President Trump is slated to give his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at 9 p.m. ET. Though Trump has addressed Congress before, this will be his first official State of the Union.
Given recent national discussions surrounding the president’s “shithole” comments, the #MeToo movement (and Trump’s own checkered history with sexual misconduct), and rising tensions with North Korea, it’s not a speech to be missed.
Five top Democratic representatives have already said they will boycott the address: Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Pramila Jayapal of (D-WA), John Lewis (D-GA), Maxine Waters (D-CA), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL), according to The Washington Post. Wilson, who found herself feuding with the president last year, is quoted as saying, "To go would be to honor the president and I don't think he deserves to be honored at this time.”
Wilson was referring, in part, to Trump’s “shithole” comments from earlier this month. This is only one of a laundry list of controversies the president has, if not caused, played a part in.
The Washington Post also reports that female Democratic lawmakers will wear black to express support of the #MeToo movement. “Dozens” of immigrants who received protections under DACA will also be in attendance, at the invitation of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-MD) and others.
Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA), great-nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, will deliver the Democratic rebuttal.
Here’s how to tune in to the address.
How to Watch the State of the Union on TV
The 2018 State of the Union Address is Tuesday January 30, 2018, and will begin at 9 p.m. ET. ABC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox, NBC, and PBS will air the speech.
Those of you who tune into ABC may want to stick around to catch Jimmy Kimmel, who will speak with none other than Stormy Daniels directly after Trump’s address.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a consistent critic of the president, will follow the State of the Union with her own address on BET.
How to Live Stream the State of the Union
If you don’t have a cable login, you can live stream the speech for free online on Twitter, on YouTube via NBC, and on CBSN.
The Daily Beast will also be streaming the address on its Facebook page, and this article.