Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday night gave his second State of the Union address, one week after he originally was invited to deliver it but didn’t because of the longest-ever government shutdown.
It was the first State of the Union address Trump delivered before a divided Congress. Last year, the Senate and House were controlled by the president’s own Republican party. This year, Democrats re-took the House.
Trump also delivered his address to a House chamber filled with more women and people of color than ever before. During the speech, there was a brief moment of unity propelled by congresswomen in white and their allies show solidarity with the women’s suffrage movement.
The speech came at a particularly tense period for Trump and Congress as it’s been just a week since the government reopened after a 35-day shutdown and there are only 10 days until the government will shut down yet again if the president and Congress don’t come to an agreement on border security.
The Democratic response, which followed the speech, came from Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the Party who ran for governor of Georgia in 2018.
Abrams is the first African-American woman to give the speech responding to the presidential address, according to all archival research on the speech from both the House and Senate historian offices.
Follow along for updates below.
10:29 p.m.: Trump finishes speech with echoes of ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan
“This is our future – our fate – and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness. No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together,” the president said.
“Thank you. God Bless You, God Bless America, and Goodnight,” he ended, about an hour-and-a-half after he began.
10:20 p.m.: Chamber sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to Holocaust survivor from Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue
Judah Samet, who turns 81 Tuesday, stood smiling as Congress abruptly broke into “Happy Birthday.”
Samet, who survived 10 months in a concentration camp during WWII, also survived a shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue where 11 people were killed by a gunman in October.
10:19 p.m.: ABC News partner FiveThirtyEight analyzes the president’s foreign policy
The journalists over at ABC News partner FiveThirtyEight are analyzing the president’s foreign policy following the North Korea summit announcement.
10:13 p.m.: Trump says administration is making progress in talks with Taliban
Trump, who announced in recent months that he would be pulling troops out of Afghanistan and Syria, said talks with “a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban,” are going well.
“As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counter-terrorism,” Trump said.
“We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement — but we do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace. And the other side would also like to see peace,” Trump said.
On Monday, the Senate voted against withdrawing troops from Syria and Afghanistan, breaking with plans abruptly tweeted by the president in December. The Senate warned a withdrawal would be “precipitous.”
10:09 p.m.: Trump announces dates for second North Korea summit
Trump announced a date for the next peace summit between North Korea and the United States during his State of the Union speech — February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.
“If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one,” Trump said. “Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.”
The last summit, held in June in Singapore, promised “complete denuclearization” — but recent U.N. reports found North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are still intact.
10:00 p.m.: Young cancer survivor Grace brings those in the chamber to their feet
The president introduced Grace, a young girl who has been raising money for cancer on her birthday every year since she was four. She didn’t know one day she would be a recipient of the treatments she’d worked to support, the president said, but was diagnosed with brain cancer last year.
“When Grace completed treatment last fall, her doctors and nurses cheered — they loved her, they still love her — with tears in their eyes as she hung up a poster that read, ‘Last day of Chemo,’” Trump said. “Thank you very much Grace — you are a great inspiration to us all.”
Trump announced he would ask Congress for $500 million dollars over the next 10 years to fund research into childhood cancers that have not seen new therapies in decades, the president said.
9:55 p.m.: Trump calls for Congress to pass USMCA, replacement of NAFTA
“For years, politicians promised [Americans] they would renegotiate for a better deal. But no one ever tried — until now. Our new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement – USMCA – will replace NAFTA and deliver for American workers like they haven’t had delivered to for a long time,” Trump said.
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, is a deal between the three countries signed at the G20 Summit in November.
“I hope you can pass the USMCA into law so that we can bring back our manufacturing jobs in even greater numbers, expanding American agriculture, protect intellectual property, and ensure that more cars are proudly stamped with our four beautiful words: Made in the USA,” Trump said.
Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto have all signed the new deal, but it still needs to be approved by each country’s government.
9:49 p.m.: A moment of unity propelled by women in white
Many of the Democratic women lawmakers in white stood for the first time when the president spoke about progress made by women. They gave a loud standing ovation, bringing a smile to Pelosi’s face.
“No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year,” Trump said, triggering the applause.
“You weren’t supposed to do that,” Trump said to the group. “Don’t sit yet — you’re going to like this.”
“Exactly one century after Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in Congress than ever before,” Trump said to loud cheers and bipartisan chants of “U.S.A.”
9:33 p.m.: State of the Union fact check: What President Donald Trump is claiming
Our team of journalists from ABC News is fact-checking some of President Donald Trump’s statements, looking for additional context, detail and information. Here is ABC News’ fact check of the address.
9:27 p.m.: Trump speaks of Alice Johnson, the woman released from jail after pleas from Kim Kardashian
Trump said he heard through “friends” — namely, reality television star Kim Kardashian West — about the story of Alice Johnson, a woman who was in prison for almost 22 years for non-violent drug charges.
Trump commuted her sentence in June and Johnson is in attendance at the speech tonight.
“Alice’s story underscores the disparities and unfairness that can exist in criminal sentencing — and the need to remedy this injustice,” Trump said. “When I saw Alice’s beautiful family greet her at the prison gates, hugging and kissing and crying and laughing, I knew I did the right thing.
Trump’s bipartisan criminal justice reform act, the First Step Act, was recently signed into law.
9:23 p.m.: Chants of ‘USA’ from Republicans
“That sounds so good,” Trump said, veering off script in reaction to the standing ovation and chants, largely from Republicans, of “U.S.A.”
The applause came after Trump’s comments about the strength of the country: “After 24 months of rapid progress, our economy is the envy of the world, our military is the most powerful on earth, and America is winning each and every day. Members of Congress: the State of our Union is strong. Our country is vibrant and our economy is thriving like never before.”
9:12 p.m.: Trump introduces Buzz Aldrin, says Americans will go back to space
“Half a century later, we are joined by one of the Apollo 11 astronauts who planted that flag: Buzz Aldrin,” the president said as he introduced the astronaut. Aldrin sits near First Lady Melania Trump.
“This year American astronauts will go back to space on American rockets,” Trump said.
The president also introduced WWII veterans Private First Class Joseph Reilly, Staff Sergeant Irving Locker, and Sergeant Herman Zeitchik.
9:10 p.m.: The president’s first major applause line
“Victory is not winning for our party victory is winning for our country,” the president said at the beginning of his speech. He received a standing ovation from members of Congress and Vice President Mike Pence, sitting behind him beside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
9:07 p.m.: The speech begins
The State of the Union address has begun. It’s expected to be over an hour long and followed by a response from Democrat Stacey Abrams.
8:56 p.m.: Energy Secretary Rick Perry is the designated survivor
Perry is in an undisclosed location in case of an attack or disaster that would leave top government officials gathered at the Capitol incapacitated.
The pool of choices for the “designated survivor” is smaller this year because of the many vacancies in the administration. Read more here.
8:50 p.m.: Trump arrives
The president has arrived at the Capitol to give his second State of the Union speech.
The Trump family is already seated. Notably, Don Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle and Tiffany Trump are both wearing white dresses — the same dress code chosen by many lawmakers in a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.
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