Washington, AP: US President Donald Trump is to address the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday to present his case for building a wall along the southern border with Mexico.
Previous presidents have used the Oval Office to make major announcements to the American people although some have also used other White House venues such as the East Room or the Rose Garden.
The televised 9:00 pm (0200 GMT) speech, which comes amid a partial government shutdown, will be Trump’s first prime-time address from the Oval Office.
Here are some of the previous occasions US presidents have addressed the nation from the Oval Office:
– Harry Truman –
President Harry Truman delivered the first televised address from the Oval Office, in October 1947, during which he urged Americans to conserve food to help alleviate hunger in war-torn Europe.
– Dwight D. Eisenhower –
President Dwight D. Eisenhower frequently addressed the nation from the Oval Office. In September 1957, he informed the country he was dispatching troops to Arkansas to enforce school desegregation.
– John F. Kennedy –
President John F. Kennedy, in an October 1962 speech from the Oval Office, informed the American people of the Cuban Missile Crisis, announcing a US naval blockade of the island to prevent the delivery of Soviet missiles.
– Lyndon B. Johnson –
President Lyndon B. Johnson announced in an address from the Oval Office in March 1968 that he would not seek re-election as president.
– Richard Nixon –
President Richard Nixon announced his decision to resign in an August 1974 address to the nation from the Oval Office.
– Ronald Reagan –
President Ronald Reagan was another frequent user of the Oval Office address. In a January 1986 speech he addressed the deaths of the seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
– George H.W. Bush –
President George H.W. Bush used the Oval Office in January 1991 to announce the start of the Gulf War to evict Iraqi troops from Kuwait.
– Bill Clinton –
President Bill Clinton announced military strikes in Iraq and against Serb forces from the Oval Office. But he chose the Map Room of the White House to tell the nation in August 1998 about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
– George W. Bush –
President George W. Bush addressed the nation from the Oval Office on September 11, 2001 following the Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.
– Barack Obama –
President Barack Obama was an infrequent user of the Oval Office address, giving only three during his time in the White House — one on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one on the end of US combat operations in Iraq and one on the San Bernardino terror attack.
He made one of his most significant announcements — the 2011 raid which killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — from the East Room of the White House.
