What is the state of the State of the Union?

President Donald J. Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress (and the rest of us) Tuesday night.

The over/under betting line is one hour.

I will take the over.

Why?

History.

His March 2025 address to Congress ran about 1 hour and 40 minutes, eclipsing the verbal diarrhea of 1 hour and  28 minutes recorded by President Bill Clinton in 2000. Trump has promised a “long” address, which could — given his weird “weaves” — top the two-hour mark.

Way back when, the record for brevity was held by President George Washington, 10 minutes, and it‘s unlikely that ever will be broken. The SOTU, as its called, has been growing like the national debt in recent years. 

Average length of SOTU in minutes by President (estimates provided by Gemini):

Richard Nixon: 35

Jimmy Carter: 37

Ronald Reagan: 40

George W. Bush: 52

Barack Obama: 62

Joe Biden: 68

Bill Clinton: 75

Donald J. Trump: 80

In the TV era, Nixon holds the record for the shortest spoken address at roughly 28 minutes (1972).

Sometimes, it’s not just the length of the speech. Actual speaking time is often inflated by 20–30% due to standing ovations, which are more reflective of politics than of excellent oratory. In a 60-minute speech, it is common for 15 to 20 minutes to be spent waiting for the audience to stop clapping.

Historically, for much of the 19th century (from Thomas Jefferson to William Howard Taft), SOTU wasn't a "speaking" event at all—it was a written report sent to Congress to be read silently. It wasn't until Woodrow Wilson in 1913 that the tradition of delivering it as a speech was revived.

One could argue that was a big mistake.

With the advent of television, the SOTU is less information for Congress than it is a carnival pitch to lure citizens into the tent.

Trump has an overflowing plate, from the actual war on inflation to the likely(?) war on Iran.

And he has never heard the expression that brevity is the soul of wit.