President Donald Trump will deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term in office on Tuesday, February 24. The address to the joint session of Congress is scheduled to being at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will air live across U.S. broadcast and news networks.
The SOTU will be the fifth overall for Trump and comes the same year as the U.S. is celebrating its 250th birthday, sure to be a topic Tuesday. There are plenty of other issues facing the country: expected topics include the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, the economy (and how Trump will address the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling against his tariff plan, with SCOTUS members usually in attendance for these speeches), and the buildup of tensions with Iran.
Trump has said to expect a long speech. He’s no strange to those – last year, his address to the joint session of Congress (not technically an SOTU) clocked in at a record 1 hour, 39 minutes.
Watch on Deadline
Below is a rundown on how the major news networks are covering Tuesday’s speech and the traditional opposition party’s response (this year to be made by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger).
You can also watch the SOTU on Deadline via C-SPAN.
ABC
ABC News’ special coverage of the State of the Union address and the Democratic response will air live from 9-11 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming on Disney+, Hulu and ABC News Live. David Muir will anchor a special edition of World News Tonight with David Muir at 6:30 p.m. ET, while George Stephanopoulos will lead pre- and post-show coverage, where he will be joined by Linsey Davis, Mary Bruce, Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl and additional reporters and analysts.
On ABC News Live, Davis will anchor Prime with Linsey Davis at 7 p.m. ET. Kyra Phillips will anchor a special pre-show starting at 8 p.m. ET, followed by network coverage, with Davis returning to anchor a post-show from 11 p.m.-midnight ET.
CNN
CNN’s live on-air special coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET anchored by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper and will air live on CNN and stream on CNN’s All Access subscription streaming service, CNN.com, CNN apps, and connected TV.
Tapper will be joined by Kaitlan Collins and Kasie Hunt live from Washington. Cooper will be live from New York with Abby Phillip, John King, David Axelrod, Kara Swisher and former Rep. Patrick McHenry. Along with reporters at the Capitol and the White House, David Chalian will share results of CNN’s instant poll and Daniel Dale will provide fact-checks. Van Jones and Scott Jennings will appear live from Saginaw, MI, speaking with a panel of swing state voters.
Abby Phillip will lead live continued after the speech at 12:30 a.m. ET.
C-SPAN
On C-SPAN, live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with a preview hosted by Peter Slen with news updates from Greta Brawner. Journalists including New York Post National Politics editor Marisa Schultz, Politico White House reporter Alex Gangitano, Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt, and Spectrum News Washington correspondent Taylor Popielarz will join, as will Clinton administration Communications Director Don Baer. On C-SPAN2 beginning at about 8:45 p.m. ET, viewers will transition from C-SPAN’s coverage to “Sights and Sounds,” without commentary or network anchors. Host John McArdle will provide post-speech reaction.
C-SPAN is also teaming with Chris Cillizza and Chuck Todd for a YouTube “Watch With” beginning at around 8:30 p.m. ET, with the pair providing live analysis alongside C-SPAN’s coverage of the House Chamber, State of the Union Address, and Democratic response. Watch here.
Fox News
Coverage begins at 8:50 p.m. ET on Fox News Channel with Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum anchoring coverage, joined by Dana Perino, Harold Ford, Laura Ingraham, Brit Hume and Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow. At 11 p.m. E, Sean Hannity will host a special edition of Hannity live from the Capitol followed by Fox News @ Night with Trace Gallagher airing midnight -1 a.m. ET. FNC’s coverage will be simulcast on FBN, Fox Nation and Fox One.
Shannon Bream will anchor live coverage on Fox Network beginning at 9 p,m. PT with reporting from Peter Doocy and Chad Pergram, and panelists Kevin Walling and John Ashbrook.
MS NOW
MS NOW’s live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Rachel Maddow anchoring a panel with Nicolle Wallace, Ari Melber, Chris Hayes, Lawrence O’Donnell, Stephanie Ruhle, Jen Psaki, Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Ali Velshi. Reporters will contribute throughout the day as will Claire McCaskill and Michele Norris.
Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels will host a SOTU Watch Party on MS NOW’s YouTube and TikTok, At midnight ET, Sanders Townsend, Steele and Menendez will continue special coverage on the network.
NBC News
Tom Llamas will anchor a special edition of NBC Nightly News at 6:30 p.m. ET leading into live coverage of the speech and Democratic response beginning at 9 p.m. ET across NBC and NBC News Now. He will be joined by Kristen Welker, Hallie Jackson, Peter Alexander and Ryan Nobles. A team of journalists will report from key locations, and Chief Data Analyst Steve Kornacki will also be aboard.
NBC News Now begins live coverage at 4 p.m. ET with special editions of Meet the Press Now (4–5 p.m. ET), Hallie Jackson Now (5–7 p.m. ET) and Top Story with Tom Llamas (7–8 p.m. ET). Welker will anchor post-speech analysis on NBC News Now at 11 p.m. ET.
NewsNation
NewsNation will present special editions of The Hill with Blake Burman at 6 p.m. ET, Elizabeth Vargas Reports anchored by Elizabeth Vargas at 7 p.m. ET, and Cuomo hosted by Chris Cuomo at 8 p.m. ET. Beginning at 9 p.m. ET, Leland Vittert will present a special three-hour broadcast, Special Report: State of the Union, to feature analysis and commentary from Chris Stirewalt, Katie Pavlich, Jesse Weber and other political experts and guests.
NewsNation Digital will carry address and the Democratic response live, with key moments and video available across its YouTube and social platforms.
PBS
PBS News’ coverage starts with its regular 6 p.m. ET broadcast, followed by digital special coverage at 8 p.m. ET before PBS NewsHour co-anchors Amna Nawaz and Geoff Bennett host on-air special coverage at 9 p.m., including a live ASL interpretation. PBS NewsHour‘s live coverage will also stream on its YouTube, X, Facebook and TikTok channels.
Telemundo
Noticias Telemundo’s Julio Vaqueiro will anchor a special edition of the network’s 6:30 p.m. ET newscast and the primetime news special beginning at 8:50 p.m. ET, which will include reporting and analysis from Cristina Londoño, Arantxa Loizaga and a panel of experts.
The special will air live on the Telemundo network and stream on Noticias Telemundo Ahora, Telemundo’s FAST Channel. It will also be available on Noticias Telemundo’s mobile app and social platforms.