Like it or not, public speaking is a big part of any leader’s job description, and even heads of state are not immune. President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening (March 4, 2025) for the first time since his second term began. It 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, 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. It is expected that 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 Hoffman and Howard, he 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 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 stage is set for an intriguing night of political theater. The speech is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET, but most networks will have some sort of pre-show coverage. (C-SPAN’s coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET.)
Those with an over-the-air antenna or traditional cable subscription, you can tune into the network of your 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 easy way to watch the speech if you’re not paying for cable. 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 will PBS NewsHour, which is also embedded below.
Immediately following Trump’s address, the Democrats will get their chance to weigh in. Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan will do the honors in English. Representative Adriano Espaillat of New York’s 13th congressional district will respond in Spanish. Representative Lateefah Simon of California’s 12th district, technically a Democrat, is also speaking for the Working Families Party.