Donald Trump agrees to deliver State of the Union address after shutdown ends
Donald Trump will deliver the address after the shutdown ends, after the Democrats blocked him from delivering it in Congress.
US President Donald Trump has announced he will give the State of the Union address after the ongoing government shutdown ends, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi effectively blocked him from delivering the annual speech in Congress.
“As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed,” the president tweeted.
“She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative — I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over.”
President Trump also said he was not looking for an alternative venue because none “can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber,” adding he looked forwarded to giving a “’great’” address “in the near future.”
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
....alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great†State of the Union Address in the near future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
Earlier, President Trump said he planned to look for an alternative venue to deliver the address, after Ms Pelosi demanded he cancel or delay the annual speech.
President Trump’s decision came after he and Ms Pelosi were deadlocked over the address, with Ms Pelosi saying she would not allow the President to deliver the State of the Union in the House of Representatives if the government remains closed.
She was responding to a letter from President Trump saying he planned to deliver the speech in the House regardless of her call last week to delay or cancel it while the government shutdown continued.
In a remarkable escalation of the feud between the two, Ms Pelosi wrote to President Trump shortly after receiving the President’s letter.
“I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorising the president’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened,” Ms Pelosi wrote. “Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened.”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on State of the Union standoff: "Government is still shut down. I still make the offer. Let's work together on a mutually agreeable date." https://t.co/jXMlh5dnx6 pic.twitter.com/9JrBPTNWU5
— ABC News (@ABC) January 23, 2019
Later Ms Pelosi said she did not invite President Trump to speak “Because the government is closed.”
“The government is still shut down. I still make the offer as for the mutually agreeable date … so that we can welcome him properly,” she said.
This morning President Trump appeared to capitulate, saying he would explore alternatives.
“She’s afraid of the super-left Democrats, the radical Democrats. What’s going on in that party is shocking,” he said. He called her refusal “a great blotch on the great country we all love.”
President Trump said he was not surprised by Ms Pelosi’s response.
“I’m not surprised. It’s really a shame what’s happening with the Democrats. They’ve become radicalised,” he responded.
President Trump had written to Ms Pelosi dismissing her claim that there was inadequate security because of the shutdown, and saying he was determined that the speech would go ahead as planned.
“It would be so very sad for our country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!” President Trump said.
His letter is the latest chapter in the running feud between the two. After Mrs Pelosi last week recommended President Trump delay his address, the president denied her the use of military aircraft for a planned trip to Afghanistan to visit US troops.
The White House has canvassed other possible locations for the president to give his speech, which is traditionally a major moment in the spotlight for any president.
It is usually delivered before a joint session of Congress, fulfilling a constitutional requirement that the president give an update on the country “from time to time.” But that requires each chamber to pass a resolution inviting the president to appear. Neither chamber has done so.
The Democrats believe that any State of the Union address given outside the traditional confines of the house will highlight to American voters the scale and importance of the shutdown.
Both President Trump and the Democrats blame each other for the impasse over funding for President Trump’s proposed border wall which has trigger the shutdown which is now in its 32nd day, the longest on record.
Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia
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