Trump sets record for longest annual U.S. presidential address to Congress

Trump sets record for longest address to a joint session of Congress, Democrats leave chamber as GOP applauds.

U.S. President Donald Trump set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025.

It wasn’t even close. He talked for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union address, which ran 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.

That's according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which has tracked speech length since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Mr. Trump's speech is not technically a State of the Union since he only took office about six weeks ago. But his lengthy address is nonetheless the longest offered to a joint session of Congress.

“The golden age of America has only just begun,” he told Congress as he finished his speech.

Republican lawmakers rose to their feet and cheered the conclusion of his address, pumping their hands in the air while chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Democrats quickly streamed from the chamber while GOP lawmakers tallied to shake hands with the president.