President Donald Trump will address the nation tonight and is expected to talk about immigration and the country’s southern border.
On Monday night the president announced he would address the nation to discuss the “humanitarian and national security crisis.”
I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2019
Trump’s address will take place at 8pm CT.
The president’s border wall funding has been a major piece of contention as lawmakers try and negotiate an end to the partial government shutdown.
Democrats have asked for the networks to air a rebuttal of Trump’s address. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Democrats should be given “equal airtime” as the president.
“Now that the television networks have decided to air the president’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime,” Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement. “On day one of the new Congress, the House passed bipartisan legislation that honors our responsibility to protect the American people with funding for smart, effective border security solutions–just not the president’s wasteful and ineffective wall.
Now that the television networks have decided to air the President’s address, which if his past statements are any indication will be full of malice and misinformation, Democrats must immediately be given equal airtime.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 8, 2019
My statement with @SpeakerPelosi: pic.twitter.com/KIQPrdXEeg
Vice President Mike Pence has said the White House has been exploring the legality of declaring a national emergency regarding the border wall, Reuters reported on Monday. It’s not known if Trump will declare a national emergency on air.
How to watch Trump’s border speech
The White House will livestream Trump’s speech on its YouTube channel starting just before 8pm CT.
You can watch it live here:
C-SPAN is also livestreaming the address. You can watch that livestream here.
Major networks including NBC, CBS, PBS, ABC, and Fox have said they will broadcast Trump’s speech as well, despite debate about whether the president should be given airtime over such a divisive issue, where people expect him to issue falsehoods and use inflammatory rhetoric.
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