How To Watch Trump's Address To The Nation On Border Control & The Shutdown

Since President Donald Trump first announced his run for office, one of the major platforms he's stood on is the promise that he will be closing off access to the United States from its southernmost bordering nation, Mexico. In other words, he wants to "build the wall," a catchphrase that's become a rally cry amongst his supporters. But as the nation goes on three weeks with a partial government shutdown due to the fact that Congress can't agree on a budget that includes the funding of the wall, it seems that no clear solution is yet in sight. And tonight, Tuesday, Jan. 8, you can watch Trump's address to the nation to hear what he has to say about it.

If you'd like to tune into the president's address, which he will be giving from the Oval Office, CNN reported that all primetime networks, including NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS and Fox will all be airing the speech, which is scheduled to last for about 8 minutes. The network reported that CNN, Fox and MSNBC will also be live streaming the address on their websites, in case you do not have access to cable TV.

Trump is calling the matter a "national security crisis," which is why he's advocating to pass funding for the wall. This point has been hotly contested by citizens and other political figures alike, even those in his own party.

Since he first considered running, Trump has been speaking about not only building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, but has promised the American people that Mexico will actually be paying for the wall themselves. According to Politifact, he once said:

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall.

Of course, that has yet to happen, and the government is currently shut down over the fact that the funding has not yet been secured to complete the wall, according to Al Jazeera. (Trump has since said that he's willing to let the shutdown go on for "years," until he gets his way, the Associated Press reported.)

Despite all of the talk about Mexico funding the venture, earlier this year, CNN previously reported that Trump had confirmed that the House agreed to a downpayment for the wall to the tune of $1.6 billion, which was just one facet of the $1.3 trillion spending bill that was passed. "We are going to be starting work literally on Monday on not only on some new wall, not enough, but we are working on that very quickly," he said, according to Politifact. "But also fixing existing walls and existing acceptable fences."

Despite Trump's conviction, many remain skeptical that the border control issue is actually a "national emergency," and is instead a ploy to advance his political agenda.

Congresswoman Nanette Barragán recently visited the border to confirm that the "crisis" is a "fabrication." As she told CBS News, "I have no doubt that this is part of a greater scheme to try to get this wall built and making it seem like it's a national security crisis — and it's not... The numbers the administration has been putting out are misleading the public. I can tell you that I have not heard in briefings, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, what we're hearing publicly now."

Regardless, Trump will be addressing these issues tonight, beginning at 9 p.m. EST.