1986 State of the Union Address

The 1986 State of the Union address was given by President Ronald Reagan to a joint session of the 99th United States Congress on February 4, 1986. The speech was the second State of the Union address of President Reagan's second term.

Reagan was the only president to have postponed his State of the Union Address. On January 28, 1986, he planned to give his address, but after learning of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, he postponed it for a week and addressed the nation on the day's events. This was the only time that the State of the Union address had to be postponed because of a catastrophe.

The speech lasted approximately 31 minutes and contained 3,514 words. The address was broadcast live on radio and television.

The Democratic Party response was delivered by Senator George Mitchell (ME), Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods (MO), Gov. Charles Robb (VA), Rep. Thomas Daschle (SD) and Rep. William Gray (PA)

John Block, the Secretary of Agriculture, served as the designated survivor.