President Donald Trump says the ratings for his first State of the Union address this week are "the highest number in history," but that is not true.
Thank you for all of the nice compliments and reviews on the State of the Union speech. 45.6 million people watched, the highest number in history. @FoxNews beat every other Network, for the first time ever, with 11.7 million people tuning in. Delivered from the heart!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2018
Nielsen reports that about 45.6 million tuned in to watch Trump Tuesday night. That's below viewership for President Barack Obama's first State of the Union, which was about 48 million, and Trump's own joint address to Congress last year.
It also trails the 46.8 million viewers who tuned into President Bill Clinton's first State of the Union speech, and the 51.7 million who watched President George W. Bush's 2002 address.
Trump falsely argued last year that his inauguration was the most well-attended one ever.
