President Donald Trump will address the nation Tuesday night in a prime time speech to address the ongoing government shutdown and his demands for a $5.7 billion border wall.

But the four broadcast networks were debating whether to give what amounts to free air time to the president, who on Monday unleashed another one of his attacks on the 'fake news' media.

CBS announced Monday night it would air the remarks and revealed the address would only be 8 minutes long. Cable networks CNN, Fox News and Fox Business Network also confirmed they will air the president's speech.

It was not immediately clear whether the other broadcast networks would comply with the White House request to have them air the speech – which would provide some of the dramatic flair Trump is looking for with the event.

The president has thus far struggled to break through with in-house video presentations from the South Lawn of the White House where he speaks directly to the camera.

The four major broadcast networks were deliberating on whether to carry the speech live, CNN reported earlier Monday. Another consideration was whether to allow Democrats equal time to respond.

Trump confirmed the news of his prime time speech on Twitter, shortly after the White House announced Trump will be traveling to the southern border in another high-profile effort to brake through the budget stalemate.

'I am pleased to inform you that I will Address the Nation on the Humanitarian and National Security crisis on our Southern Border. Tuesday night at 9:00 P.M. Eastern,' the president tweeted.

CNN and Fox News said they would carry the event, while it was under discussion at MSNBC was still deliberating Monday late afternoon.

President Donald Trump is heading back to the U.S.-Mexico border with no end in sight to the partial government shutdown

Presidents traditionally on occasion make formal requests for time from the networks' carefully planned schedules, and networks – who operate under federal license – sometimes comply.

Before the president confirmed the speech, the New York Times reported that Trump 'wants to address the nation' about the government shutdown, where Trump's demand for a border wall is the primary sticking point.

The White House didn't respond to a request for information about when it put in the request to the networks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office didn't respond to a request for comment about whether Democrats would seek time to respond and whether she would offer it.

Earlier Monday, Trump tore into the 'fake news' media, accusing the press of making up stories and ignoring positive statistics about job growth. He lashed out at members of the press as 'crazed lunatics.'

Although a president can give a speech whenever he wants, it only has maximum impact if carried live, and networks are usually loathe to interrupt their prime-time lineups unless they believe the speech is a legitimate news event, not just talking points.

Trump will speak from the Oval Office, Axios, adding to the visual drama – although the president has held so many impromptu events there that it could blunt the effect.

The president announced the speech on Twitter

Last Thursday, the network decided to cut away from Trump at what was billed as a 'press briefing' but where Trump, backed by border patrol officials, did not ultimately take questions and stressed his main talking points.

Airtime isn't something the president can simply demand. The task of feeling out the networks would likely fall to Bill Shine, deputy White House chief of staff for communications, to urge network executives to carry the speech.

In doing so, the former Fox News exec would have to vouch for the newsworthiness of the speech.

Tuesday night's prime time lineup includes a 'Lethal Weapon' reboot on Fox, 'black-ish' on ABC, Ellen's 'Game of Games' on NBC, and 'FBI' on CBS. Networks face giving up ad-revenue for programs that don't air.

The networks decided not to air an immigration address by President Barack Obama in 2014 on the grounds that it looked to be more partisan than newsworthy, though they did air a prime-time address by President George W. Bush in 2006.

Trump's pitch about what the administration says is a crisis on the border would preempt prime time programming, including Ellen's 'Game of Games' on NBC

CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter tweeted about an executive's take on the decision in light of Trump's attacks. 'TV exec texts: 'He calls us fake news all the time, but needs access to airwaves… If we give him the time, he'll deliver a fact-free screed without rebuttal. And if we don't give him the time, he'll call every network partisan. So we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.'

To that, former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau responded: 'Except they didn’t give Obama time in 2014 because they believed his speech about immigration would be “overtly partisan.” So this should be a relatively easy decision.'

Trump's double-barreled plan to break through the politics of the shutdown comes as the White House revealed he is heading back to the U.S.-Mexico border as he doubles down on his demand for a wall amid the ongoing government shutdown.

The president 'will travel to the Southern border on Thursday to meet with those on the frontlines of the national security and humanitarian crisis,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted Monday.

'More details will be announced soon.'

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the trip on Thursday as the partial government shutdown was on its third week

The move is immediately taken as a signal that Trump intends to dig in on his demand that Democrats provide $5.6 billion for construction of a border wall – a 2016 campaign pledge that is at the center of the partial government shutdown.

He has stuck by that financial demand – even after he said he would show flexibility on the wall being constructed out of steel instead of out of concrete. He said a steel wall would actually be more expensive.

'The barrier or the wall can be steel instead of concrete if that helps people. It may be better,' Trump said Sunday.

He also said he would call major steel companies asking them to design a wall – which would be a long way from core missions of smelting, procuring materials, and running a factory.

A Central American migrant, jumps over the US-Mexico border fence from Tijuana to San Diego in the US as seen from Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico on January 1, 2019

A migrant from Honduras looks from the border fence into the U.S. side to San Diego, Calif., from Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019

'I intend the call the heads of United States Steel and a couple of other of our great steel companies. I will have them come up with a template or design of a beautiful steel product, which we now may use and use that as our barrier,' he said.

Trump also has said Mexico will pay for the wall, something he says will be accomplished by a new U.S.-Mexico trade deal that has yet to go through Congress.

The trip to the border comes after Trump tasked top aides along with Vice President Mike Pence and son-in-law Jared Kushner to try to negotiated an end go the standoff that has kept 800,000 workers from either going to work or getting paid.

Even as he demands Congress fund the wall, Trump said on Sunday he's looking at his options to get the wall built,including declaring a national emergency.

'I may declare national emergency dependent on what going to happen in the next few days,' Trump said.

'Congressman Adam Smith, the new Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, just stated, 'Yes, there is a provision in law that says a president can declare an emergency. It's been done a number of times.' No doubt, but let's get our deal done in Congress!,' the president tweeted Monday.

But Smith also warned Trump 'would be wide open to a court challenge' if he made such a move.