How to watch President Trump’s first address to Congress live for free
President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight for the first time since his second term began. This is technically not a State of the Union speech, but we’ll get into all that and how to watch it live below:
A brief history of the State of the Union
American presidents are constitutionally mandated to give updates to Congress about the state of the union. The exact number and timing of these progress reports are not specified.
In recent history, presidents tend to tackle this duty in late January or early February. George Washington set the precedent of giving a speech to a joint session of Congress and his successor, John Adams, followed his example.
Thomas Jefferson broke this tradition and gave his updates via a written report because he didn’t want to appear like a monarch. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson revived the in-person speech. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge brought the address to the radio. The first televised address was given by Harry Truman in 1947.
Why isn’t tonight’s speech a state of the union?
It’s a case of semantics. Because this is the first year of President Trump’s second term, which just started not even two months ago, this is officially considered a joint address, even though the speech will be similar to a State of the Union. House Speaker Mike Johnson invited Trump via a letter sent in late January. Next year will be his first official State of the Union.
What will Trump talk about?
Given Trump’s unpredictable nature, truly anything can happen. There are prominent issues that will most likely be covered, one of which involves a possible government shutdown.
Federal funding is set to expire on March 14 with no clear plan in place to move forward. On February 27, Trump took to Truth Social and blamed former president Joe Biden for the lack of budget. Additionally, he endorsed a continuing resolution that would fund the government until September.
Historically, presidents use their State of the Union or joint address speeches to ask Congress for support in carrying out their political agenda. President Trump does this less frequently than his predecessors.
According to their book, Addressing the State of the Union, coauthors Donna R. Hoffman and Alison D. Howard say that Trump never made more than 24 requests in his speeches, while the average is 31. Instead, Trump began his second term by issuing a record-breaking number of executive orders, some of which are already being challenged in court.
Critics also believe that the creation of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, may be unconstitutional, since Musk was not confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, Trump’s quest to cut government spending is also on shaky constitutional grounds, because Congress is supposed to control the purse strings.
Other diplomatic issues, such as newly imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada and Trump’s Oval Office disagreement with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, might make the cut as well.
How can I watch or stream Trump’s speech tonight?
The speech is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET, but most networks will have some sort of preshow coverage. (C-SPAN’s coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.)
Those with an over-the-air antenna or traditional cable subscription can tune into the network of their choosing.
For those who cut the cord, live-TV streaming services that carry TV networks as part of a bundle will have the speech. Those include:
Fubo
Sling
YouTube TV
Hulu + Live TV
Free live-streaming services from the major TV networks are another way to watch the speech. Those include:
NBC News Now
ABC News Live
CBS News Streaming Network
Additionally, NPR will cover the speech on your local station and the NPR app. It will also be broadcasting on YouTube as well as PBS NewsHour, which is embedded below.
Immediately following Trump’s address, the Democrats will have their chance to weigh in. (Which is the case with a presidential address to Congress; the opposing party gives a rebuttal.) Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan was selected to address the president’s speech in English, while Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York’s 13th congressional district will respond in Spanish. Also, Rep. Lateefah Simon of California’s 12th district, technically a Democrat, will be speaking for the Working Families Party.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings