Trump to Attend March for Life, Will Become the First President to Address the Rally in Person

President Donald Trump will deliver remarks in person at the annual March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Trump’s speech will make him the first president to address the pro-life rally since it started 47 years ago.

Trump shared his intention to attend the rally in a tweet on Wednesday, which was also the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States.

See you on Friday…Big Crowd! https://t.co/MFyWLG4HFZ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2020

In a statement, March for Life President Jeanne Mancini praised the news.

“We are deeply honored to welcome President Trump to the 47th annual March for Life. He will be the first president in history to attend, and we are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn.”

Mancini continued to call Trump and members of his administration “consistent champions for life” and said their support of the rally has been “unwavering.”

“We are grateful for all these pro-life accomplishments and look forward to gaining more victories for life in the future,” she added.

While Mancini praised the move, Ilyse Hogue, the president of the pro-choice advocacy organization NARAL suggested that Trump was trying to “divert attention from his criminal presidency.”

BREAKING: In a desperate attempt to divert attention from his criminal presidency and fire up his radical base, Trump will be the 1st POTUS to attend the annual gathering of anti-choicers on Friday, which he announced today on the anniversary of #RoevWade bc that's how he rolls. https://t.co/xN5TzktwLL

— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) January 22, 2020

In 2017, Vice President Mike Pence became the first vice president and highest government official to address the rally. A year later, Trump became the first president to address the event by video.