Key findings:
- A third of Americans tuned in to President Biden’s first State of the Union Address
- SOTU viewers wanted to hear more on the economy
- Republicans heavily criticize Biden’s address: “lies, “poor,” “weak” top words used
- Democrats describe the speech as “excellent,” hopeful”, “strong”
A third tune into Biden’s first SOTU
A third (34%) of Americans tuned in to President Biden’s first State of the Union Address, while 32% chose not to watch or follow coverage of the address. Another 32% didn’t watch but followed coverage of the address in the news.
- 40% of Democrats watched vs. 35% of Republicans and 22% of independents
- 49% of those 65+ watched vs. 21% of those 18-34 and 35% of those 35-64
Over half (53%) skipped Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Republican response – only 22% tuned in while 23% didn’t watch but followed coverage in the news.
- 29% of Republicans tuned in vs. 20% of Democrats and 13% of independents
- 29% of those 65+ watched vs. 17% of those 18-34 and 23% of those 35-64
SOTU viewers wanted to hear more about the economy
Biden receives mostly supportive reviews from SOTU viewers, with more than half saying he gave about the right amount of attention to health care, policing, Russia/Ukraine, the Supreme Court, and COVID-19.
“The economy” was the issue that viewers most wanted to hear more about; 43% of SOTU viewers said it didn’t get enough attention.
Republicans give harsh criticism, while Democrats praise
Most of those who tuned in had positive things to say about Biden’s first SOTU. Top words used to describe the speech were: “hopeful”, “excellent”, “poor”, “lies”, “weak”, “strong”, “fair”, “great” “honest” and “inspiring”.
- The top word used among Republicans was “lies,” followed by “poor”, “weak”, “terrible”, “good”, “muddled”, “interesting”, “uninspiring”, “lost”, “lackluster” and “fair”
- The top word used among Democrats was “excellent,” followed by “hopeful”, “strong”, “great”, “honest”, “inspirational”, “positive”, “unifying”, “awesome”, “terrible” and “disappointed”
- The top word used among independents was “hopeful”
Among all:
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
How would you rate the current state of the economy?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 2,762 1,244 1,462 56 Excellent 3%3%3%0%Good 19%21%18%0%Fair 37%36%38%0%Poor 39%39%40%0%No answer 1%1%1%0%Question wording: How would you rate the current state of the economy?Survey dates: –Over the next 12 months, do you expect the economic situation in this country to improve a lot, improve a little, remain the same, worsen a little, or worsen a lot?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 2,762 1,244 1,462 56 Net improve 32%33%32%0%Improve a lot 9%9%10%0%Improve a little 23%24%22%0%Remain the same 15%14%16%0%Net worsen 51%52%51%0%Worsen a little 25%26%24%0%Worsen a lot 26%26%26%0%No answer 1%1%1%0%Question wording: Over the next 12 months, do you expect the economic situation in this country to improve a lot, improve a little, remain the same, worsen a little, or worsen a lot?Survey dates: –Did you happen to watch President Biden’s State of the Union address?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 2,762 1,244 1,462 56 Yes, watched the address 34%35%34%0%Did not watch, but followed coverage of the address 32%32%32%0%Did not watch or follow coverage of the address 32%31%33%0%No answer 1%2%1%0%Question wording: Did you happen to watch President Biden’s State of the Union address?Survey dates: –Did you happen to watch the Republican Party’s response to the presidential address, delivered by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds?
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 2,762 1,244 1,462 56 Yes, watched the response 22%25%20%0%Did not watch, but followed coverage of the response 23%22%24%0%Did not watch or follow coverage of the response 53%51%55%0%No answer 1%1%1%0%Question wording: Did you happen to watch the Republican Party’s response to the presidential address, delivered by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds?Survey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Climate change
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 26%34%18%0%About the right amount 41%36%47%0%Not enough 30%28%30%0%No answer 4%2%5%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Climate changeSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Covid19 pandemic
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 21%27%14%0%About the right amount 62%60%66%0%Not enough 14%11%17%0%No answer 3%2%4%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Covid19 pandemicSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Health care
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 9%11%7%0%About the right amount 54%52%58%0%Not enough 34%35%32%0%No answer 3%2%3%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Health careSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Policing
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 8%10%6%0%About the right amount 54%52%57%0%Not enough 34%36%30%0%No answer 5%3%6%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-PolicingSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Russian invasion of Ukraine
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 12%15%8%0%About the right amount 53%52%55%0%Not enough 33%32%33%0%No answer 2%1%3%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-Russian invasion of UkraineSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-The Supreme Court
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 13%18%8%0%About the right amount 65%63%69%0%Not enough 20%17%20%0%No answer 2%2%3%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-The Supreme CourtSurvey dates: –How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-The economy
Gender Answer Total Male Female Not listed/non-conforming Unweighted N 1,021 516 490 15 Too much 6%7%5%0%About the right amount 48%44%54%0%Not enough 43%47%39%0%No answer 3%3%3%0%Question wording: How much attention did President Biden give to each of the following issues in his State of the Union address?-The economySurvey dates: –
