--- title: Donald Trump's 2019 State of the Union Address: Transcript description: President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Read the transcript of his speech. canonical: https://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-02-06T04:44:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:21:52.652Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Full Transcript of President Trump's State of the Union Address og:description: President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Read the transcript of his speech. og:url: https://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fa890ee68f9fba2/6989449e7cdbac6a09d5f019/trump-state-of-the-union.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address To Joint Session Of Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Full Transcript of President Trump's State of the Union Address twitter:description: President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Read the transcript of his speech. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fa890ee68f9fba2/6989449e7cdbac6a09d5f019/trump-state-of-the-union.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Full Transcript of President Trump's State of the Union 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=49517c16-665a-45db-b572-8a4e6ff7c06d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's Biggest State of the Union Claims [Watch (HLS stream): Here Are the Facts Behind President Trump's Biggest State of the Union Claims](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4m6IYvY2.m3u8) (2:28)  _Published 2019-02-06. President Donald Trump had a lot of ground to cover in his rescheduled State of the Union address Tuesday night._  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Feb 6, 2019 4:44 AM UTC President Donald Trump had a lot of ground to cover in his rescheduled State of the Union address Tuesday night.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Feb 6, 2019 4:44 AM UTC President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. The address was originally rescheduled for Jan. 29, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Trump to reschedule it in light of the partial government shutdown. The government reopened on [Jan. 25](http://time.com/5513459/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-shutdown-congress/) after Congress agreed to a 3-week funding stopgap, but the government could come to a halt again on [Feb. 15](http://time.com/5514633/congress-shutdown-negotiations-border-wall/) if Congress is unable to reach a compromise on a Homeland Security funding bill. During the speech, which lasted approximately an hour, Trump touched on many of his many favorite topics, including the dangers of illegal immigration and the strength of the economy. Trump made several digressions from the written transcript that shifted the meaning of what he said. For instance, while in the prepared speech Trump was supposed to say, “Legal immigrants enrich our nation in countless ways. I want people to come into our country, but they have to come in legally,” he actually said, “Legal immigrants enrich our nation in countless ways. I want people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally.” The [guests invited by the President and Congressional Democrats](http://time.com/5521320/state-of-the-union-guests-white-house-democrats/) reflected the deep divisions in American politics. Trump’s guests included three family members of a Reno, Nevada couple allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant, whereas Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley invited Albertina and Yaquelin Contreras, a mother and daughter who were separated for nearly six weeks by U.S. immigration authorities, and were later featured on TIME’s[ Feb. 4 cover](http://time.com/5521397/state-union-jeff-merkley-guests/). Trump’s speech was followed by a Democratic response by[ Stacey Abrams](http://time.com/5349541/stacey-abrams-georgia/), who narrowly lost the Georgia gubernatorial race this fall but is considered to be a rising Democratic political star. Read the full transcript of Trump’s State of the Union address below: --- > “” --- ## Transcript [00:00] Millions of our fellow citizens are watching us now, [00:02] gathered in this great chamber, hoping [00:06] that we will govern not as two [00:11] parties, but as one nation. Lawmakers in New York [00:14] cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation [00:19] That would allow a baby to be ripped from the [00:23] mother's womb, moments from birth. These [00:27] are living, feeling, beautiful babies who will never get [00:31] the chance to share their love and their dreams with [00:34] the world. [ MUSIC ] [00:46] [ MUSIC ]. [00:57] In just over two years since the election. We have [01:01] launched an unprecedented economic boom. A [01:05] boom that has rarely been seen before. There's [01:10] been nothing like it. [01:17] [ MUSIC ] [01:23] [ MUSIC ] [01:29] Republicans and Democrats must join forces again to [01:33] confront an urgent national crisis. Congress [01:39] has 10 days left to pass a bill that will fund [01:44] our government, protect your homeland and secure [01:48] our very dangerous southern border. [ MUSIC ] [02:02] [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5521860/2019-state-of-the-union-trump-transcript/"},"headline":"Read the Full Transcript of President Trump's State of the Union Address","datePublished":"2019-02-06T04:44:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-13T08:21:52.652Z","description":"President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. 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