The 2019 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, on February 5, 2019, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

to the

116th United States Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...

. It was Trump's second

State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...

and his third speech to a

joint session of the United States Congress A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on ...

during his first term. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker,

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...

, accompanied by

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, the

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, in his capacity as the

president of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

. It was the first address to a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives since 2010. The Democratic Response was given by 2018 Georgia Gubernatorial Nominee

Stacey Abrams Stacey Yvonne Abrams (; born December 9, 1973) is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, serving as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. A member ...

and the Spanish-language response was given by

California Attorney General The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). The ...

and former U.S. Representative

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...

. The Address was watched by 46.8 million viewers, and aired live on 12 major television networks. Viewership statistics do not include views from online live streams. There were also 15.2 million interactions regarding the Address on social media.

Background

Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sent an invitation to President

on January 3, 2019, to deliver a "State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 in the House Chamber." The invitation was sent just hours after her election to Speaker of the House. On January 6, President Trump commented to reporters that "I will be making the State of the Union on January 29. And I look forward to it. I look forward to it. And I look forward to speaking, really, before the world. We have a lot of great things to say." The

Cabinet of Donald Trump Cabinet of Donald Trump may refer to: *First cabinet of Donald Trump (2017–2021) *Second cabinet of Donald Trump (2025–present) {{disambiguation with potential, about=the cabinets of Donald Trump Presidencies of Donald Trump ...

, the heads of the 14 of 15 executive departments,

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

, the nine sitting Supreme Court justices, and members of Congress were invited to attend. Fifteen guests chosen by First Lady

Melania Trump Melania Knauss Trump (born Melanija Knavs, April26, 1970) is a Slovenian and American former model who is married to U.S. President Donald Trump. Since 2025, Melania Trump has served as the first lady of the United States, a role she previous ...

were present in the gallery. Energy Secretary

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 in the first administration of Donald Trump. He previously served as the 47th governor of Texas fr ...

was not in attendance as he was named the

designated survivor In the United States, a designated survivor (or designated successor) is a person in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others in the line when they are gathered together, to reduce the chance that everyone in the line ...

Postponement

Originally scheduled for January 29, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, communicated on January 16 that pursuant to the month-long shutdown of the federal government, citing fears of security concerns regarding unpaid

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

members, the President could reschedule the Address or submit a written State of the Union to Congress.In Pelosi's January 16 letter, she wrote that in September 2018,

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

Kirstjen Nielsen Kirstjen Michele Nielsen (; born May 14, 1972) is an American attorney who served as United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019. She is a former White House Deputy Chief of Staff, principal White House deputy chief of staff ...

had designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special Security Event (NSSEs) in 2018 to ensure adequate security for the events which requires weeks of preparation. Nielsen responded by saying DHS was "fully prepared" for the Address. Pelosi formally communicated on January 23 that a resolution authorizing the speech in the House chamber would not be considered until the shutdown had ended. Trump, who had earlier mulled giving the speech in an alternative location, announced he would wait to give the State of the Union Address after the end of the shutdown. The shutdown was suspended on January 25,The terms of ending the shutdown allow three weeks for Congress to negotiate and potentially pass a new funding bill. Failure to pass a bill by that deadline could result in another shutdown. and on January 28, Pelosi issued an invitation for Trump to deliver the Address in the Capitol Building on February 5, 2019. On the same day, Trump accepted Pelosi's proposed date.

Address

The State of the Union Address was given at 9:00 p.m. EST on February 5, 2019. President Trump began the address without an introduction from Speaker Pelosi, breaking with a SOTU custom. During the speech, Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sat behind Trump.

U.S. Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

was named the

and was at an undisclosed location during the address so that, in case of a catastrophe, the

continuity of government Continuity of government (COG) is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of a catastrophic event such as nuclear war. Continuity of government was developed by the Br ...

would be upheld. The speech lasted 82 minutes, making it the third longest State of the Union Address. During the speech, Trump discussed

bipartisanship Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find c ...

, the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

tax reform Tax reform is the process of changing the way taxes are collected or managed by the government and is usually undertaken to improve tax administration or to provide economic or social benefits. Tax reform can include reducing the level of taxati ...

energy production Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and re ...

, unity, the

opioid crisis The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and Drug overdose, overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since th ...

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

border security Border control comprises measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it als ...

, the border wall,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

prescription drug A prescription drug (also prescription medication, prescription medicine or prescription-only medication) is a pharmaceutical drug that is permitted to be dispensed only to those with a medical prescription. In contrast, over-the-counter drugs c ...

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, family leave,

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s, and opportunity. He also discussed the

Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) was an arms control treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (and its successor state, the Russia, Russian Federation). President of the United States, US President Ronald Rea ...

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, and the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. During the address, President Trump announced his next summit with North Korean leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

. The summit took place on February 27–28, 2019 in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. In his Address, Trump asserted that "The savage gang

MS-13 Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area ...

now operates in at least 20 different American states and they almost all come through our southern border... Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting on a subway platform in New York City. We are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border, they are going to keep streaming right back in." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' fact checker found that MS-13 is active primarily in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Long Island (New York), and the Washington, D.C. metro area. ''The Washington Post'' also concluded that 1,332 illegal alien members of MS-13 were deported in fiscal year 2018.

Protests

A group of female Democratic members of Congress and their guests wore white (the color of the

women's suffrage movement Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

) to bring notice to

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

Steny Hoyer Steny Hamilton Hoyer ( ; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 20 ...

also handed out white ribbons to males. Each member of Congress is allowed to bring one guest and several Democratic members of Congress brought various guests to send a message. Representative

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...

brought a sexual assault survivor,

Pramila Jayapal Pramila Jayapal (born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents most of Seattle, as well as some suburban areas of King County. Jayapal ...

brought a

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

scientist, and

Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota House of Represen ...

brought an undocumented immigrant threatened with deportation. Several Democratic members of congress boycotted Trump's speech in protest, including

Earl Blumenauer Earl Francis Blumenauer ( ; born August 16, 1948) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1996 to 2025. The district includes most of Portland, Oregon, ...

, Steve Cohen,

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American civil rights activist and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, and

Hank Johnson Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, inclu ...

Notable invitations

* Timothy Matson – Police officer with the Pittsburgh Police Department and a member of the

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

team that responded to the October 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting incident. One of several officers wounded during the attack, Matson was struck 7 times by gunfire during the exchange with Robert Gregory Bowers, the alleged perpetrator of the attack. * Judah Samet – Survivor of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and the

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting On October 27, 2018, a right-wing extremist attacked Tree of Life – Or L'Simcha Congregation synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The congregation, along with New Light Congregation and Congregation Dor Had ...

that occurred at the Tree of Life synagogue where Samet has been a member for 54 years. During the address, Trump mentioned that "Today is Judah's 81st birthday" after which the chamber and attendees honored Mr. Samet by singing Happy Birthday. *

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

– Retired

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

veteran, astronaut on

Gemini 12 Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini. It was the 10th and final crewed Gemini flight (Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 were ...

and

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...

, second man to walk on the Moon. * Alice Marie Johnson – Charged with a mandatory life sentence without parole in connection to a nonviolent drug crime. President Trump granted Johnson clemency after learning about her story from

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

. * Elvin Hernandez – A Special Agent with the Trafficking in Persons Unit of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

’s

Homeland Security Investigations The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

division. Hernandez has more than 18 years of federal law enforcement experience investigating

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s, gangs, and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. *Herman Zeitchik – At age 18, Herman Zeitchik was among the 4th Infantry Division soldiers who landed at Utah Beach early on the morning of June 6, 1944. Zeitchik helped liberate

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, hold back the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

at the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

, and free starving prisoners at the

Dachau Concentration Camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. *Joseph Reilly – The night before American soldiers stormed the beaches of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, Reilly and the

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

parachuted behind enemy lines. He and his fellow soldiers helped secure Utah Beach and the first foothold in America's liberation of Western Europe. Reilly also fought in Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge, and the battle of the Ruhr Pocket. *Irving Locker – American veteran Irving Locker landed at Utah Beach on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

with the 116th AAA gun battalion. He fought through five major battles of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, including the Battle of the Bulge, and later helped liberate a Holocaust concentration camp. *Joshua Kaufman – Kaufman endured the horrors of

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

and survived the Dachau Concentration Camp, where he was saved by American soldiers which included Herman Zeitchik. By the end of the war, Joshua had lost most of his family. He left Europe for Israel in 1949 and joined the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, fighting in several wars. *Matthew Charles – In 1996, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for selling

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...

and other related offenses. While in prison, Charles renewed his faith in

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, completed more than 30 Bible studies, became a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

, taught

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

classes, and mentored fellow inmates. On January 3, 2019, Charles was the first prisoner released as a result of the

First Step Act The First Step Act, formally known as the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act, is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed by the 115th U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in ...

Responses

On January 29, 2019,

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

(D-NY) announced that

would deliver the Democratic response to 2019 State of the Union Address. California Attorney General

gave the Spanish-language response. The response by the Libertarian Party was given by Jeff Hewitt. Independent Senator

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

(VT) also gave a response to the address.

Coverage

The State of the Union Address was televised on all the major U.S.

broadcast Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

networks.

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

streamed Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downloadin ...

the address online.

Viewership

Total cable and network viewers Broadcast news channels Network news channels

Reactions

Polls conducted by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

gauged approval of speech, viewership, among other things. A poll by CBS found 76% of people approved of the speech. Another poll by CBS based on party identification found that 43% of Republicans, 24% of Democrats, and 30% of Independents watched the address. Another poll based on party identification found that 97% of Republicans, 30% of Democrats, and 82% of Independents approved the message of the speech. Polls conducted by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

gauged approval of speech, policy approval, among other things. 59% of viewers approved the President's address. 71% of viewers thought that the President's policies were moving the country in the right direction; 76% on economy, 70% on trade and national security, 68% on immigration, and 65% on taxes.

Fundraising by Trump's 2020 campaign

A fundraising effort by Trump's 2020 campaign on the days leading to the address and on the day of the address raised $2.4 million from 76,000 donors. His campaign displayed names of donors on a live streaming broadcast of the event on Donald Trump's Facebook page. This is comparable to fundraising for Trump's 2020 campaign that occurred during the 2018 address that similarly included the display of names of donors on a streaming broadcast online.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* * * {{Portal bar, Modern history, United States, Politics State of the Union Address 2019

First presidency of Donald Trump State of the Union Address 2019 Articles containing video clips Nancy Pelosi 2010s State of the Union addresses

Background

Postponement

Address

Protests

Notable invitations

Responses

Coverage

Viewership

Reactions

Fundraising by Trump's 2020 campaign

See also

References

Notes

Citations

External links