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WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a grammatically incorrect tweet on Monday, President Trump announced that he would “address the nation” about what he calls the “humanitarian and national security crisis” on the U.S. Southern Border Tuesday evening at 9PM E.T.
The President, who is embroiled in a shutdown battle of his own making with Democrats in Congress, continues to demand $5.7 Billion in funding for a border wall (which he recently renamed a “steel barrier”) before signing a budget agreement that will reopen the government.
While the address will be carried on cable new channels, the major television networks, (ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC) have reportedly not decided if they will even broadcast the President’s speech.
Requests from the White House for last minute addresses during primetime are rare, and generally center around major national crises or moments in history as giving up airtime is costly. One of the more recent times this occurred was when President Obama addressed the country on the evening of May 2, 2011, following the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.
The President will address the nation from all networks in just three weeks on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 as he delivers the State of the Union to a joint session of Congress.
This current government shutdown, which prompted Trump’s request for this primetime address, has just entered its 17th day and shows signs of ending as hundreds of thousands of federal workers continue to languish without pay.
If the President and Congress cannot find resolution by Friday, it will become the longest shutdown in U.S. history.