--- title: Transcript: Democrats' Response to Trump's Oval Office Address description: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer offered a rebuttal to President Donald Trump's Oval Office address on the border wall. Read the full transcript. canonical: https://time.com/5497590/nancy-pelosi-chuck-schumer-trump-transcript/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-09T02:57:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:19:28.256Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Full Transcript of Democrats' Response to Trump's Oval Office Address og:description: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer offered a rebuttal to President Donald Trump's Oval Office address on the border wall. Read the full transcript. og:url: https://time.com/5497590/nancy-pelosi-chuck-schumer-trump-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt49c864ffdfd1895e/698942edb21a9cddc94ffdce/gettyimages-1091560460.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Democratic Leadership House Speaker Nancy Pelosi And Sen. Chuck Schumer Issue Response To President's Border Security Address og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Full Transcript of Democrats' Response to Trump's Oval Office Address twitter:description: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer offered a rebuttal to President Donald Trump's Oval Office address on the border wall. Read the full transcript. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt49c864ffdfd1895e/698942edb21a9cddc94ffdce/gettyimages-1091560460.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Full Transcript of Democrats' Response to President Trump's Oval Office Address > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d560aa9c-4a05-4b53-908b-2e460452a510&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Democrats' Response to President Trump's Oval Office Address [Watch (HLS stream): Democrats' Response to President Trump's Oval Office Address](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cBdk0WCQ.m3u8) (4:50)  _Published 2019-01-09. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a sharp rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address on the border wall Tuesday night._ by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jan 9, 2019 2:57 AM UTC House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a sharp rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address on the border wall Tuesday night. by [Gina Martinez](https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Jan 9, 2019 2:57 AM UTC House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a sharp rebuttal to [President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address](http://time.com/5497635/president-donald-trump-wall-funding-oval-office-speech/) on the border wall Tuesday night. Both Democratic leaders accused Trump of “manufacturing crisis” by presiding over a [partial government shutdown](http://time.com/5487323/government-shutdown-president-donald-trump/) – now in its third week – in an effort to force funding for the wall. Democrats have[ refused to allocate the $5.7 billion in funds.](http://time.com/5494825/white-house-budge-shutdown-talks/) Read the full transcript of Democrats’ response: --- > “” --- ## Transcript [00:00] Good evening. I appreciate the opportunity to speak [00:04] directly to the American people tonight about how we [00:07] can end this shutdown and meet the needs of the [00:10] American people. Sadly, much of what we heard from [00:13] President Trump throughout this senseless shutdown [00:16] has been full of misinformation And even malice. The [00:20] President has chosen fear. We will start with the facts. [00:25] The fact is, on the very first day of this Congress House [00:28] Democrats passed Senate Republic legislation to [00:31] re- open government and fund smart, effective border [00:35] security solutions. But the President is rejecting these [00:38] bipartisan bills which would reopen government over [00:42] his obsession with forcing American taxpayers to waste [00:46] billions of dollars on an expensive and ineffective wall, [00:50] a wall he always promised Mexico would pay for. The [00:54] fact is, President Trump has chosen to hold hostage [00:57] critical services for the health, safety and wellbeing of [01:00] the American people, and withhold the paychecks of [01:03] 800. 000 innocent workers across the nation, many [01:08] of them veterans. He promised to keep Government [01:11] shutdown for months or years. No matter whom it [01:14] hurts, that's just plain wrong. The fact is, we [01:18] all agree we need to secure our borders while [01:21] honoring our values. We can build the infrastructure [01:23] modes at our ports of entry. We can install new [01:26] technology to scan cars and trucks for drugs coming [01:30] into our nation. We can hire the personnel we need to [01:33] facilitate trade And immigration at the border. We can [01:36] fund more innovation to detect unauthorized crossings. [01:39] The fact is women and children at the border [01:43] are not a security threat. They are a humanitarian [01:47] challenge, a challenge that President Trump's own [01:49] cruel and counterproductive policies have only [01:53] deepened. And the fact is President Trump must stop [01:56] holding American people hostage, stop manufacturing [02:00] a crisis, and must reopen the government. Thank [02:04] you. Leader Schumer. Thank you, Speaker Pelosi. My [02:09] fellow Americans, we address you tonight for one [02:12] reason only. The president of the United States, having [02:16] failed to get Mexico to pay for his ineffective, [02:19] unnecessary border wall, and unable to convince the [02:22] congress or the American people to foot the bill, has [02:26] shut down the government. American democracy [02:29] doesn't work that way, we don't govern by temper [02:32] tantrum No President should pound the table and [02:36] demand he gets his way or else the government shuts [02:39] down, hurting millions of Americans who are treated as [02:43] leverage. Tonight and throughout this debate and [02:47] throughout his presidency, President Trump has [02:50] appealed to fear, not facts. Division, not [02:54] unity. Make no mistake, Democrats and the [02:58] President both want stronger border security, however [03:02] we sharply disagree with the President about the most [03:06] effective to do it. So, how do we untangle this [03:10] mess, well there's an obvious solution Separate [03:14] the shutdown from arguments over border security. [03:18] There is bipartisan legislation, supported by [03:21] Democrats and Republicans to reopen government [03:24] while allowing debate over border security to continue. [03:27] There is no excuse for hurting millions [03:31] of Americans over a policy difference. Federal workers [03:35] are about to miss a paycheck. Some families can't get [03:38] a mortgage to buy a new home. Farmers in small [03:41] businesses won't get loans they desperately need. [03:46] Most presidents have used Oval Office addresses for [03:49] noble purposes. This president just used the [03:53] backdrop of the Oval Office. To manufacture a crisis, [03:57] stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil [04:01] in his administration. My fellow Americans, there [04:05] is no challenge so great that our nation cannot rise to [04:09] meet it. We can reopen the government and continue [04:12] to work through disagreements over policy. We can [04:16] secure our border without an ineffective, expensive [04:19] wall. And we can welcome legal immigrants and [04:22] refugees, without compromising safety and security. [04:28] The symbol of America should be the Statue of Liberty, [04:32] not a 30 foot wall. So our suggestion is [04:36] a simple one. Mr. President, reopen the government [04:41] and we can work to resolve our differences over [04:43] border security but end this shutdown now. 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