SOTU 2018: Where & When to Watch Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address

President Donald J. Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress
Jim Lo Scalzo - Pool/Getty Images
President Donald J. Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on February 28, 2017

President Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union 2018 address—his first ever—before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, beginning at 9 p.m. ET. (President Trump did address both chambers of Congress shortly after his 2017 inauguration, but that speech was technically not a “State of the Union” address.)

As with much of the president’s first year in office, this evening won’t entirely be business as usual, as some Democratic members of Congress have planned various ways of protesting Trump’s speech. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), and others plan to avoid the address entirely.

Meanwhile, members of the Democratic Women’s Working Group—led by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and inspired by what Hollywood stars did at the recent Golden Globes ceremony—are using the occasion to call attention to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. To show solidarity with survivors of sexual harassment and violence—not only in Hollywood and politics, but in all walks of life—they will wear black to the address, and are encouraging women and men from all sides to do the same.

What will be usual for this speech, is that plenty of TV networks will be on hand with live coverage of the president’s address, as well as the Democratic response, which will be delivered by Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.).

Here are some places you can watch and listen (some network details weren’t immediately available; this post will be updated as more information comes in):

State of the Union 2018 TV Coverage, Tuesday, Jan. 30 (All Times Eastern)

ABC News

From 9-11 p.m., George Stephanopoulos leads broadcast coverage from Washington, D.C., with World News Tonight anchor David Muir, chief global affairs correspondent and This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz, Nightline anchor Byron Pitts and special correspondent Matthew Dowd offering insights on what to expect from the speech, and reporting on news following the remarks.

Reporting from the Capitol will be chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl in the House Chamber, senior White House correspondent Cecilia Varga at the Russell Balcony and senior congressional correspondent Mary Bruce from National Statuary Hall. Political analyst Cokie Roberts, The View co-host Meghan McCain and contributors Alex Castellanos and Stephanie Cutter will provide analysis throughout the night.

ABCNews.com will offer SOTU pre- and post-livestream coverage beginning at 8:15pm.

BBC World News

For those interested in an international perspective on the State of the Union address, this network offers live coverage beginning at 9 p.m.

BET

A day after the State of the Union address, on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 10 p.m., BET will air a special called Angela Rye’s State of the Union. Here, “political truth teller” Angela Rye will offer her own rebuttal to the president’s speech. This hourlong special will be highlighted by a national address from Rep. Maxine Waters, an outspoken critic of President Trump.

Bloomberg TV

Bloomberg will feature live coverage beginning at 9 p.m.

C-SPAN Networks

C-SPAN programming begins at 8 p.m., with Greta Brawner and Peter Slen previewing the speech with experts and taking viewer phone calls, tweets and Facebook comments. Former House Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood will provide firsthand information on the choreography and security leading up to the president’s arrival on the House floor. This pre-coverage will air live on C-SPAN and C-SPAN.org.

Complete coverage of the president’s speech will air live and in its entirety at 9 p.m.. C-SPAN will then show the Democratic response live and in its entirety. Afterward, Greta Brawner and Peter Slen will take audience reaction calls, tweets and Facebook comments.

Following the speech, C-SPAN2 will be in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol getting reaction from members of Congress. C-SPAN will re-air the State of the Union address in its entirety at 11pm.

CBS News

CBS News will broadcast live, primetime coverage of the address and the Democratic response from 9-11 p.m. on CBS, CBSN live-stream and all CBS News platforms.

CBS This Morning co-hosts Norah O’Donnell, John Dickerson and Gayle King will anchor CBS broadcast network coverage from New York, with CBS Evening News anchor Jeff Glor at the U.S. Capitol. CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor will originate from the Capitol Tuesday (6:30-7:00 p.m.) with special coverage ahead of the speech. 

CBSN will stream coverage throughout the day across all platforms. CBSN anchor Elaine Quijano and CBS This Morning Saturday co-host Alex Wagner will anchor CBSN’s special coverage from New York beginning at 5 p.m. A full wrap-up and analysis of the speech will stream at 11 p.m.

CBS Late-Night

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air a live broadcast following the president’s State of the Union address, at 11:35 p.m. on CBS (tape-delayed PT). Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett—the hosts of Pod Save America—and Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson of 2 Dope Queens will join Colbert. Chris Stapleton will be the night’s musical guest.

CNBC

The business network will live-stream the address at CNBC.com, and on the CNBC Facebook page.

CNN

Beginning at 7 p.m., anchors Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper lead CNN’s special SOTU coverage, with Dana Bash reporting from Statuary Hall and John King providing analysis at the CNN Magic Wall. CNN’s morning and daytime programming, beginning with New Day with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota, will precede primetime coverage live from the nation’s capital. Special editions of Erin Burnett OutFront and Anderson Cooper 360 will also broadcast live from the network’s Washington bureau.

The special programming will also be live-streamed in its entirety to CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps. Coverage can also be viewed on CNNgo.

Comedy Central

Comedy Central’s late-night series The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper will go live following the president’s speech, providing instant analysis and commentary in back-to-back episodes airing at 11-11:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.-midnight, respectively.

Fox (broadcast network)

Fox News Channel’s Shepard Smith anchors separate live coverage beginning at 9 p.m. from Capitol Hill. Analysis will be provided by RealClearPolitics’ A.B. Stoddard, along with reports from FNC correspondent Peter Doocy from outside the Capitol.

Fox Business Network

Lou Dobbs will kick off coverage at 7 p.m. with a special edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight live from Washington, D.C. at 8 p.m., Neil Cavuto will lead the network’s primetime coverage with a special edition of CAVUTO Coast to Coast. Joining Cavuto to discuss the economic and political impact of the address will be Dobbs, alongside FBN’s Maria Bartiromo and Trish Regan. Additionally, FBN’s Washington correspondents Blake Burman and Connell McShane will be reporting from the White House and Capitol Hill, respectively.

At 11pm, Regan will host a special primetime edition of The Intelligence Report with Trish Regan, where she’ll be joined by a rotating panel of industry experts to get the political and international market reaction to the address.

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, Bartiromo will anchor a special edition of Mornings with Maria (6-9 a.m.), live from Washington, D.C., where she’ll interview leading politicos and business titans for their reaction to the address ahead of the market open.

Fox News Channel

FNC will present live coverage of the State of the Union address and the Democratic response beginning at 9 p,m.. Special Report‘s Bret Baier and The Story‘s Martha MacCallum will co-anchor the coverage, which will include analysis from FOX News Sunday‘s Chris Wallace, senior political analyst Brit HumeThe Daily Briefing‘s Dana Perino, The Five‘s Juan Williams, digital politics editor Chris Stirewait and contributor Marie Harf. Additionally chief White House correspondent John Roberts and chief congressional correspondent Mike Emanuel will provide live reports from the White House and National Statuary Hall, respectively.

MSNBC

MSNBC will feature daylong coverage previewing the president’s speech, leading into live primetime coverage of the address. The primetime coverage begins at 8 p.m. and will be led by Rachel Maddow and Brian Williams from historic Rockefeller Center in New York City. They will be joined by Chris Matthews, Chris Hayes, Lawrence O’Donnell, Nicolle Wallace, Joy Reid, Steve Schmidt, Eugene Robinson and more, with live reports from NBC News’ White House and Capitol Hill teams on the ground in Washington, D.C. Kristen Welker will be the lead White House reporter for MSNBC’s coverage. The network’s live in-depth analysis of the president’s address continues later in the evening, with Chris Matthews at 12 a.m. and Steve Kornacki at 1 a.m.

NBC News

Beginning at 9 p.m., Lester Holt will lead live NBC News coverage of the State of the Union address. Holt will be joined by TODAY co-anchor and chief legal analyst Savannah Guthrie, NBC News political director Chuck Todd, Megyn Kelly TODAY anchor Megyn Kelly, special correspondent Tom Brokaw and chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell. Chief White House correspondent Hallie Jackson will contribute to the coverage from the White House, and Capitol Hill correspondent Kasie Hunt will report from inside the House Chamber at the Capitol.

Lester Holt will also anchor NBC Nightly News from Washington earlier that evening, while NBC’s TODAY will feature NBC News national correspondent Peter Alexander covering the State of the Union on Tuesday, Jan. 30, and Wednesday, Jan. 31.

Starting at 8 p.m., national political correspondent Steve Kornacki and correspondent Katy Tur will host special State of the Union digital coverage for NBC News, live-streaming on YouTube.

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour will air a special primetime broadcast for the State of the Union from 9-11 p.m.. Managing editor Judy Woodruff will anchor the broadcast, with correspondents Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa DesJardins reporting live from the White House and U.S. Capitol, respectively. Joining Woodruff in studio will be New York Times columnist David Brooks; syndicated columnist Mark Shields; the Cook Political Report’s Amy Walter; chair of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp; and senior advisor and national spokesperson for MoveOn Karine Jean-Pierre.

NewsHour‘s coverage will extend online at pbs.org/newshour, as well as at its social platforms on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Ustream.

Reuters TV

Free streaming of the State of the Union is available at https://www.reuters.tv/live, Reuters TV iOS and Android apps, Roku and Fire TV.

Telemundo

Noticias Telemundo presents its live coverage, “Trump, el Estado de la Nación,” beginning at 9 p.m. Noticias Telemundo anchor José Díaz-Balart will lead the network’s coverage. The president’s speech will be translated simultaneously into Spanish and will stream live on NoticiasTelemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, as well as via the Noticias Telemundo mobile app.

“The first year of Trump’s Presidency has been critical for U.S. Latinos,” said Díaz-Balart in a release. “Immigration policy, the future of Dreamers, the building of a border wall, unemployment, health care. The president’s words could have enormous consequences for our community.” 

Univision

Univision’s live coverage, “Estado de la Unión 2018,” begins at 8:50 p.m. Jorge Ramos and Ilia Calderón will lead the coverage from the Univision studios in Miami, while Enrique Acevedo and Patricia Janiot will follow the event from Univision’s new studio in Washington D.C. Felix de Bedout, together with Carolina Sarassa, Javier Olivares and the Univision News digital data team, will be fact-checking President Trump’s speech; Arantxa Loizaga will manage the Word Cloud, highlighting the words most repeated by the president in his address.

Additionally, Univision News correspondents Janet Rodriguez and Claudia Uceda will report from the White House and the Capitol, respectively. At the University of Texas at Arlington, correspondent Pedro Rojas will moderate a discussion with a group of Dreamers and young Hispanic supporters of President Trump.

Univision will also live-stream coverage on UnivisionNoticias.com, Univision Noticias’ YouTube channel, Facebook.com/univisionnoticias, and Periscope.

White House Live-Stream and YouTube Channel

WhiteHouse.gov will air a live-stream of the speech, as will the White House’s YouTube channel.