It is being reported by both by both Washington Post and the (ugh!) NY Times that over 32 million people watched the address.This is up by about 18% from the 2023 audience. This seems to give credence to those who opined that as the election gets closer, the electorate will become more engaged. It is worth noting that this only counts those who watched it on broadcast or cable television and doesn’t take into account those who, like myself, watched it via internet streaming.
Furthermore, according to a CNN poll over 6 in 10 people who watched the speech had a positive reaction and noted that he appears to have improved his standing with independent voters.