President Joe Biden to Address the Nation Tonight at 7 p.m.
President Joe Biden will be addressing the nation Thursday night (March 11th, 2021) from The White House.
The nation's 46th president is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. You'll be able to hear live coverage of President Biden's speech on Texas Townsquare Media Network radio stations: News/Talk 95.1 & 790, KFYO in Lubbock; News/Talk 94.7 & 1470, KYYW in Abilene and on News/Talk 96.3 & 1290 in Wichita Falls. You can also listen online through the KFYO, KYYW and News/Talk 96.3 & 1290 apps.
Today's address is to mark the one-year anniversary of various shutdowns across the nation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, "[President Biden] will discuss the many sacrifices that the American people have made over the last year and the grave loss communities and families across the country have suffered. The president will look forward, highlighting the role that Americans will play in beating the virus and moving the country to getting back to normal."
In previewing Thursday night's speech, President Biden said he would "talk about what we've been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly, I'm going to talk about what comes next."
President Biden is also expected to discuss the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that was approved by Congress over the past week and the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
"This is a chance for him to really beam into everybody’s living rooms and to be both the mourner in chief and to explain how he’s leading the country out of this," said presidential historian and Rice University professor Douglas Brinkley to the Associated Press.
"This is a big moment," Brinkley added. "He's got to win over hearts and minds for people to stay masked and get vaccinated, but also recognize that after the last year, the federal government hasn’t forgotten you."
Thursday night's speech is not the State of the Union, which is mandated annually by the U.S. Constitution. In a story from earlier this week, USA Today noted that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is tasked with setting that date for the joint session of Congress.
LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions
While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.
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