Response to the State of the Union address

In American politics, the response to the State of the Union address is a rebuttal speech, usually short, given by a representative (or representatives) of an opposition party after the president's State of the Union address.

The tradition of giving a response to the State of the Union started in 1966, when Republican Senator Everett Dirksen from Illinois and Representative Gerald Ford from Michigan gave a response on TV to Democratic President Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union address.[1] The format of the response has varied, with some responses being a prerecorded 45-minute TV program[2] to a show in 1972 where a group of congressmen answered questions from callers.[1] Starting in the late 1980s, it has usually been a speech on TV given soon after the State of the Union address.[1]

Four presidents have given both a State of the Union address and a response: Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden.[1][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Opposition Responses to the State of the Union Messages (1966-Present)". United States Senate. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York: Basic Books. p. 47. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
  3. ↑ Polus, Sarah (April 28, 2021). "Biden Becomes Just Fourth President to Have Given Both SOTU Rebuttal and Joint Address". The Hill. Retrieved January 9, 2022.