'To get meme material': Internet jokes as Joe Biden's SOTU address gets more than 32 million views

Internet users mocked President Biden despite getting more views on his Union address than last year
PUBLISHED MAR 9, 2024
Republicans blasted the president's speech for being overly politicized, and they heckled Biden throughout it as he attacked Trump (Getty Images)
Republicans blasted the president's speech for being overly politicized, and they heckled Biden throughout it as he attacked Trump (Getty Images)

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.

(Getty Images)
Among the coveted 18–34 age group, just 5 percent of viewers saw the 81-year-old president's address (Getty Images)

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.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference in the State
Biden's four yearly speeches to Congress have averaged just over 31.1 million viewers (Getty Images)

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."



 



 

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".



 



 

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."



 

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.

MORE STORIES

Will Scharf, White House staff secretary, was heard comparing the world political scenario to Sandra Bullock’s 2015 film 'Our Brand Is Crisis'
25 minutes ago
Trump nominated Kimberly Guilfoyle in December, but she was only confirmed after Senate Republicans altered rules to fast-track the process
1 hour ago
Donald Trump criticized ABC and Jimmy Kimmel, saying the network unfairly targets him and Kimmel lacked ratings and talent
2 hours ago
Ilhan Omar faced sharp backlash after dismissing tributes to the late Charlie Kirk as dishonest and calling him a 'hateful man'
2 hours ago
JD Vance said, 'We supported each other in that moment as you do with your friends, but man, that was a bad, bad day'
3 hours ago
Obama denounces Charlie Kirk’s shooting as 'horrific', defends Michelle’s intelligence and urges grace
4 hours ago
The decision came amid growing concerns about political violence, especially at open-air and political events
4 hours ago
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has remained silent on Jimmy Kimmel’s removal by ABC
5 hours ago
ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel on September 17 after remarks about Charlie Kirk’s death, sparking claims of politics behind the move
6 hours ago
Hours before Jimmy Kimmel was suspended over remarks on Charlie Kirk’s killing, ABC, Disney and affiliates held emergency meetings to limit fallout
7 hours ago