'To get meme material': Internet jokes as Joe Biden's SOTU address gets more than 32 million views
WASHINGTON, DC: More than 32 million people watched President Biden's 2024 State of the Union address, which is around 5 million higher than last year's speech, according to Nielsen statistics revealed on Friday.
As per the stats, a total of 32.2 million people watched the president's yearly address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday night across the 14 television networks that carried it.
President Joe Biden's speech sees 5 million more viewers than last year
Notably, with an audience of 27.3 million, Biden's most recent State of the Union speech was the second most viewed of his administration, trailing only his 2022 address with 38 million viewers. The ratings were 18 percent higher than those of the previous year.
A total of 74 percent of the viewers were 55 years of age or older. Among the coveted 18–34 age group, just 5 percent of viewers saw the 81-year-old president's address.
Moreover, around 56 percent of viewers watched broadcast networks including CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX cover Biden's State of the Union address. 44 percent of viewers were on cable networks.
Fox News surpassed ABC in terms of viewership, with 5.84 million compared to 5.24 million, respectively. With 4.47 million viewers, NBC came in third place, ahead of MSNBC (4.43 million), CBS (4.09 million), CNN (2.63 million), and the Fox broadcast network (1.77 million).
According to Nielsen statistics, Biden's four yearly speeches to Congress have averaged just over 31.1 million viewers, far less than former President Donald Trump's 44.7 million.
Furthermore, the average number of viewers for Biden's addresses has also been lower than that of previous President Barack Obama's 38.3 million State of the Union presentations.
Moreover, Republicans blasted the president's speech for being overly politicized, and they heckled Biden throughout it as he attacked Trump, mispronounced the name of the 22-year-old nursing student who was allegedly killed by an unauthorized immigrant, and urged the Senate to approve a border security bill that has been sitting on the table and includes aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Internet mocks Joe Biden as his Union address gathers 5 million more viewers
People on the internet mocked President Biden despite getting more views on his Union address than last year. An X user posted, "So many people were playing drunk bingo too" whereas one added, "They tuned in to watch a train wreck. He did not disappoint."
So many people were playing drunk bingo too.
— Tired of being politically correct (@USBornNRaised) March 9, 2024
They tuned in to watch a train wreck. He did not disappoint.
— Moenelissa (@elissa6054) March 9, 2024
A person also wrote, "32 Million watched, did they? Most wanted to see just how many misspeaks and screw-ups that he'd make. Let's be honest here. LOL" while one mentioned, "To get meme material".
32 Million watched, did they?
— Croxxed Out (@FLCons) March 9, 2024
Most wanted to see just how many misspeaks and screw ups that he'd make. Let's be honest here. LOL
A user also wrote, "Seems like I heard him say 81 million voted for him, and 3 years into his disastrous takeover only 32 million watched the train wreck. Hilarious."
Seems like I heard him say 81 million voted for him, and 3 years into his disastrous takeover only 32 million watched the train wreck. Hilarious.
— SFC Bassett (@SFC_Bassett) March 9, 2024
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.