Late update: The President announced a 9 p.m. ET address scheduled for Tuesday
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
President Donald Trump wants to address the nation and discuss the partial government shutdown he’s caused during prime time on Tuesday night, The New York Times reported Monday.
An unnamed person familiar with the request told the Times the White House had asked networks to carve out time for the address. But the Times’ Michael Grynbaum reported that “at least two” major networks were “still deliberating” whether to give Trump the window, given what could end up being an expressly political statement amid a bitter shutdown now in its 17th day.
TRUMP wants primetime slot tomorrow to talk shutdown, @esullivannyt & @maggieNYT scoop
At least TWO major networks still deliberating – skepticism about handing over airwaves for political statement https://t.co/FznOfqjoXi
— Michael M. Grynbaum (@grynbaum) January 7, 2019
Television networks have refused to air or cut away from Trump speeches before, and the non-stop coverage of Trump’s political rallies, before and after he was elected President, has been criticized as giving Trump’s political messaging an unfairly large platform.
Earlier Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump would be visiting the southern border on Thursday.
President @realDonaldTrump will travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis. More details will be announced soon.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 7, 2019
