Reagan to Speak on Shuttle, Not State of Union
President Reagan’s State of the Union address, scheduled for 6 p.m. PDT today, has been canceled because of the explosion that destroyed the space shuttle Challenger, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said. Instead, the President will address the nation on the tragedy, Speakes said.
He said that Reagan ordered Vice President George Bush to fly to Cape Canaveral later today to express his sympathy to the families of the shuttle astronauts.
White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan telephoned House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill at about 1:30 p.m. and said the President would like to postpone the State of the Union speech until next Tuesday, according to Christopher Matthews, O’Neill’s spokesman.
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