White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump will become the first president to address the March for Life live from the White House via satellite.
During the daily press briefing, Sanders announced the president's intention to address the thousands of pro-life advocates who will flock to Washington, D.C. this Friday.
"On Friday, we're excited to announce, that the president will become the first sitting president to address the March for Life from the White House LIVE via satellite," Fox Business reported Sanders as saying.
.@PressSec: "On Friday, we're excited to announce, that the president will become the first sitting president to address the March for Life from the White House LIVE via satellite." pic.twitter.com/ypI7Np2SjN
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) January 17, 2018
The March for Life is an annual rally held in Washington, D.C. that draws pro-life advocates from across the country to express their opposition to the practice and legality of abortion.
The announcement first appeared on Twitter this morning when Lauren Ashburn, the Managing Editor of the Eternal Word Television Network (ETWN) and anchor of EWTN "News Nightly," tweeted that the president would address the march "via TV feed" this year.
BREAKING: @POTUS will address @March_for_Life Friday via TV feed
https://t.co/2rgQEkxbwv— Lauren Ashburn (@LaurenAshburn) January 17, 2018
"Over the past year, the Trump administration has significantly advanced pro-life policy, and it is with great confidence that, under his leadership, we expect to see other pro-life achievements in the years to come. We welcome our 45th President, Donald Trump, to the 45th annual March for Life," said Jeanne Mancini, the president of March for Life, in a statement released shortly after the White House went public with the news.
Trump was expected to speak at the March for Life via phone last year, but did not do so. Instead, the president tweeted his support for the event and its participants on the day it took place.
"The #MarchForLife is so important. To all of you marching --- you have my full support!" Trump wrote.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/825017279209410561
In lieu of the president attending, Vice President Mike Pence and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway attended and spoke.
"...life is winning again in America," Pence said in a speech that was highly praised by the audience. "Along with you, we will not grow weary, we will not rest until we restore a culture of life in America for ourselves and our posterity."
https://youtu.be/OvJPqxdEPkI
"I am a wife. I am a mother, a Catholic, counselor to the President of the United States of America, and yes, I am pro-life," Conway told the crowd to thunderous applause.
Last week, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) announced he would address the rally as well.
Trump will only be the third president to address the March for Life. President Ronald Reagan addressed the advocates via telephone in 1987 and pre-recorded message in 1988. President George W. Bush addressed the event all eight years he was in office.