- The American Presidency Project tracks the length of presidents’ State of the Union speeches.
- Donald Trump holds the record for the longest address at 1:39:32 in 2025.
- Trump and Bill Clinton have given eight 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 onwards 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 eight of the top 10 longest State of the Union speeches in history. In 2025, Trump broke Clinton’s record when his joint address to Congress clocked in at 1 hour, 39 minutes, and 32 seconds.
It’s a record Trump could break again when he delivers the State of the Union on February 24 at 9 p.m. ET.
Here’s how the top 10 longest State of the Union addresses stack up.
10. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s State of the Union address lasted 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 16 seconds.
Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress
9. President Joe Biden spoke for 1 hour and 13 minutes at his 2023 State of the Union address.
Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
8. President Bill Clinton’s 1998 State of the Union address spanned 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 43 seconds.
Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
7. 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.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
6. Clinton’s 1999 State of the Union speech clocked in at 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 40 seconds.
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
5. In 2018, Trump’s first State of the Union address ran for 1 hour, 20 minutes, and 32 seconds.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
4. Trump spoke for 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 25 seconds at the 2019 State of the Union.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
3. Clinton’s State of the Union address in 1995 lasted 1 hour, 24 minutes, and 58 seconds, making it the third-longest in history.
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2. Clinton’s final State of the Union address in 2000 was also the second-longest at 1 hour, 28 minutes, and 49 seconds.
Douglas Graham/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images
1. Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in 2025 was the longest on record at 1 hour, 39 minutes, and 32 seconds.
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
