The Oval Office Speech: Trump Taps History to Work for His Wall

President Kennedy tells the nation of Soviet nuclear-capable missiles in Cuba, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.Photographer: Ralph Crane/The LIFE Picture Collection

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By John McCorry

January 8, 2019 at 4:06 PM UTC

Updated on

January 8, 2019 at 4:48 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

President Donald Trump tonight will turn to a traditional tool of influence, the Oval Office address, to entreat Americans that building a wall on the Mexican border is a matter of immediate importance.

The stakes are high, now and for his re-election chances in 2020.