Why Watch/listen To State Of The Union Address

Will Trump take his State of the Union address directly to the American people via streaming?

He may address the American people, and he may call it the State of the Union Speech, but it won’t be.The State of the Union Speech is actually a fairly modern (and unfortunate) invention. The Constitution gives the President the duty to report to Congress “from time to time” on “the state of the Union.” There’s no requirement it be a speech, and no specific requirement on how often or when. Our first presidents actually delivered their State of the Union reports in written form, and the reports are fascinatingly intelligent reading, by contrast with the clown circus that the State of the Union speech has become.But it ain’t a State of the Union speech if it isn’t delivered before Congress.Of course, Trump could deliver it in written form to Congress whether Congress likes it or not. That would actually be a case of Trump doing something right (albeit not necessarily for the right reasons.)

Do you ever watch Trump's state of the union addresses? I have never even seen one and don't plan on it.

Your ignorance is showing - might want to cover that up. Trump has only given one state of the union address, at the beginning of 2018. I would suggest altering the question to reflect that.While I can understand why someone would prefer to not watch the State of the Union address live (because high viewer numbers generally suggests the president is doing well) willful ignorance is not something to be proud of. If you only see the snippets from echoing chamber news sources you're just succumbing to tribalism and confirmation bias.It is true that Trump's first SotU was filled with lies, and he whined immediately after that Democrats didn't stand and applaud his subjective "wins" for America. And I can understand why people who disagree with him find it so difficult to listen to him.However, I've found it's always better to be informed. So instead of sticking my fingers in my ears like a child and yelling, "Trump is a liar, you stupid Republican!" I can have an honest discussion about what he said - what's true, what's not true (and why not true), and what's subjective (or distortions of the facts). It serves to better the country, rather than divide it more.And hey… Just maybe if you get in an honest discussion about something where facts are presented, discussed, and QCed on both sides, you and the person you're talking to may come to understand the subject even better than when you began. And if you're right, the other person may be willing to support your side of the argument next time they talk with Trump supporters.

Why is Donald Trump delaying the 2019 State of the Union Speech, and how will that help?

First, you need to understand that trump does not concern himself with “helping” in fact he's more likely to do something that aggravates things.So if you're asking what delaying his little speach is supposed to accopolish, this is all about Nancy Pelosi spanking him. Again.I didn't know he delayed the state of the union address, I thought he just accepted that he wasn't going to give it in Pelosis's house like good presidents do. I'm just fine with him delaying it or not doing it at all. He gets entirely too much attention.Personally, I can't stand the man to the point that I can't watch/listen to him for more than 30 seconds and even 30 seconds turns me wretched and foul so I won't be tuning in. Its not like I don't already know what the state of our union is. Its not like I don't already know what will spew forth from his face hole. “Me me me me. I'm so great don't you love me” along with a nice assortment of ridiculous lies and offensive statements topped off with a big whinefest about how unfair he's been treated.Tell me I'm wrong. Its his M.O. Its an established pattern. Brag and boast. Take credit for Obama's achievements. Followed by some easily refuted lies then piss and moan about how the democrats don't play fair.

Did fewer people watch Obama's 2014 State of the Union than average viewership for an address like this? If so, what does this suggest about the current state of American politics and the involvement of the people?

I think it's important to keep this in context.  The audience for any type of "big" TV event has been dropping steadily since the 1980s-90s.  TV is becoming less and less a mass culture.  For example: look at the viewership for the World Series (blue) and NBA finals (red):Here's the recent Olympics:The only major TV event that's been going up is the Superbowl - and actually not proportionally.  Look at this:So even the superbowl is flat when you consider percentage of population - 90 million in 1986 (population 240 million) is more impressive than 107 million in 2014 (population 310 million) That's a decline from 37% of the population watching the superbowl to 34%).  The top watched programs in the US in 2013 were Sunday Night Football which got an average of about 22 million viewers.  Also, NCIS, for whatever reason is in that 20-23 million range (why???).  Still, 20 million is a small number proportionally speaking.  That was the kind of viewership the Cosby Show got on a regular basis in the 1980s when the population was smaller.  Today - 3-4 million for a cable show and 7-8 million for a network show are really good numbers.So, I look at President Obama's state of the union ratings in that context.  At 32-33 million viewers, it's still one of the most watched events.