when did the state of the union response start
Response to the State of the Union address The practice began in 1966 when Republican U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (Illinois) and U.S. Representative Gerald Ford (Michigan) appeared on TV to offer a response to the address by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson.[1] The opposition party's response has varied in format, ranging from a prerecorded 45-minute TV program in 1970[2] to a call-in show in 1972 where a panel of congressmen answered unrehearsed questions from callers.[1] Since the late 1980s, it usually has been a televised speech given soon after the State of the Union address.[1]