesday, clocking in at about 1 hour and 13 minutes.
Biden has long been chatty behind the microphone. Last year, he had a nearly two-hour press conference in prime-time, close to a half hour longer than the longest press conferences held by former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
Obama quipped in his memoir, “A Promised Land,” that “in a town filled with people who liked to hear themselves talk, [Biden] had no peer.”
Since 2000, presidents’ State of the Union speeches have typically lasted about an hour on average, according to a POLITICO analysis of data from the American Presidency Project.
Biden’s first State of the Union speech was 1 hour and 2 minutes in 2022, largely in line with presidents since the 1960s. His first joint address to Congress — not technically a State of the Union — lasted 1 hour and 5 minutes in 2021.
Biden’s speech Tuesday was closer to Trump’s than previously in terms of length. Trump’s State of the Union speeches clocked in at about 1 hour and 20 minutes in his final three, though going 1 hour and 2 minutes in his first joint address to Congress, according to the American Presidency Project.
Bill Clinton has the high-water mark for State of the Union length since 1964 at just shy of 1 hour and 29 minutes in 2000, according to the project. Richard Nixon had the shortest in 1972 at just under 29 minutes.
Biden’s wide-ranging State of the Union speech touted his leadership in crises including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 insurrection and urged unity, calling for Republican lawmakers to “finish the job.” He also pushed to protect Medicare and for a tougher crackdown on fentanyl.
Biden’s prepared remarks checked in at 7,218 words. He stayed largely on script, but true to form, he often added short off-the-cuff quips. He also seemed to pause occasionally to hear what spectators were shouting.
----------------------------------------
By: Ben Leonard
Title: Biden goes long: Speech beat last year’s by about 11 minutes
Sourced From: www.politico.com/news/2023/02/07/biden-speech-length-state-union-00081732
Published Date: Tue, 07 Feb 2023 22:42:44 EST
