Trump Will Address The U.S. Tuesday Evening On Current #TrumpShutdown

Donald Trump

Donald Trump has announced he will address the country on Tuesday evening regarding the ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government as well as the "Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border."

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

According to The New York Times, it's unclear which news networks will carry the address.

It was not immediately clear which outlets would carry his address. The four major broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC — confirmed receiving the White House request on Monday for Mr. Trump to speak during the 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time slot, but producers had not decided whether to grant him the time. Pre-empting prime-time coverage is an expensive proposition for television executives, who have sold millions of dollars’ worth of advertising against entertainment programming.

The ongoing shutdown is now the 2nd longest in the country's history. Approximately 800,000 federal workers will not get paid this week.

Trump is demanding over $5 billion in funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico, and has refused to sign any government funding bills until he receives those funds.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has publicly stated that the Democrats are in favor of funding technology and staffing for border security, but the president is “not going to get a wall.”

So far, CNN has agreed to air the address, but being a cable news channel it's easier for them to break from regular programming.

NBC News could let cable news outlet MSNBC air Trump's speech and leave the network's primetime lineup intact.

The Times notes that, in the past, primetime presidential addresses have been reserved for announcements of national importance like the killing of Osama bin Laden.

In related news, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Trump will travel to the U.S. Southern border on Thursday "to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis."

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