Joe Biden To Deliver Primetime Address On Thursday Anniversary Of Covid-19 Shutdowns

UPDATE, 2:51 PM PT: NBC News will carry President Joe Biden’s primetime address, in a special report anchored by Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie. Other broadcast networks also are likely to carry the speech as well.

PREVIOUSLY: President Joe Biden will deliver a primetime address on Thursday, the one-year anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdowns.

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Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the address at today’s press briefing. It was no immediately clear whether the broadcast networks will carry his remarks.

“He will discuss the many sacrifices the American people have made over the past 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 toward getting back to normal,” she said.

Donald Trump delivered his first primetime address on Aug. 21, 2017, when he outlined his administration’s strategy in Afghanistan. The broadcast networks carried his remarks and drew a combined viewership of almost 18 million.

No plans have been announced for when Biden will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress, as has been a tradition for new presidents in lieu of a State of the Union speech. But Psaki said last week that Biden will hold a full press conference by the end of the month, his first.

Biden’s Covid-19 speech would come on the heels of the expected passage of his first major legislative achievement, a $1.9 trillion relief package to boost vaccinations, reopen schools, fund local and state government shortfalls, provide $1,400 per person direct payments and extend enhanced unemployment benefits.

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