The Address was watched by 46.8 million viewers, and aired live on 12 major television networks. Viewership statistics do not include views from online
live streams. There were also 15.2 million interactions regarding the Address on social media.[5]
Background
Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the
United States Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."[6]
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sent an invitation to President
Donald Trump on January 3, 2019, to deliver a "State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 in the House Chamber." The invitation was sent just hours after her election to Speaker of the House.[7][8][9] On January 6, President Trump commented to reporters that "I will be making the State of the Union on January 29. And I look forward to it. I look forward to it. And I look forward to speaking, really, before the world. We have a lot of great things to say."[10][11]
Originally scheduled for January 29,[14] House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, communicated on January 16 that pursuant to the
month-long shutdown of the federal government, citing fears of security concerns regarding unpaid
Secret Service members, the President could reschedule the Address or submit a written State of the Union to Congress.[15][16][17][Notes 1][18] Pelosi formally communicated on January 23 that a resolution authorizing the speech in the House chamber would not be considered until the shutdown had ended.[19] Trump, who had earlier mulled giving the speech in an alternative location,[20] announced he would wait to give the State of the Union Address after the end of the shutdown.[21]
The shutdown was suspended on January 25,[22][Notes 2] and on January 28, Pelosi issued an invitation for Trump to deliver the Address in the Capitol Building on February 5, 2019.[23] On the same day, Trump accepted Pelosi's proposed date.[24][25]
Address
The State of the Union Address was given at 9:00 p.m.
EST on February 5, 2019. President Trump began the address without an introduction from Speaker Pelosi, breaking with a SOTU custom.[26] During the speech, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sat behind Trump.
U.S. Secretary of EnergyRick Perry was named the
designated survivor and was at an undisclosed location during the address so that, in case of a catastrophe, the
continuity of government would be upheld.[13]
During the address, President Trump announced his
next summit with North Korean leader
Kim Jong-un. The summit took place on February 27–28, 2019 in
Vietnam.[27]
In his Address, Trump asserted that "The savage gang
MS-13 now operates in at least 20 different American states and they almost all come through our southern border... Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting on a subway platform in New York City. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border, they are going to keep streaming right back in."[28][29]The Washington Post fact checker found that MS-13 is active primarily in
Los Angeles,
Long Island (New York), and the
Washington, D.C. metro area. The Washington Post also concluded that 1,332 illegal alien members of MS-13 were deported in fiscal year 2018.[30]
Each member of Congress is allowed to bring one guest and several Democratic members of Congress brought various guests to send a message.[32] Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brought a sexual assault survivor,[33]Pramila Jayapal brought a
climate change scientist,[34] and
Ilhan Omar brought an undocumented immigrant threatened with deportation.[35]
Joseph Reilly – The night before American soldiers stormed the beaches of
Normandy, Reilly and the
101st Airborne Division parachuted behind enemy lines. He and his fellow soldiers helped secure Utah Beach and the first foothold in America's liberation of Western Europe. Reilly also fought in
Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the battle of the
Ruhr Pocket.[37]
Irving Locker – American veteran Irving Locker landed at Utah Beach on
D-Day with the 116th AAA gun battalion. He fought through five major battles of
World War II, including the Battle of the Bulge, and later helped liberate a Holocaust concentration camp.[37]
Joshua Kaufman – Kaufman endured the horrors of
Auschwitz and survived the Dachau Concentration Camp, where he was saved by American soldiers which included Herman Zeitchik. By the end of the war, Joshua had lost most of his family. He left Europe for Israel in 1949 and joined the
Israel Defense Forces, fighting in several wars.[37]
Matthew Charles – In 1996, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling
crack cocaine and other related offenses. While in prison, Charles found
God, completed more than 30
Bible studies, became a
law clerk, taught
GED classes, and mentored fellow inmates. On January 3, 2019, Charles was the first prisoner released as a result of the
First Step Act.
Polls conducted by
CBS gauged approval of speech, viewership, among other things. A poll by CBS found 76% of people approved of the speech.[48] Another poll by CBS based on party identification found that 43% of Republicans, 24% of Democrats, and 30% of Independents watched the address.[48] Another poll based on party identification found that 97% of Republicans, 30% of Democrats, and 82% of Independents approved the message of the speech.[48]
Polls conducted by
CNN gauged approval of speech, policy approval, among other things.[49] 59% of viewers approved the President's address.[49] 71% of viewers thought that the President's policies were moving the country in the right direction; 76% on economy, 70% on trade and national security, 68% on immigration, and 65% on taxes.[49]
Fundraising by Trump's 2020 campaign
A fundraising effort by Trump's
2020 campaign on the days leading to the address and on the day of the address raised $2.4 million from 76,000 donors. His campaign displayed names of donors on a live streaming broadcast of the event on Donald Trump's Facebook page. This is comparable to fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign that occurred during the 2018 address that similarly included the display of names of donors on a streaming broadcast online.[50]
^In Pelosi's January 16 letter, she wrote that in September 2018,
Secretary of Homeland SecurityKirstjen Nielsen had designated State of the Union Addresses as
National Special Security Event (NSSEs) in 2018 to ensure adequate security for the events which requires weeks of preparation. Nielsen responded by saying DHS was "fully prepared" for the Address.
^The terms of ending the shutdown allow three weeks for Congress to negotiate and potentially pass a new funding bill. Failure to pass a bill by that deadline could result in another shutdown.
Written message with national radio address * Split into multiple parts
† Included a detailed written supplement
‡ Not officially a "State of the Union" Presidents
William Henry Harrison (1841) and
James Garfield (1881) died in office before delivering a State of the Union