1981 Inauguration Address By President Ronald Reagan Remains The Most-Watched Ever



Most-Watched Presidential Inauguration in History - Reagans 1981 Speech Breaks Records.Which US Presidential inauguration address was the most-watched of all time?

It wasn't the 2009 address by President Barack Obama.

It wasn't the 2017 address by President Donald Trump.

The most-watched inauguration address of all time belongs to President Ronald Reagan in 1981, as an estimated 41.8 million Americans tuned in to watch his address.

The numbers had been ramping up into the 1981 inauguration address.

In 1969, 27.01 million viewers watched President Nixon deliver his address to the nation.

In 1973, 32.95 million viewers watched President Nixon deliver his second inauguration address to the nation.

In 1977, 34.13 million viewers watched President Jimmy Carter deliver his remarks to the nation.

In 1981, 41.8 million viewers watched President Ronald Reagan deliver his remarks to the nation.

These numbers make sense as the United States was on edge heading into 1981, as the country (and world) was battling high inflation and weak economic growth.

The nation wanted to hear what President Ronald Reagan had to say after he won convincingly in the 1980 US Presidential election against President Jimmy Carter and John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent.

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President Reagan's second inauguration address didn't draw nearly as many viewers, as 25.05 million Americans tuned in to watch. This isn't surprising, as the nation was doing very well at that point - Americans tend to tune in to the inauguration address in droves when the nation is not doing well.

The viewership numbers for the inauguration address continued to lag in the coming years, with less than 30 million viewers tuning in for the addresses from President George H.W. Bush, President Clinton (x2) and President George W. Bush (x2).

The 2009 inauguration address by President Barack Obama bucked this trend, as 37.93 million viewers tuned in to watch him address the nation.

30.64 million Americans tuned in to watch President Trump address the nation in 2017, while 33.8 million Americans watched President Biden's address in 2021.

It should be mentioned that online viewing of the President's inauguration speech likely means that President Reagan's 1981 number will never be topped (unless the way that the ratings are tabulated is changed, of course).

Filed under: General Knowledge

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