President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address

GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening, and welcome to PBS News special coverage of President Biden's State of the Union address.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

Well, President Biden is expected to tout his accomplishments of the last three years tonight and to lay out his vision and his priorities for the future, should voters elect him to a second term.

GEOFF BENNETT: Joining us here in the studio and watching alongside with us are Amy Walter, editor in chief of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter, David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times, and Jonathan Capehart, associate editor of The Washington Post.

AMNA NAWAZ: And our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, is on Capitol Hill just outside the chamber.

And congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins is inside the House chamber and joins us, per congressional rules, by audio only.

GEOFF BENNETT: Let's start with our Laura Barron-Lopez, as we keep our eye trained on the floor.

Laura, how is the White House aiming to use this speech tonight for President Biden to convey his vision for the future, but also to reconnect with key parts of his coalition?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, President Biden has three main themes when he's giving this -- his third State of the Union address tonight.

One of those first main themes is the defending of democracy at home and abroad.

He's going to revisit the events of January 6, as well as talk about comparisons to Ukraine and what's happening abroad there.

He also plans on defending individual freedoms, there talking about abortion access, IVF access, as well as contraception access.

And then, lastly, he's going to build upon his economic vision and essentially talk about what he would do with another four years.

In addition to that, Geoff, those -- people inside the White House that I have spoken to say that they really view this speech as what they describe as the starting gun of 2024.

And so you're going to hear him draw a lot of contrasts with former President Trump, although not name him, but refer to him as his predecessor.

People inside the White House also tell me that they are eager to see the president spontaneously react if House Republicans heckle him, which in the past some Republicans have.

And you will remember that, at his last State of the Union address, he had an interaction with them regarding Social Security that the White House staff was very pleased with.

And so they're preparing for more interactions like that, Geoff.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we are keeping one eye, of course, inside the chamber.

We go to the live camera there.

And you see, of course, both parties, both houses of Congress are in that chamber tonight.

We should note many key legislative issues remain stuck in partisan gridlock, like immigration and border reform, as well as Ukraine aid.

But all the members are there together tonight, as well as several key administration and government officials.

We are just keeping an eye to see when the House sergeant at arms, William McFarland, will announce, as he traditionally does, the arrival of the president of the United States.

But, Laura, as you mentioned, this is the first time that we're going to be hearing from President Biden since this race has officially become a rematch of 2020.

It's not a political speech.

We should underscore that.

But tell us a little bit more about that vision he's going to lay out for a potential second term.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: That's right, Amna.

So it's not a political speech, but the president is definitely going to try to strike as many contrasts as possible with Republicans, as well as with his predecessor.

And, on that front, he is going to be urging Congress to take up the border -- bipartisan border deal, which was stalled because of the fact that House Republicans didn't want to vote for it.

He's also going to really pressure Congress to pass funding for Ukraine, urging them to support that democracy abroad.

And then he also is going to make some new policy proposals, Amna.

He's going to talk about raising the corporate tax rate by 28 percent.

He is also going to propose offering first-time homebuyers a $5,000 tax credit.

He is going to also talk about his past accomplishments, so lowering prescription drug prices for seniors, but say that he wants to do that for all Americans, as well as lowering -- putting a cap on the price of insulin, which right now just applies to Medicare recipients, but that he wants that to apply to all Americans.

So those are parts of his agenda that he is going to lay out, as well as really showing some empathy, I'm told by White House sources, an acknowledgement of the number of people that have died in Gaza and of what Palestinians are going through.

And on that front, Amna, he is going to announce this new humanitarian aid action of building a port on the Gazan coast to get more dire humanitarian aid to people that need it there.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Laura, as you have been speaking, we have been seeing female members of Congress of the Democratic Party wearing white.

They're really continuing what is now a yearslong tradition of color-coordinating their outfits.

This year is a tribute to the suffragettes.

And, earlier, we saw sitting in the back of the House floor expelled New York Congressman George Santos.

And we should say that, as a former member of Congress, he still has access to the floor.

That is provided to all former members of Congress.

And he, through his own volition, decided to show up today.

Amy Walter, I want to bring you in here, because we should say that presidents typically deliver their State of the Union addresses earlier in a year.

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Right.

GEOFF BENNETT: But this year is different, in that the president is delivering his remarks to Congress at a time when his reelection bid is fully under way.

AMY WALTER: Right.

We literally kicked off the election Tuesday right here, it felt like.

I was here not that long ago talking about the general election being set.

And we don't really ever see that when we have a State of the Union.

It is very much -- it's also very much about what can happen legislatively going forward.

And we know, where things sit right now, this has been the least productive Congress in modern American history.

There's not much that is likely to unjam this Congress.

And so he's talking to a body that is probably going to be doing little to nothing on any of these priorities.

So it really is much more about messaging what he would like to see, not just for the next year, but for the next four years, rather than sort of imploring those sitting in front of him to help move an agenda ahead.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan Capehart, this is likely to be maybe the most watched moment of the 2024 campaign so far, and millions of Americans going to tune in to what President Biden has to say tonight.

How should he prioritize the issues in terms of convincing people and raising some of those low enthusiasm numbers among skeptical Democrats out there that this is the guy they need to show up for?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: OK, let's be honest here.

Let's be serious.

Those skeptical voters who are figuring out whether they want to vote for Joe Biden, they're not necessarily looking for a particular policy unless -- excuse me -- unless it is the folks for whom Gaza is their single issue.

I think a majority of Democratic voters are going to be looking at the president and watching the performance.

They want to see whether he has the energy and the vitality.

Does he perform the job well, which were -- to my mind, I think he's got a record to run on, and he's going to talk about that tonight, but he also has to convey the image of, even though I'm 81, I got this.

And I think that's what we're going to see.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, what do you make of that?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I agree.

I'm looking for orneriness.

DAVID BROOKS: If you remember, a year ago, he got in a back-and-forth with the Republicans on the floor.

DAVID BROOKS: And I think people consider that one of his best nights.

So, if you have got a chip on your shoulder, you might as well use it.

And so I'm looking to see if we get some of those kinds of exchanges.

I'm also looking for a little poetry and narrative.

People won't believe your facts if they don't agree with your story.

And I think it's useful, even on these occasions, which tend to be laundry-listy, to have an overarching narrative that people can relate to.

And there has to be some poetry there.

And so we will see if we get a little, even some sort of narrative.

And, finally, there's a debate among Democrats whether he should play up how good the economy is.

And some, including everybody I have ever spoken to in the Biden administration, say yes.

Others, like David Axelrod, Stan Greenberg, who are veteran political consultants on the Democratic side, say, no, people are upset.

Don't try to tell them how happy they should be, because they're not going to believe you.

AMNA NAWAZ: Interesting.

You don't believe he should, because I imagine much of the achievements he's going to try to tout over the last three years have to do with the economy, which is, objectively, at least some of the indicators show, getting better.

DAVID BROOKS: I have always thought that he would eventually benefit.

And consumer confidence is way up.

AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: But support for Joe Biden is not.

And so I'm beginning to doubt my own theory that he would eventually benefit.

(LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: You know, the other important piece about a speech like this, as you mentioned, Amna, this is not a political speech.

AMNA NAWAZ: Right.

AMY WALTER: This is an official speech as president of the United States.

But for Democrats sitting, not just in the audience here, but all around the country, who need to understand what this election -- what their marching orders are, what the narrative is, what the messaging framework is going to be, this is an opportunity for him to do that, so that, when they go out and say, well, what is this whole election going to be about, isn't -- I keep hearing about this, this, and this.

Here's the pathway.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, to David's point about how State of the Union addresses are so often laundry lists, can the president afford to deliver a laundry list tonight?

AMY WALTER: I don't think that is what folks are particularly interested in hearing.

The contrast is really going to be so much of, I think, what we're going to hear for the rest of the campaign, but also what we have seen, quite frankly, during his time as president and the clashes that he and Democrats have with Republicans on what their vision is for moving certain policies in this country.

GEOFF BENNETT: We have just been seeing the speaker emerita among those standing to receive the first lady.

And I believe that we are set to hear from the House sergeant at arms.

Let's go straight to the floor.

(APPLAUSE) AMNA NAWAZ: We see now members of the president's Cabinet entering the chamber.

There is Secretary of State Antony Blinken, followed closely by -- didn't see behind him there... GEOFF BENNETT: Secretary Yellen.

AMNA NAWAZ: There she is, actually hidden slightly, at a height disadvantage there.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: Of course, towering above her is Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

GEOFF BENNETT: Attorney General Merrick Garland.

AMNA NAWAZ: And, of course, these Cabinet members will now make their way down into their seats.

We do expect them to be followed closely by the president as well.

And we should note, sitting behind the president for the duration of this address will be Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who, of course, was chosen to lead House Republicans after Kevin McCarthy's ouster last year.

And I will just note, I remember that that's a high-profile seat there.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: There's a camera on you almost the entire time.

Sometimes, those cameras tend to create their own moments in States of the Union past.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: We remember Nancy Pelosi ripping up a speech after... (CROSSTALK) AMNA NAWAZ: That's right.

So, we will be looking for some of those moments.

David, you mentioned -- and, Jonathan, I want to get your take on this as well -- there could be that kind of interaction between the president and maybe some House Republicans, as we saw last year.

We get the sense that the president may welcome that, because it gives him a chance to show he's energetic and vigorous and out there.

But what other moments could stand out to you tonight?

Is there a change in rhetoric or some kind of rhetorical flourish you're looking for from the president that could really stand out from previous speeches?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, I'm always looking for that.

But I think, with this speech, I'm looking to the reactions, not just from the Republicans, but I was looking at the guests who were going to be in the first lady's box.

One of them is a woman named Bettie Mae Fikes.

And she is known as the Voice of Selma.

She was there on Bloody Sunday 59 years ago today.

The thing about Bettie Mae is that she is a singer.

That's why she's the Voice.

And she's a powerful singer.

The one thing I am hoping happens is that she continues to follow the type, which is what she does on the pilgrimage to Selma.

She bursts into song on the bus, in the churches, on the street, singing the freedom songs and the songs that they sang on the marches.

Imagine how powerful that would be if that were to happen tonight.

That's the one thing that might -- probably won't happen, but, if it does, I think it just -- it would change things.

I just think it would.

GEOFF BENNETT: We have just learned that Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is the designated survivor tonight.

And we were also told that our Lisa Desjardins is with us.

Lisa's perch is just above the House rostrum there.

You might be able to see here in this wide shot that we have on our screen.

Lisa, give us a sense of what you're seeing and help us understand the mood in the room.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, it is a different mood than most of the State of the Unions I have experienced up here before, Geoff.

And you have experienced so much more.

It feels like there's less excitement.

It feels like a less palpable electricity than what we usually get at State of the Unions.

Is that the mood of the country perhaps?

Is that exhaustion that these lawmakers have put themselves through?

I don't know.

When you look at the symbolism in the room, often, it's a big characteristic of the visuals here.

You all may have commented that we see the Democratic women in white on reproductive rights, especially on IVF.

But, for the Republicans, they have tried unified sort of symbolism before, but they didn't this year.

They have some pins about what they call Biden's border crisis, other pins about Laken Riley, the nursing student killed in Georgia, for which an undocumented immigrant has been arrested.

But, in general, there really -- it is a sense of let's get through this, rather let's -- than let's be excited for this.

I'm eager to see, when everyone sits down, if there might be some empty seats as well.

The crowd inside, the members, it looks like there are fewer than in most years.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, Lisa, we see Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert there.

Help us understand the message that the House speaker, Mike Johnson, has given to sort of the far right wing of the party in terms of decorum tonight.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, she -- you're right to point her out, Geoff.

She is someone we may see again during this speech.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Republicans, please do not shout out, do not interrupt this speech.

We want to take on Joe Biden on policy issues.

We want to beat him at the ballot box.

But, clearly, Lauren Boebert is someone who went out of her way to say, even my pastor doesn't tell me to sit down and be quiet at church.

So there are Republican here who we have seen burst out.

She's one of them in years past.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, another one, I spoke to Representative Greene earlier today and said: "Are you planning any outbursts?"

She said, coyly: "I'm not planning anything."

But there is a mood of agitation among House Republicans.

It has been here for several years.

It is part of the Trump persona, especially present in the House Republican Conference.

And I think that the White House is ready for it.

And we saw it actually brought out some of the best moments in President Biden in his speech last year.

I -- someone asked me -- I'm not trying to be too coy myself, but what's my over/under for number of outbursts?

And I said three.

It used to be zero.

But we're at that point where this is the kind of House Republican Conference where they are willing to and actually usually are expected to interrupt a president.

AMNA NAWAZ: We believe that the House sergeant of arms is now about to make that announcement.

So let's go live now to the chamber.

WILLIAM MCFARLAND, House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms: President of the United States!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) AMNA NAWAZ: And now President Biden has entered the chamber and is making what can be an extended walk down to... GEOFF BENNETT: Certainly, to this president.

AMNA NAWAZ: Certainly, for this podium, who, David, we should note, is very comfortable in this chamber.

This is very much a home game for him.

DAVID BROOKS: Except for he was in the Senate, so they consider this away territory.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: No, he certainly is a lifelong politician, and he will take his time talking.

He should begin speaking, I think, within an hour-and-a-half, probably.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: But he loves this.

He -- this is what he loves.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GEOFF BENNETT: And we expect the president tonight to talk about freedom and the defense of democracy, what he sees as the threats to democracy.

He still believes that is a resonant message, especially for this campaign.

How do you see what's taking place?

DAVID BROOKS: I think it is.

I mean, I think the world is in a conflict between democracy and global barbarism and domestic barbarism.

Some people want to play by the rules, and some people like Vladimir Putin want to bend the rules, so they more power to have more power to use their authoritarian -- in full force.

So, I think that is really the big story of the election, the big story of Joe Biden's presidency, and he's right to filter things through that prism.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: And I think the fact that this speech is happening today, on the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, gives him a proper -- gives him the opportunity to not only defend democracy, but talk about how democracy is vital to the promise of America and how John Lewis and the 600 other people, Black men, women and children who left that church in Selma, crossed over the Edmund Pettus Bridge, only to be chased back over after being beaten and tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers, solely because they were trying to march to Montgomery to get the right to demand the right to vote.

You can't be fully American, you can't fully participate in democracy if you don't have a voice in that democracy.

And so I'm looking forward to the president drawing that line from 59 years ago today to the battle that we are facing right now about, overall, will the United States continue to be a democracy where every person who is eligible to vote can vote, and everyone who votes has their votes counted?

And if it doesn't work in the United States, then how can we expect it to work around the world?

AMNA NAWAZ: Amy, we know this idea of -- about American democracy being at risk, it is central.

It was central to his 2020 campaign.

It remains central to this '24 campaign for President Biden.

In terms of where voters are and how they see that as a voting issue, as something that is motivational to them, where does that rank?

AMY WALTER: So, that's why I think this term freedom is the one that they're using, because this is one where it can encompass a whole bunch of different topics.

I think there are some people for whom the topic of democracy, the issues surrounding what happened on January 6, and the president's conduct around and leading up to January 6 are centerpiece.

We saw this in 2022, where the candidates who were running on a similar platform as the president, talking about an election that was rigged, denying the results of the election, that did not work as a campaign message for Republicans in 2022.

And it is likely to fall flat again for this election, and why Democrats want to put that in the mainframe.

But the issue of abortion, what's interesting, when you have talked to both Democrats and Republicans, what they will tell you is, the challenge that Republicans have had is that this issue is not seen necessarily as a medical issue, or within the confines that politicians want to put it in, talking about we can have these certain limits on the practice, certain weeks, et cetera, but that it is about freedom itself, this idea that women had a right that is no longer available to them.

And so that's where you're seeing this conversation about freedom can go in many different ways.

It's also important to understand that we're televising this.

It's all very important, but how people get their information these days, of course, they have millions of different channels and options to look at.

And so you're going to see, I think, in a Biden campaign, a focus on that freedom agenda being targeted to different voters on different types of issues, whether it's voting rights, democracy, abortion access, health care.

GEOFF BENNETT: As we talked earlier about Joe Biden being a creature of the Senate, he was just shaking hands with Senator Joe Manchin and Senator Mitt Romney... AMY WALTER: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... two influential figures who are not running for reelection.

As you -- let's talk big picture about health care, because President Biden is expected to talk about that tonight and his effort to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

When you talk about kitchen table issues, that should be issue number one.

AMY WALTER: Yes, and it's when -- when people talk about the issue of the economy, we always think, oh, well, the economy is the number one issue.

Well, for many people, the economy is health care, right?

It is whatever the cost of the prescription drugs, or that they can't cover their overall health care costs.

I think what you're also going to hear, maybe, from the president -- I know that the campaign wants to talk about this -- which is Republican attempts to roll back the Affordable Care Act.

You know, it's pretty remarkable.

I remember, in the 2012 election, we -- obviously, that was the first election since Obamacare had been passed.

The Obama campaign did not run one single ad about Obamacare in the 2012 election.

It was... GEOFF BENNETT: Because it wasn't popular?

AMY WALTER: It was toxic.

(LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: It was the most toxic thing possible.

Now, here we are, not that much later.

You have a Democratic president who is going to run on Republicans trying to take it away, in the same way they did in the 2018... GEOFF BENNETT: And how many times the Trump administration -- or, during the Trump administration, did Congress try to repeal Obamacare?

AMY WALTER: That's what I mean, that Congress tried repealing it, exactly.

GEOFF BENNETT: And it didn't happen.

AMY WALTER: Exactly.

Exactly.

AMNA NAWAZ: We are going to watch the president deliver this address just two days after Super Tuesday.

As Amy mentioned, we were all here.

We were all spending that evening together.

And, Jonathan, David, we saw those results coming in.

And although President Trump dominated on the Republican side, President Biden dominated, obviously, winning more than 80 percent in all the states that he won, there were some weaknesses that were revealed.

Do you expect him to address those head on, Jonathan?

Are there moments in the address tonight that could actually go right to some of those weaknesses that were shown to us, revealed to us on Super Tuesday?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: I mean, I think he is going to make a play for trying to talk to folks within the base and folks in the country who are upset about his administration, how they view it, his administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian crisis that's happening in Gaza.

I think they're going to try to -- he's going to try to address that in an empathetic way.

But I also think he's going to make a pitch for those people in the Republican primary who voted for Nikki Haley.

And he's been doing it since that first statement.

AMNA NAWAZ: Did that pretty overtly, right?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: That first statement out was like, hey, if you voted for Nikki Haley, take a look at us... AMNA NAWAZ: Yes.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: ... because we are the defenders of democracy.

So I think he's going to -- he -- these speeches are always to various constituencies.

And this speech tonight will be the same, but the stakes are so much higher.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, how does he do that?

How does he message to some of those independents?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, well, outside the White House, every Democrat I know, the mood ranges from dread to anxiety to despair.

Inside the White House, it's totally different.

They're like, we got this.

And we're doing the right thing.

We have passed the right policies.

We don't really need to change course.

We don't want to panic.

We don't want those bed-wetters, as they call them.

And so I think, for those of us who pay close attention to President Biden, a lot of this will seem like what he does.

But the audience is so much bigger, for a lot of people, what he does will be fresh.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, here now is the president delivering his speech to the House speaker and another one for the vice president of the United States, as we are set to hear shortly from President Biden, as he delivers his third State of the Union address.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: Tony!

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: President Biden taking in the chamber there, receiving applause from both sides, it seems, and any moment now will begin to deliver this, his third State of the Union address.

In his very first, he went just over an hour, in his second State of the Union address, a little longer, about an hour and 13 minutes.

JOE BIDEN: Good evening.

AMNA NAWAZ: Let's see how long he goes tonight.

Here he is, the president of the United States.

JOE BIDEN: If I were smart, I'd go home now.

(LAUGHTER) (APPLAUSE) Mr. Speaker, Madam Vice President, members of Congress, my fellow Americans, in January 1941, Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation, and he said, "I address you in a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union."

JOE BIDEN: Hitler was on the march.

War was raging in Europe.

President Roosevelt's purpose was to wake up Congress and alert the American people that this was no ordinary time.

Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.

Tonight, I come to this same chamber to address the nation.

Now it's we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the union.

And, yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.

Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today.

What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack at -- both at home and overseas at the very same time.

Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.

If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: But Ukraine -- Ukraine can stop Putin.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... that it needs to defend itself.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: That is all -- that is all Ukraine is asking.

They're not asking for American soldiers.

In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, and I'm determined to keep it that way.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: But now assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership.

It wasn't long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."

Now... JOE BIDEN: Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, (APPLAUSE) tells Putin -- quote -- "Do whatever the hell you want."

(BOOING) JOE BIDEN: That's a quote.

A former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.

I think it's outrageous, it's dangerous, and it's unacceptable.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: America is a founding member of NATO, the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II prevent - - to prevent war and keep the peace, and today we've made NATO stronger than ever.

We welcomed Finland to the alliance last year.

(APPLAUSE) And just this morning, Sweden officially joined, and their minister is here tonight.

(APPLAUSE) Stand up.

(APPLAUSE) Welcome.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

(APPLAUSE) And they know how to fight.

Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen.

I say this to Congress -- we have to stand up to Putin.

(CHEERS) Send me a bipartisan national security bill.

History is literally watching.

History is watching.

If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk.

Europe is at risk.

The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish to do us harm.

My message to President Putin, who I've known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) We will not bow down!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) I will not bow down!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) In a literal sense, history is watching.

History is watching.

Just like history watched three years ago on January 6, when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy.

Many of you are here on that darkest of days.

We all saw with our own eyes the insurrectionists were not patriots.

They'd come to stop the peaceful transfer of power to overturn the will of the people.

January 6 lies about the 2020 election and the plot to steal the election posed a great -- gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War.

But they failed!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) America stood.

America stood strong, and democracy prevailed!

We must be honest.

The threat to democracy must be defended.

My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6.

I will not do that.

This is the moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies.

Here's the simple truth: you can't love your country only when you win.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) As I've done ever since being elected to office, I ask all of you without regard to party, to join together and defend democracy.

Remember your oath of office, of defending against all threats, foreign and domestic.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Respect -- respect free and fair elections.

Restore trust in our institutions, and make clear political violence has absolutely no place, no place in America.

Zero place.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Again, it's not -- it's not hyperbole to suggest history is watching you.

They're watching you.

Your children or grandchildren will read about this day and what we do.

History is watching another assault on freedom.

Joining us tonight is Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Birmingham, Alabama.

Fourteen months ago, 14 months ago, she and her husband welcomed a baby girl, thanks to the miracle of IVF.

She scheduled treatments to have that second child.

But the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, unleashed by a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

She was told her dream would have to wait.

What her family had gone through should never have happened.

Unless Congress acts, it could happen again.

So tonight, let's stand up for families like hers.

To my friends across the aisle, don't keep this waiting any longer.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Guarantee the right to IVF.

Guarantee it nationwide.

Like most Americans, I believe Roe v. Wade got it right.

I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader defending reproductive freedom and so much more.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you.

My predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

He's the reason it was overturned.

And he brags about it.

Look at the chaos that has resulted.

Joining us tonight is Kate Cox, the wife and mother from Dallas.

She's become pregnant again and had a fetus with a fatal condition.

Her doctor told Kate that her own life and her ability to have future -- children in the future were at risk if she didn't act.

Because Texas law banned her ability to act, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get what she needed.

What her family had got through should have never happened as well.

But it's happening to too many others.

There are state laws banning the freedom to choose, criminalizing doctors, forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states to get the treatment they need.

Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom.

My God, what freedom else would you take away?

Look, in it's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote the following.

And with all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral -- electoral power.

Excuse me, electoral or political power.

You're about to realize just how much you brought it up.

(APPLAUSE) Clearly.

(APPLAUSE) Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women.

But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot.

We won in 2022 and 2023, and we'll winning again in 2024.

(APPLAUSE) If you -- if you, the American people send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.

(APPLAUSE) Folks, America cannot go back.

I'm here to tonight to show what I believe is the way forward.

Because I know how far we've come.

Four years ago, next week, before I came to office, the country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century.

Remember the fear?

Record losses.

Remember the spikes in crime and the murder rate?

Raging virus that took more than 1 million American lives of loved ones?

Millions left behind?

A mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness.

A president, my predecessor, failed the most basic presidential duty that he owes to American people.

The duty to care.

I think that's unforgivable.

I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation's history.

We have.

It doesn't make new but - - news, in a thousand cities and towns, the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.

(APPLAUSE) So let's tell the story here, tell it here and now, America's comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.

Investing in all America and all Americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot.

And we leave no one, no one behind.

The pandemic no longer controls our lives.

The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to beat cancer, turning setback into comeback.

That's what America does.

That's what America does.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink, now our economy is literally the envy of the world.

Fifteen million new jobs in just three years, a record, a record.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Unemployment at 50-year lows.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: A record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses.

And each one is a literal act of hope.

With historic job growth and small-business growth for blacks and Hispanics and Asian-Americans, 800,000 new manufacturing jobs in America, and counting.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Where is it written we can't be the manufacturing capital of the world?

We are, and we will.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: More people have health insurance today... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: More people have health insurance today than ever before.

The racial wealth gap is as small as it's been in 20 years.

Wages keep going up.

Inflation keeps coming down.

Inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent, the lowest in the world, and tending lower.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: The landing is and will be soft.

And now, instead of importing -- importing foreign products and exporting American jobs, we're exporting American products and creating American jobs... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... right here in America, where they belong.

JOE BIDEN: And it takes time, but the American people are beginning to feel (APPLAUSE) it.

Consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring.

"Buy America" has been the law of the land since the 1930s.

Past administrations, including my predecessor, including some Democrats as well in the past, failed to buy American.

Not any more.

On my watch, federal projects that you fund, like helping build American roads, bridges and highways, will be made with American products and built by American workers... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... creating good-paying American jobs.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And thanks to our CHIPS and Science Act, the United States is investing more in research and development than ever before.

During the pandemic, a shortage of semiconductors, chips, that drove up the price of everything from cell phones to automobiles -- and by the way, we invented those chips right here in America.

(APPLAUSE) (UNKNOWN): We did!

JOE BIDEN: Well, instead of having to import them -- instead, private companies are now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in America, creating tens of thousands of jobs... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... many of those jobs paying $100,000 a year and don't require a college degree.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: In fact, my policies have attracted $650 billion in private-sector investment, in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, creating tens of thousands of jobs here in America.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And thanks -- and thanks to our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, 46,000 new projects have been announced all across your communities.

And by the way, I notice some of you who strongly voted against it are there cheering on that money coming in.

(APPLAUSE) (LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: I like it.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm with you.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm with you.

And if any of you don't want that money in your district, just let me know.

(LAUGHTER) Modernizing our roads and bridges, ports and airports, public transit systems, removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without risking brain damage.

(APPLAUSE) Providing affordable -- affordable high-speed Internet for every American, no matter where you live, urban, suburban or rural communities, in red states and blue states.

Record investments in tribal communities.

Because of my investment in family farms... (APPLAUSE) Because I invested in family farms led by my secretary of agriculture, who knows more about this than anybody I know, we're better able to stay in the family for those farms and their children and grandchildren won't have to leave, leave home to make a living.

It's transformative.

The great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois, home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.

Before I came to office, the plant was on its way to shutting down.

Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods.

Hope was fading.

Then I was elected to office and we raised the Belvidere repeatedly with auto companies, knowing unions would make all the difference.

The UAW worked like hell to keep the plant open and get these jobs back, and together we succeeded.

Instead of auto factories shutting down, auto factories reopened and the new state-of-the-art battery factories being built to power those cars there at the same -- (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Folks -- for the folks at Belvidere, I say, instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again because instead of watching auto jobs in the future go overseas, 4,000 union jobs with higher wages are building the future in Belvidere right here in America.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Here tonight is UAW president Shawn Fain, a great fan and a great labor leader.

Sean, where are you?

Stand up.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And Dawn.

And Dawn Simms, a third-generation worker, UAW worker at Belvidere.

Shawn, I was proud to be the first president to stand in the picket line.

And today, Dawn has a good job in her hometown, providing stability for her family and pride and dignity as well.

Showing once again Wall Street didn't build America.

They're not bad guys.

They didn't build it, though.

The middle class built the country and unions built the middle class.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I say to the American people, when America gets knocked down, we get back up.

We keep going.

That's America.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: That's you, the American people.

It's because of you America is coming back.

It's because of you our future is brighter.

It's because of you that tonight we can proudly say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger.

(CROWD CHANTS "FOUR MORE YEARS) (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Tonight -- tonight I want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together.

A future where the days of trickle-down economics are over.

And the wealthy and the biggest corporations no longer get all the tax breaks.

And by the way, I understand corporations.

I come from a state that has more corporations invested than every one of your states in the United States combined.

And I represented it for 36 years.

I'm not anti-corporation, but I grew up in a home where trickle-down economics didn't put much on my dad's kitchen table.

That's why I determined to turn things around so middle class does well.

When they do well, the poor have a way up and the wealthy still do very well.

We all do well.

And there's more to do to make sure you're feeling the benefits of all we're doing.

Americans pay more for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world.

It's wrong, and I am ending it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: With a law that I proposed and signed, not one of your Republican buddies voted for it, we finally beat big pharma.

Instead of paying $400 a month or thereabouts for insulin with diabetes, it only cost 10 bucks to make, they only get paid $35 a month now and still make healthy profit.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And I want -- what to do next?

I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it.

Everyone.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: For years, people have talked about it, but finally we got it done and gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs.

Just like the V.A.

is able to do for veterans.

That's not just saving seniors money, it's saving taxpayers' money.

We cut the federal deficit by $160 billion.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Because Medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to big pharma.

This year, Medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs in the market to treat everything from heart disease to arthritis.

It's now time to go further and give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prices for 500 different drugs over the next decade.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: They're making a lot of money, guys.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And they will still be extremely profitable.

It will not only save lives; it will save taxpayers another $200 billion.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Starting next year, the same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare at $200 -- $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000.

And I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Folks, I'm going to get in trouble for saying it, but any of you want to get in Air Force One, we can fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow -- I mean -- excuse me - - and -- well, even Moscow, probably.

(LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: And bring your prescription with you, and I promise you I will get it for you for 40 percent the cost you're paying now, same company, same drug, same place.

Folks, the Affordable Care Act, the old Obamacare, it's still a very big deal.

(LAUGHTER) (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of a preexisting condition.

Well, my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take those -- that prescription drug away by repealing Affordable Care Act.

(BOOING) JOE BIDEN: I'm not going to let that happen.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We stopped you 50 times before, and we will stop you again.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: In fact, I'm not only protecting it.

I'm expanding it.

The -- the enacted tax credits of $800 per person per year reduced health care costs for millions of working families.

That tax credit expires next year.

I want to make that savings permanent.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: To state the obvious, women are more than half our population, but research on women's health has always been underfunded.

That's why we're launching the first ever White House Initiative on Women's Health Research led by Jill, doing an incredible job as first lady.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We will pass my plan for $12 billion to transform women's health research and benefit millions of lives all across America.

I know the cost of housing is so important to you.

If inflation keeps coming down, mortgage rates will come down as well, and the Fed acknowledges that.

But I'm not waiting.

I want to provide an annual tax credit that will give Americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put toward their mortgages when they buy their first home or trade up for a little more space.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: That's for two years.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And my administration is also eliminating title insurance on federally backed mortgages.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: When you refinance your home, you can save $1,000 or more as a consequence.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: For millions of renters, we're cracking down on big landlords who use antitrust laws -- using antitrust -- who break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We have cut red tape, so builders can get federally financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million new housing units nationwide.

Now pass... (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Now pass and build and renovate two million affordable homes and bring those rents down.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: To remain the strongest economy in the world, we need to have the best education system in the world.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And I, like I suspect all of you, want to give a child, every child, a good start by providing access to preschool for 3 and 4 years old.

(APPLAUSE) You know, I think I pointed out last year... (APPLAUSE) I think I pointed out last year that children coming from broken homes, where there's not books, they're not read to, they're not spoken to very often, start school, kindergarten or first grade hearing -- having heard a million fewer words spoken.

Well, studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school, go on to earn a two- and four-year degree no matter what their background is.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I met a year and a half ago with the leaders of the business roundtable, they were mad that I -- they were angry.

I said, well, they were discussing why I wanted to spend money on education.

I pointed out to them as Vice President, I met with over 8 -- I think was 182 those folks don't hold me the exact number and I asked them, what they need most, the CEOs and you've had the same experience of both sides now.

They say a better educated work force, right?

So I looked at them, and I say I come from Delaware, DuPont used to be the eighth largest corporation in the world and every new enterprise they bought they educated the work force to that enterprise, but none of you do that anymore.

Why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best educated work force in the world?

They all looked at me and said, I think you're right.

I want to expand high quality tutoring and summer learning to see that every child learns to read by third grade.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm also connecting local businesses in high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to good paying job whether or not they go to college.

And I want to make sure the college is more affordable.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Let's continue increasing the Pell Grants to working in middle-class families and increase record investments.

In HBCU, the minority serving institution including Hispanic institution.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And I was told I couldn't universally just change the way in which you did -- that was student loans.

I fixed two student loan programs that already existed to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly four million Americans including nurses, firefighters, and others in public service.

Like Keenan Jones, a public educator in Minnesota who's here with us tonight.

Keenan, where are you?

Keenan, thank you.

He's educated hundreds of students so they can go to college.

Now, he's able to help after debt forgiveness get his own daughter to college.

JOE BIDEN: And folks, look, such relief is good (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) for the economy because folks are now able to buy a home, start a business, start a family while we're at it.

I want to give public school teachers a raise.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And by the way, the first couple years, we cut the deficit.

Now, let me speak to the question of fundamental fairness for all Americans.

I've been delivering real results in fiscally responsible ways.

We've already cut the federal deficit.

We've already cut the federal deficit over a trillion dollars.

I signed the bipartisan deal to cut another $1 trillion in the next decade.

It's my goal to cut the federal deficit another $3 trillion by making big corporations, the very wealthy, finally beginning to pay their fair share.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Look, I'm a capitalist, if you want to make or can make a million or millions of bucks, that's great.

Just pay your fair share in taxes.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: A fair tax code is how we invest things to make this country great, health care, education, defense, and so much more.

But here's the deal, the last administration enacted a $2 trillion tax cut, overwhelmingly benefit the topping 1 percent, the very wealthy and the biggest corporation and exploded the federal deficit.

They added more to the national debt than any presidential term in American history.

Check the numbers.

Folks at home, does anybody really think the tax code is fair?

Do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax break?

I sure don't.

I'm going to keep fighting like hell to make it fair.

Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 or you'll pay additional penny in federal taxes.

Nobody, not one penny.

And they haven't yet.

(APPLAUSE) In fact, the Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes from millions of working families and cut child poverty in half.

Restore that Child Tax Credit.

No child should go hungry in this country.

(APPLAUSE) The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations the very wealthy begin to pay their fair share.

Remember in 2020, 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 billion and paid zero in federal income tax.

Zero.

Not anymore.

Thanks to the law I wrote when we signed.

Big companies have to pay a minimum 15 percent.

But that's still less than working people paying federal taxes.

It's time to raise corporate minimum tax to at least 21 percent.

(APPLAUSE) So every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.

I also want to end tax breaks for big pharma, big oil, private checks, massive executive pay when it's only supposed to be a million dollars that could be deducted.

They can pay him 20 million if they want, but deduct a million.

End it now.

You know there are 1,000 billionaires in America.

You know what the average federal tax is for those billionaires?

No.

They're making great sacrifices.

8.2 percent.

That's far less than the vast majority of Americans pay.

No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker or a nursery.

(APPLAUSE) I propose a minimum tax for billionaires of 25 percent.

Just 25 percent.

You know what that would raise?

That would raise $500 billion over the next 10 years.

And imagine what that could do for America.

Imagine a future with affordable childcare, millions of families can get.

They need to go to work to help grow the economy.

Imagine a future with paid leave because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of their sick family member.

Imagine.

(APPLAUSE) Imagine the future of home care and elder care and people living with disabilities so they can stay in their homes and family caregivers can finally get the pay they deserve.

Tonight, let's all agree once again to stand up for seniors.

(APPLAUSE) Many of my friends on the other side of aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block.

If anyone here tries to cut Social Security, Medicare, or raise the retirement age, I will stop you.

(APPLAUSE) The working people -- the working people who built this country pay more into Social Security than millionaires and billionaires do.

It's not fair.

We have two ways to go.

Republicans can cut Social Security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy.

That's the proposal.

Oh, no.

You guys don't want another $2 trillion tax cut?

I kind of thought that's what your plan was.

(LAUGHTER) Well, that's good to hear.

You're not going to cut another $2 trillion for the super wealthy?

That's good to hear.

I'll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Look, too many corporations raise prices to pad their profits, charging more and more for less and less.

That's why it's cracking down on corporations engaging in price gouging and deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing.

In fact, the snack companies think you won't notice if they change the size of the bag and put a hell of a lot fewer.... (LAUGHTER) Same size bag -- put fewer chips in it.

(LAUGHTER) No, I'm not joking.

It's called "shrinkflation."

Pass Bobby Casey's bill and stop this.

(APPLAUSE) I really mean it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) You probably all saw that commercial on Snickers bars.

You get -- you get charged the same amount and you got about, I don't know, 10 percent fewer Snickers in it.

Look, I'm also getting rid of junk fees.

Those hidden fees at the end of your bill, they're there without your knowledge.

My administration announced we're cutting credit card late fees from $32 to $8.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Banks and credit card companies are allowed to charge what it would cost them to instigate the collection, and that's more a hell of a lot like $8 and $30 some dollars.

They don't like it.

Credit card companies don't like it.

But I'm saving American families $20 billion a year with all the junk fees I'm eliminating.

(APPLAUSE) Folks at home, that's why the banks are so mad.

It's $20 billion in profit.

I'm not stopping there.

My administration has proposed rules to make cable, travel, utilities and online ticket sellers tell you the total price up front, so there are no surprises.

It matters.

It matters.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) And so does this -- in November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators.

The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen.

(JEERS) Oh, you don't think so?

Oh, you don't like that bill, huh?

That conservatives got together and said it was a good bill?

I'll be darn.

That's amazing.

That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges to help tackle the backlog of 2 million cases, 4,300 more asylum officers and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) What do you against?

One hundred more high tech drug detection machines to significantly increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles smuggling fentanyl into America that's killing thousands of children.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) This bill would save lives and bring order to the border.

And also give me and any new president, new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.

The Border Patrol Union has endorsed this bill.

The federal Chamber of Commerce is -- yeah, yeah.

You're saying no.

Look at the facts.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I know... (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I know you know how to read.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I believe that, given the opportunity, for -- a majority in the House and Senate would endorse the bill as well, a majority right now.

But, unfortunately, politics has derailed this bill so far.

I'm told my predecessor called members of Congress and the Senate to demand they block the bill.

He feels the political win.

He viewed it as a -- be a political win for me and a political loser for him.

It's not about him.

It's not about me.

I'd be a winner -- not really.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Laken Riley -- JOE BIDEN: I -- (JEERS) (INAUDIBLE) JOE BIDEN: Laken -- Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.

That's right.

But how many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals?

To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you.

Having lost children myself, I understand.

But look, if we change the dynamic at the border, people pay -- people -- people pay these smugglers 8,000 bucks to get across the border because they know if they get by, if they get by and let into the country, it's six to eight years before they have a hearing.

And it's worth taking a chance for the $8,000.

But -- but if it's only six months -- six weeks, the idea is it's highly unlikely that people will pay that money and come all that way knowing that they'll be able to be kicked out quickly.

Folks, I would respectfully suggest, my friend -- my Republican friends owe it to the American people, get this bill done.

We need to act now now.

(APPLAUSE) And if my predecessor's watching, instead of paying politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it.

We can do it together.

But that's what he -- apparently, here's what he will not do.

I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poison in the blood of our country.

(APPLAUSE) I will not separate families.

I will not ban people because of their faith.

(APPLAUSE) Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office, I introduced a comprehensive bill to fix our immigration system.

Take a look at it, it has all these and more.

Secure the border, provide a pathway to citizenship for dreamers, and so much more.

(APPLAUSE) But unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans.

And we're the only nation in the world with the heart and soul that draws from old and new, home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years, home to people of every place, from every place on earth.

They came freely.

Some came in chains.

Some came when famine struck, like my ancestral family in Ireland.

Some to flee persecution.

To chase dreams that are impossible anywhere but here in America.

That's America.

And we all come from somewhere.

But we're all Americans.

(APPLAUSE) Look, folks, we have a simple choice.

We can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it.

(APPLAUSE) I'm ready to fix it.

Send me the border bill now!

(APPLAUSE) A transformational moment in history happened 58 -- 59 years ago today in Selma, Alabama.

Hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, named after the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, to claim their fundamental right to vote.

They were beaten.

They were bloodied and left for dead.

Our late friend and former colleague John Lewis was on that march.

(APPLAUSE) We miss him!

(APPLAUSE) But joining us tonight are other marchers, both in the gallery and on the floor, including Bettie Mae Fikes, known as the Voice of Selma.

The daughter of gospel singers and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that Bloody Sunday to help shake the nation's conscience.

Five months later, the Voting Rights Act passed and was signed into law.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

But 59 years later, there are forces taking us back in time.

Voter suppression, election subversion, unlimited dark money, extreme gerrymandering.

John Lewis was a great friend to many of us here.

But if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes who marched with him, then it's time to do more than talk.

(APPLAUSE) Pass the Freedom to Vote Act!

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act!

(APPLAUSE) And stop, stop denying another core value of America, our diversity across American life.

Banning books, it's wrong.

Instead of erasing history, let's make history.

I want to protect fundamental rights.

Pass the Equality Act!

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And my message to transgender Americans, I have your back.

JOE BIDEN: Pass the PRO Act for workers' rights.

(APPLAUSE) (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Raise the federal minimum wage... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... because every worker has a right to a decent living, more than a seven bucks an hour.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We're also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it.

I don't think any of you think there's no longer a climate crisis.

At least I hope you don't.

(LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) JOE BIDEN: I'm taking the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030, creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs like the IBEW workers building, installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... conserving 30 percent of America's lands and waters by 2030... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... and taking action on environmental injustice, fence line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution.

And patterned after the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, I launched the Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work in the forefront of our clean energy future.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'll triple that number in a decade.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: To state the obvious, all Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office.

(UNKNOWN): (INAUDIBLE) JOE BIDEN: The year before I took office, murder rates went up... (UNKNOWN): (INAUDIBLE)!

JOE BIDEN: ... 30 percent - - 30 percent, they went up.

(UNKNOWN): (INAUDIBLE)!

JOE BIDEN: ... the biggest increase in history.

(UNKNOWN): (INAUDIBLE)!

JOE BIDEN: It was then, through no - - through my American Rescue Plan, which every American (sic) voted against, I might add, we made the largest investment in public safety ever.

Last year, the murder rate saw the sharpest decrease in history.

Violent crime fell to one of its lowest levels in more than 50 years.

But we have more to do.

We have to help cities invest in more community police officers, more mental health workers... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... more community violence intervention, give communities the tool to crack down on gun crime, retail crime and carjacking.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Keep building trust, as I've been doing by taking executive action on police reform and calling for it to be the law of the land.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, expunging thousands of convictions for the mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply using, or have it on their record.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Take on crimes of domestic violence.

I'm ramping up the federal enforcement of the Violence Against Women Act that I proudly wrote when I was a senator... JOE BIDEN: ... so we can finally, finally end the scourge against women in America.

(APPLAUSE) (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: There are other kinds of violence I want to stop.

With us tonight is Jasmine, whose nine-year-old sister Jackie was murdered, with 21 classmates and teachers in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Very soon after that happened, Jill and I went to Uvalde for a couple days.

We spent hours and hours with each of the families.

We heard their message, so everyone in this room, in this chamber, could hear the same message, the constant refrain -- and I was there for hours, meeting with every family -- they said, "Do something.

Do something."

Well, I did do something by establishing the first ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the White House... (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: ... that the vice president is leading the charge.

Thank you for doing it.

JOE BIDEN: Meanwhile... (APPLAUSE) (APPLAUSE) Meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he's proud he did nothing on guns when he was president.

(BOOING) JOE BIDEN: Oof.

After another shooting in Iowa recently, he said, when asked what to do about it, he said, "Just get over it."

There was his quote, "Just get over it."

I say, stop it.

Stop it, stop it, stop it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years because of this Congress.

We now must beat the NRA again.

I am demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Pass universal background checks.

None of this.

None of this.

I taught the Second Amendment for 12 years.

None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.

You know, as we manage challenges at home, we're also managing crisis abroad, including in the Middle East.

I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, for the Palestinian people, and so many here in America.

This crisis began on October 7 with a massacre by a terrorist group called Hamas, as you all know.

1,200 innocent people, women and girls, men and boys, slaughtered after enduring sexual violence.

The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

And 250 hostages taken.

Here in this chamber tonight are families whose loved ones are still being held by Hamas.

I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring every one of your loved ones home.

We also -- (APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained by the Russians, and others around the world.

Israel has the right to go after Hamas.

Hamas entered this conflict by releasing hostages, laying down arms -- could end it by releasing the hostages, laying down arms and surrendering those responsible for October 7.

But Israel has -- excuse me, Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards.

Under hospitals, day care centers and all the like.

Israel also has a fundamental responsibility, though, to protect innocent civilians in Gaza.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.

More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas.

Thousands and thousands of innocents, women and children, girls and boys also orphaned.

Nearly two million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement.

Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin.

Families without food, water, medicine.

It's heartbreaking.

I've been working nonstop to establish an immediate cease-fire that would last for six weeks to get all the prisoners released, all the hostages released.

We get the hostages home and ease the intolerable and humanitarian crisis, and build toward an enduring a more -- something more enduring.

The United States have been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Tonight I'm directing the U.S. Military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.

No U.S. boots will be on the ground.

A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And Israel must do its part.

Israel must allow more aid into Gaza to ensure humanitarian workers aren't caught in the crossfire, and they're announcing they're going to -- they're going to have a crossing in northern Gaza.

To the leadership of Israel, I say this.

Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip.

Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.

As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And I say this, as a lifelong supporter of Israel, my entire career, no one has a stronger record with Israel than I do.

I challenge any of you here.

I'm the only American president to visit Israel in wartime, but there is no other path that guarantees Israel's security and democracy.

There is no other path that guarantees Palestinian can live in peace with peace and dignity.

There's no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, with whom I'm talking.

Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.

That's why I build a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

I've ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capability and defend U.S. forces in the region.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and our military personnel.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: For years, I've heard many of my Republican and Democratic friends say that China is on the rise and America is falling behind.

They've got it backwards.

I've been saying it for over four years, even when I wasn't president.

America is rising.

We have the best economy in the world.

And since I've come to office, our GDP is up.

Our trade deficit of China is down to the lowest point in over a decade.

And we're standing up against China's unfair economic practices.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: We're standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

I revitalize our partnership and alliance in the Pacific, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Pacific Islands.

I've made sure that the most advanced American technologies can't be used in China, not allowing to trade them there.

Frankly, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that.

I want competition with China, not conflict.

And we're in a stronger position to win the conflict of the 21st Century against China than anyone else for that matter, than any time as well.

Here at home, I've signed over 400 bipartisan bills.

There's more to pass my unity agenda.

Strengthen penalties on fentanyl trafficking.

You don't want to do that, huh?

Pass bipartisan privacy legislation to protect our children online.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Harness -- harness the promise of A.I.

to protect us from peril.

Ban A.I.

voice impersonations and more.

And keep our truly sacred obligation to train and equip those we send in the harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: That's why the song, Support and Help of Dennis and the VA, I signed The PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans expose to toxins who now are battling more than 100 different cancers.

Many of them don't come home, but we owe them and their families support.

We owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency called ARPA-H. And remind us -- remind us that we can do big things like end cancer as we know it, and we will.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Let me close with this.

Yay.

(APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I know you don't want to hear any more, Lindsay, but I've got to say a few more things.

I know it may not look like it, but I've been around a while.

When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever.

I know the American story.

Again and again, I've seen the contest between competing forces and the battle for the soul of our nation.

Between those who want to pull America back to the past and those who want to move America into the future.

My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy, a future based on core values that define America.

Honesty, decency, dignity, equality, to respect everyone, to give everyone a fair shot, to give hate.

No safe harbor.

No other people my age see it differently.

(LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: ... the American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution.

That's not me.

I was born amid World War II, when America stood for the freedom of the world.

I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, among working-class people, who built this country.

I watched in horror as two of my heroes, like many of you did, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy, were assassinated, and the legacies that inspired me to pursue a career -- a career in service.

I left a law firm, became a public defender, because my city of Wilmington was the only city in America occupied by the National Guard after Dr. King was assassinated because of the riots.

And I became a county councilman almost by accident.

I got elected to the United States Senate, when I had no intention of running, at age 29, then vice president to our first black president, now president to the first woman vice president.

JOE BIDEN: In my career, I have been told I was too young.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: By the way, they didn't let me on the Senate elevators for votes sometimes.

Not a joke.

(LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: And I have been told I'm too old.

(LAUGHTER) JOE BIDEN: Whether young or old, I have always been known -- I have always known what endures.

I have known our North Star.

The very idea of America is that we're all created equal, deserves to be treated equally throughout our lives.

We have never fully lived up to that idea, but we have never walked away from it either.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And I won't walk away from it now.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I'm optimistic.

I really am.

I'm optimistic, Nancy.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) CHAMBER: Four more years!

Four more years!

Four more years!

JOE BIDEN: My fellow Americans... CHAMBER: Four more years!

Four more years!

JOE BIDEN: ... the issue facing our nation... CHAMBER: Four more years!

JOE BIDEN: ... isn't how old we are.

It's, how old are our ideas?

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas.

But you can't lead America with ancient ideas that will only take us back.

You need America, the land of possibilities, you need a vision for the future and what can and should be done.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: Tonight, you have heard mine.

I see a future where, defending democracy, you don't diminish it.

I see a future where we restore the right to choose and protect our freedoms, not take them away.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I see a future where the middle class has -- finally has a fair shot and the wealthy have to pay their fair share in taxes.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence.

JOE BIDEN: Above all, I see a future for all Americans.

I see a country for all Americans.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) And I will always be president for all Americans, because I believe in America.

I believe in you, the American people.

You're the reason we have never been more optimistic about our future than I am now.

So, let's build the future together.

Let's remember who we are.

We are the United States of America!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: And there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we act together.

God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) GEOFF BENNETT: And that was a forceful and feisty State of the Union address.

President Biden kicked off his speech with a focus on foreign policy, talking about the need to defend Ukraine.

He highlighted the accomplishments of his first term, capping drug prices, infrastructure investments, COVID recovery.

It was a speech that was heavy on economic populism.

And he also mentioned the Israel-Hamas war, the plight of the Palestinian people.

Let's go down to our Lisa Desjardins, who is still in the chamber just above the House rostrum there.

Lisa, from your perch there, give us a sense of what you saw, especially some of the outbursts we heard throughout the evening.

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, that's right.

There were two outbursts from members of Congress on the floor.

One, you saw Marjorie Taylor Greene when the subject was immigration and Laken Riley.

She repeatedly said, "Say her name."

And President Biden essentially was repeating what she was saying, as if to inform the crowd what was going on.

The other was from the back, where a House Republican shouted out "Lies."

We know there were only Republicans in that area, but we're asking the offices of the members who were in that area who it was that shouted that out.

There were also two interruptions from the Gallery.

One, in particular, was right behind me, and it was someone, I really was looking at him right after this happened, who you could tell was reacting in real time and hadn't planned to do it.

But he was pushing back at the idea of the numbers of Palestinians killed, and he shouted "Says who?"

and then on his way being escorted out of the chamber said "Israel."

So, it really just displays the different tensions in this room.

We saw some members sitting down and standing up at different parts for Israel.

But, overall, Geoff, I'm going to bring a bigger point.

You may have seen this on the screen.

House Republicans were not listening to that speech, by and large, and not just out of defiance.

They just seemed not to be paying attention.

They were almost only here physically, almost bordering on a disrespectful way.

And it was something I have never seen to this degree before.

AMNA NAWAZ: Lisa, you mentioned some of those outbursts in the room.

And we should note we had different camera angles here, so we don't necessarily see what you see.

Also, just to clarify a little bit, when you mentioned Laken Riley, to remind folks at home, we're talking about the young nursing student at the University of Georgia who was murdered while out on a run.

And the accused in the case is an undocumented immigrant.

That's been a flash point now in both the immigration debate and crime conversations.

But we did see at one point, when the late John Lewis' name was brought up and the bill in his name was brought up, House Speaker Mike Johnson did rise, and he did clap at that moment.

Did you, from your vantage point, see any other moments where both sides of the aisle seemed to be in agreement on any issue?

LISA DESJARDINS: I am afraid that I did not.

And I expected them to be there.

I wrote down in my notes that same moment, because I had been waiting for those typical bipartisan moments in things like manufacturing, made in America.

All of that passed without much applause.

And I think that tone was set early on, when President Biden talked about January 6 and said, they were not successful.

Those attacking the Capitol did not win.

I was astounded to those -- all -- nearly all Republicans not only were not standing while Democrats were standing.

They were not clapping.

They were not reacting at all.

And you would think, if there isn't a unifying principle in this chamber, which itself was attacked just three years ago, it should be applauding the idea that that attack was not successful.

But, instead, I watched the vast majority of House Republicans not even clapping.

Maybe a dozen or so clapped.

GEOFF BENNETT: That is our Lisa Desjardins.

Lisa, thank you.

And now over to our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez.

Laura, I know you have been in touch with your Democratic sources all evening.

What have they been telling you about the speech and their assessment of it?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, a lot of the Democrats that I have talked to have seemed pretty pleased with his speech tonight from the president.

He hit a lot of the things that they wanted him to talk about, the defense of democracy, the fight combating election denialism.

You also noticed in that chamber tonight that he got a lot of the Democrats riled up, riled up, Geoff, when he was talking about how he wanted to take on the tax code.

And when he asked them, does anyone think that the tax code is fair, you heard Democrats shout back, "No."

There was a lot of enthusiasm from Democrats during this speech.

And I think that they saw a President Joe Biden that they want to see more on the campaign trail, someone who's spontaneous, someone who engages, and someone who was really fired up throughout the entire speech.

You will also -- I just want to note, Geoff, that, during this speech we tracked it, there was 13 times that the president referred to his predecessor, and particularly on the issue of immigration.

That was something that we saw the president directly confront House Republicans on, for them blocking that bipartisan border bill.

And when he was talking about the specifics of that immigration bill, we noticed that Congress -- that Senator James Lankford, who was one of the key Republican negotiators working with the White House on that bill, he appeared to mouth, "That's true," when the president was talking about the details of that bill, of what that bill would have done.

And another thing that is probably on a lot of Democrats' minds as the president is talking about immigration and on the White House's -- staff at the White House's mind is a recent Wall Street Journal poll that found that some 59 percent of voters support that bipartisan immigration bill, and an even larger number, some 74 percent of voters, say that they actually think that there should be a pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants who have been here for years and who go through a background check.

AMNA NAWAZ: That's our Laura Barron-Lopez outside the House chamber.

Laura, I know you are going to stay with us, but let's bring in our panel here in the studio.

Amy Walter is editor of The Cook Political Report With Amy Walter.

David Brooks is still with us, columnist for The New York Times, and Jonathan Capehart, of course, associate editor of The Washington Post.

Amy, this was billed as not a political speech.

(LAUGHTER) AMNA NAWAZ: Fair to say there was quite a bit of politics in there.

What's your takeaway?

AMY WALTER: It was the most overtly political speech that I have heard given as a State of the Union ever.

And I think that it was really focused on one audience in particular, and that is on Democrats who worry that the president doesn't have the stamina, doesn't have the fight in him to really run a robust campaign against Donald Trump.

He came out swinging in the very first minutes of this speech, talking about his -- as Laura noted, his predecessor telling Putin, "Do whatever the hell you want."

He went after the Supreme Court and their decision on overturning Roe v. Wade.

So this is -- and I realize Twitter is not life, so I will be clear on that.

But when I tweeted out that this was the most overtly political speech I'd ever heard of the State of the Union, the response back from Democrats that I got in my feed was: Good.

This is exactly what we need to see.

And so I think what you saw is, this is the terrain that President Biden wants to make the campaign about, what he just laid out in the first basically five minutes of the -- right, of the speech.

And the things that Republicans want to make this campaign about were at the very back, which is the talk about immigration and some of the issues around bringing down inflation.

GEOFF BENNETT: As we keep our eye on the floor here, I'm only going to take bets to see how long President Biden is going to stay here talking with members of Congress.

(LAUGHTER) (CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: But David, it really was striking how political this speech was, in large part because Joe Biden is an institutionalist.

He is someone who says he cares very deeply about the Congress as an institutional body.

He talks a lot about bipartisanship.

Tonight, he used that bully pulpit for all that it's worth.

DAVID BROOKS: Yes.

No, I -- like Amy, I thought it was super political, especially those first three issues, Ukraine, January 6.

AMY WALTER: Yes, January 6.

DAVID BROOKS: IVF.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

DAVID BROOKS: I mean, somebody's been taking their Mike Tyson pills.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: And so I thought -- and I think the response will be, like it was last year, the guy is not so senile after all.

And I had a friend text me that -- somebody who thought it was irresponsible to run, he should step down, he's too old, he said, "I have sort of changed my mind on that."

And I suspect that will not be an uncommon reaction.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, what did you make of this?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: This was an epic speech.

AMNA NAWAZ: Epic JONATHAN CAPEHART: I thought last year's speech was a barn burner.

This one was that times 10, I think, because the stakes were so high for him and for the White House and for his reelection campaign.

But also, to Amy's point, for Democrats, they needed to see this.

I went back and looked at my text messages.

And I read this all to you.

We were four minutes in, and my best friend in New York, Joe Versace (ph), sends me a text message and all it said was: "Ms. Sofia home now."

(LAUGHTER) JONATHAN CAPEHART: Anyone watching who knows what that reference is, it's a turning point in the movie "Color Purple."

This was a turning point for lots of Democrats.

I think the entire Democratic world, capital-D Democratic world, is breathing a sigh of relief, and actually will be energized by the cranky grandpa that they just saw.

AMNA NAWAZ: The decision to take on his age head on at the end in the way that he did, which we know is a big concern even among Democrats, what did you make of that?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: He had to do it.

I mean, he could have -- sure, he could have ignored it, but why?

Lean into it?

And if you're going to lean into it, that's the way to lean into it, to remind the folks in that room and the people watching, Democrats, Republicans, all Americans: Yes, I'm old, but I have experience.

I'm old enough to have seen the changes in this country, and I'm the person to lead us into the future.

GEOFF BENNETT: The president's particular strain of economic populism, how is that resonating right now, and how do you think that will change in these next eight months toward the election?

AMY WALTER: Well, again, I think this is the contrast that you heard in this speech, which is not so much about issues that Republicans talk about, inflation is too high, costs are too much.

Instead, it's, let me put my economic ideals up against yours.

And he focused specifically on the tax bill.

The tax bill that President Trump signed into law is up at the beginning of 2025.

So there is going to be a lot of conversation, regardless of who's elected president, about what to do about those tax cuts.

And that is the kind of conversation that this president would like to have, because he would like to make the argument that, no, it is the former president, it is Republicans who are looking out for the rich.

It is the Republican Party that's not looking out for regular folks.

And that is -- in talking to Democrats in and around the Biden reelection campaign, that's exactly the kind of contrast they want to make, which is the former President Donald Trump is for himself, Joe Biden is for you.

AMNA NAWAZ: There are moments, of course, Amy, as you mentioned, that -- elements and issues that the president wants to be talking about seemed to be front-loaded into that speech.

AMY WALTER: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: And then there's the things that he needs to talk about, which probably continue to be issues like immigration that rise very high on voters' issue lists and were closer to the back of this speech.

Controller, I hope you will let me know if we don't yet have this piece of sound, but there was a moment in there in which he was talking about the failure of the border bill to move forward.

He repeatedly called on Congress to send him that border bill.

And there was a little bit of a back-and-forth with members of Congress in the room.

Take a listen to that moment.

JOE BIDEN: The Border Patrol Union has endorsed this bill.

The federal Chamber of Commerce is -- yeah, yeah.

You're saying no.

Look at the facts.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I know... (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I know you know how to read.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) JOE BIDEN: I believe that given the opportunity for a majority in the House and Senate would endorse the bill as well, a majority right now.

But, unfortunately, politics has derailed this bill so far.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, this is an issue that has bedeviled president after president after president, and an issue where the Republicans have long had the advantage.

Is there a tipping point here?

Has Biden gained ground on this?

DAVID BROOKS: He may have gained ground.

It's a huge Republican advantage on this issue.

It would be super tough to turn that around, especially like this -- tonight was a night, but people are going to still see images of people streaming across the border over the next months.

And so I'd be a little worried.

I wouldn't call it a tipping point.

But I do think he did the right thing.

It wasn't quite a Sister Souljah moment where he said, I'm not one of the left-wing party.

I'm like sort of in the middle there.

But he went pretty far in that direction.

And so I thought it was a pretty solid night for him on the immigration issue, but it's still just an open wound in the party.

And one other thing.

On the economy, one of the things reminded of -- I was reminded it was a traditional Democratic address, because there was like issue after issue.

It was like bludgeoning us with, I'm going to pay for this, I'm going to pay for that, childcare, tax credit, blah, blah, blah.

And that was like -- reminiscent of Clinton, Obama, Hubert Humphrey, Franklin Roosevelt probably.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: And so it was that.

And I think, personally, he's got a great record to run on.

I was up in Syracuse, near there, and people were ecstatic about a new chip plant coming in.

I was in Appalachian Ohio before that, people ecstatic about the chip plant.

I was in Dayton two weeks ago.

People were ecstatic about new plants coming in.

And so the economy is there, and people are feeling it.

But somehow there's a disconnect to the rewarding Joe Biden for it.

And I don't - - can't quite say I understand it, but he's got a good story to tell.

But will it -- if he keeps pounding the message, will it help?

I don't know.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jonathan, when you talk to Democrats on the Hill and at the White House, how do they explain that disconnect, the disconnect between the president's policies, especially on the economy, and the way that people actually feel it in their own lives?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Well, what they will say is, they don't feel it yet.

So, if you talk to them six months ago, it's, they don't feel it yet because a lot of it will be implemented next year, meaning 2024.

Now, today, they will say things like they're starting to feel it.

You see consumer confidence going up, and then they point to all the economic indicators that sort of back up what they're saying.

And so the hope is that by June, July -- well, actually, let's push ahead.

By the time people start focusing after Labor Day, that folks -- that the heart and mind will meet and people will turn around and say, hey, that Joe Biden is the reason why the economy is so good.

That's their hope.

AMNA NAWAZ: And we should note we are just awaiting, of course -- in a few minutes we will hear the Republican response.

We will bring that to you live as it happens.

And that this year, Amy is going to be delivered by Alabama Senator Katie Britt.

She's 42 years old.

She's a first-term senator, the third-youngest serving Senator, made history as the first woman to represent Alabama in the U.S. Senate.

The decision for her to deliver that response, what do you make of that?

AMY WALTER: Well, it was actually -- the decision to choose her was very notable too.

I mean, she is a candidate -- or -- candidate.

She's a sitting senator who, if you talk to Republicans on the Hill, they will tell you, this is the person that we think is, like, the future.

And she's been able to bridge the MAGA and establishment wings pretty well.

She comes from the establishment wing.

She was a staffer in the United States Senate.

She worked for a business organization back in Alabama.

So, everything about her screams establishment.

And yet she won over Donald Trump during her campaign.

Her husband is a professional football player -- or I think he played professionally.

GEOFF BENNETT: Yes, he did.

AMY WALTER: I know he played in -- he played... GEOFF BENNETT: The Chargers.

Yes, he was.

AMY WALTER: OK, he played in... GEOFF BENNETT: He's no longer playing, but yes.

AMY WALTER: From one of those schools down there.

(LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: ... it wrong.

GEOFF BENNETT: He was a pro football player.

AMY WALTER: Was it Auburn?

Was it Alabama?

He played for one of them.

GEOFF BENNETT: Close -- you know what?

Close enough.

AMY WALTER: OK. (LAUGHTER) AMY WALTER: People in Alabama are going to be mad I -- that we said that.

(CROSSTALK) AMY WALTER: I will get a lot of hate mail.

AMNA NAWAZ: Direct it all to Amy Walter, please.

AMY WALTER: The point being, she is the kind of face that Republicans, especially those who really are focused on, how do we do better with these swing voters, how do we win over some of these voters we have lost in the era of Trump?

They look to somebody like Katie Britt as being that bridge there, because of her story, because of her presence.

And we will see if she's able to sort of deliver on that in this response.

And, as you have said, these responses, they're not -- they're never really great for someone's political career, right?

AMNA NAWAZ: It can go very, very well or very poorly.

AMY WALTER: They're very hard to do.

They're very hard to do.

But what it says to the public, or at least to those of us who are in the mix, is, this is somebody you should take seriously as part of the future of the party.

GEOFF BENNETT: And she's only the -- she's the only current Republican mom of school-aged kids serving in the U.S. Senate.

And, of course, her home state has been at the forefront of the fight over reproductive rights... AMY WALTER: Right.

GEOFF BENNETT: ... given the Alabama state Supreme Court ruling on IVF.

And the fact that Republicans in Alabama have moved so quickly to enshrine those protections into law says a lot.

AMY WALTER: That's right.

They - - yes, it absolutely does, though notably the law that they did pass, it was very hasty and there's still a lot of potential problems that can come down that need to be fixed, but yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: This also ensures, of course, before we turn to Senator Britt, David and Jonathan, that abortion, abortion rights, the fallout from the overturning of Roe v. Wade will continue to be a central issue here, certainly something Democrats want to keep talking about.

DAVID BROOKS: I should first point out Joe Biden will be the last person in that room.

(CROSSTALK) DAVID BROOKS: He's going to be looking for the elevator operator.

(CROSSTALK) AMY WALTER: Literally, there's somebody vacuuming right now behind him.

DAVID BROOKS: You mentioned Barack Obama.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I mean, abortion is an issue both parties want to talk about.

I mean, it's key to the Republican bases.

It's key to the Democratic recent advantages.

So I assume that's going to come up.

She's going to have a little bit of a George McGovern problem here, in that George McGovern at the '72 convention didn't get to speak -- I think I'm right it was George McGovern - - until like super late at night.

And -- or maybe... (CROSSTALK) GEOFF BENNETT: I was not there, so I'm not entirely sure.

(LAUGHTER) DAVID BROOKS: But so it's now like 10:53 in the East Coast time.

And, usually, these things, the transition is a lot faster.

And so how many viewers she's going to have, I'm a little worried -- wondering about it.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, what do you make of what we will hear from her and how it could go over?

Also, we should mention former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said this could be like a big audition for her as a potential vice presidential pick.

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Sure, it could be a big audition if you just look at the performance of it.

But if you listen to the substance of it, what we're possibly going to hear, it is the peril of the Republican response, a response usually written before the respondent has ever heard -- has even heard what the president is saying.

And there could be some dissonance.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, as Amna said, we're set to hear from Katie Britt.

She's a rising star among Senate Republicans, a young working mother from a conservative state.

And here she is, Senator Katie Britt.

SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): Good evening, America.

My name is Katie Britt, and I have the honor of serving the people of the great state of Alabama in the United States Senate.

However, that's not the job that matters most.

I am a proud wife and mom of two school-aged kids.

My daughter, Bennett, and my son, Ridgeway, are why I ran for the Senate.

I'm worried about their future and the future of children in every corner of our nation.

And that's why I invited you into our home tonight.

Like so many families across America, my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Biden's State of the Union address from our living room.

And what we saw was the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than I have been alive.

One thing was quite clear, though.

President Biden just doesn't get it.

He's out of touch.

Under his administration, families are worse off, our communities are less safe, and our country is less secure.

I just wish he understood what real families are facing around kitchen tables just like this one.

You know, this is where our family has tough conversations.

It's where we make hard decisions.

It's where we share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our days.

It's where we laugh together, and it's where we hold each other's hands and pray for God's guidance.

And many nights, to be honest, it's where Wesley and I worry.

I know we're not alone.

And so tonight, the American family needs to have a tough conversation.

Because the truth is, we're all worried about the future of our nation.

The country we know and love seems to be slipping away.

And it feels like the next generation will have fewer opportunities and less freedoms than we did.

I worry my own children may not even get a shot at living their American dreams.

My American dream allowed me, the daughter of two small business owners from rural enterprise, Alabama, to be elected to the United States Senate at the age of 40.

Growing up, sweeping the floor at my dad's hardware store and cleaning the bathroom at my mom's dance studio, I never could have imagined what my story would entail.

To think about what the American dream can do across just one generation in just one lifetime, it's truly breathtaking.

But right now, the American dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families.

The true unvarnished state of our union begins and ends with this.

Our families are hurting.

Our country can do better.

And you don't have to look any further than the crisis at our southern border to see it.

President Biden inherited the most secure border of all time.

But minutes after taking office, he suspended all deportations.

He halted construction of the border wall, and he announced a plan to give amnesty to millions.

We know that President Biden didn't just create this border crisis.

He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days.

When I took office, I took a different approach.

I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas.

That's where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me.

She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12.

She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped.

The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoebox of a room, and they sent men through that door over and over again for hours and hours on end.

We wouldn't be okay with this happening in a third world country.

This is the United States of America, and it is pastime, in my opinion, that we start acting like it.

President Biden's border policies are a disgrace.

This crisis is despicable.

And the truth is, it is almost entirely preventable, from fentanyl poisonings to horrific murders.

There are empty chairs tonight at kitchen tables just like this one because of President Biden's senseless border policies.

Just think about Lake and Riley in my neighboring state of Georgia.

This beautiful 22-year-old nursing student went out on a jog one morning, but she never got the opportunity to return home.

She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland.

You all, as a mom, I can't quit thinking about this.

I mean, this could have been my daughter.

This could have been yours.

And tonight, President Biden finally said her name, but he refused to take responsibility for his own actions.

Mr. President, enough is enough.

Innocent Americans are dying and you only have yourself to blame.

Fulfill your oath of office.

Reverse your policies, end this crisis, and stop the suffering.

Sadly we know that President Biden's failures don't stop there.

His reckless spending dug our economy into a hole and sent the cost of living through the roof.

We have the worst inflation in 40 years and the highest credit card debt in our nation's history.

Let that sink in.

Hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet today, and with soaring mortgage rates and sky-high child care cost, they're also struggling to how to plan for tomorrow.

The American people are scraping by.

Well, President Biden proudly proclaims that Bidenomics is working.

Goodness, you all.

Bless his heart.

We know better.

I'll never forget stopping at a gas station in Chilton County one evening.

The gentleman working the counter told me that after retiring, he had to pick up a job in his 70s so that he didn't have to choose between going hungry or going without his medication.

He said, I did everything right.

I did everything I was told to do.

I worked hard, I saved, I was responsible.

He's not alone.

I hear similar concerns from fellow parents, whether I am walking with my friends or whether I'm at my kid's games.

But let's be honest, it's been a minute since Joe Biden pumped gas, ran a carpool, or even pushed a grocery cart.

Meanwhile, the rest of us see our dollar and we know it doesn't go as far.

We see it every day.

And despite what he tells you, our communities are not safer.

For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police, all while letting repeat offenders walk free.

The result is tragic but foreseeable.

From our small towns to America's most iconic city streets life is getting more and more dangerous.

And unfortunately, President Biden's weakness isn't just hurting families here at home.

He is making us a punchline on the world stage.

Look, where I'm from, your word is your bond.

But for three years, the president has demonstrated that America's word doesn't mean what it used to.

From abandoning our allies in his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan to desperately pushing another dangerous deal with Iran.

President Biden has failed.

We've become a nation in retreat, and the enemies of freedom they see an opportunity.

Putin's brutal aggression in Europe has put our allies on the brink.

Iran's terrorist proxies have slaughtered Israeli Jews and American citizens.

They've targeted commercial shipping, and they've attacked our troops nearly 200 times since October, killing three U.S. soldiers and two Navy SEALs.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is undercutting America's workers.

China is buying up our farmland, spying on our military installations, and spreading propaganda through the likes of TikTok.

You see, the CCP knows that, if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America.

And what does President Biden do?

Well, he bans TikTok for government employees, but creates an account for his own campaign.

You all, you can't make this stuff up.

Look, we all recall when presidents faced national security threats with strength and resolve.

That seems like ancient history.

Right now, our commander in chief is not in command.

The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader.

America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are actually the cornerstones of a great nation.

Just ask yourself, are you better off now than you were three years ago?

There's no doubt we're at a crossroads, and it doesn't have to be this way.

We all feel it.

But here's the good news.

We, the people, are still in the driver's seat.

We get to decide whether our future will grow brighter or whether we will settle for an America in decline.

Well, I know which choice our children deserve, and I know the choice the Republican Party is fighting for.

We are the party of hardworking parents and families, and we want to give you and your children the opportunities to thrive.

And we want families to grow.

It's why we strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization.

We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world.

Wesley and I believe there is no greater blessing in life than our children.

And that's why, tonight, I want to make a direct appeal to the parents out there and, in particular, to my fellow moms, many of whom I know will be up tossing and turning at 2:00 a.m. wondering how you're going to be in three places at once and then somehow still get dinner on the table.

First of all, we see you.

We hear you.

And we stand with you.

I know you're frustrated.

I know you're probably disgusted by most of what you see going on in Washington.

And I will be really honest with you.

You're not wrong for feeling that way.

Look, I get it.

The task in front of us isn't an easy one, but I can promise you one thing.

It is worth it.

So I am asking you, for the sake of your kids and your grandkids, get into the arena.

Every generation has been called to do hard things.

American greatness rests in the fact that we always answer that call.

It's who we are.

Never forget, we are steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world.

We walk in the footsteps of pioneers who tamed the wild.

We now carry forward the same flame of freedom as the liberators of an oppressed Europe.

We continue to draw courage from those who bent the moral arc of the universe.

And when we gaze upon the heavens, never forget that our DNA contains the same ingenuity that put man on the moon.

America has been tested before.

And every single time, we have emerged unbowed and unbroken.

Our history has been written with the grit of men and women who got knocked down.

But we know their stories because they did not stay down.

We are here because they stood back up.

So, now, it's our turn, our moment to stand up and prove ourselves worthy of protecting the American dream.

Together, we can reawaken the heroic spirit of a great nation because America -- we don't just have a rendezvous with destiny.

We take destiny's hand and we lead it.

Our future starts around kitchen tables just like this, with moms and dads just like you.

And you are why I believe with every fiber of my being, that despite the current state of our Union, our best days are still ahead.

May God bless you and may God continue to bless these United States of America.

AMNA NAWAZ: And that was Senator Katie Britt, first-term senator from Alabama, delivering the Republican response to President Biden's State of the Union address.

We are still here in our studio with Amy Walter, David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart.

And, Amy, I will start with you just to get your response on what we just heard both from Senator Katie Britt in response to President Biden.

The battle lines for this general election are now clearly drawn.

AMY WALTER: Yes, I mean, where you have President Biden starting with Ukraine and January 6 and abortion access and voting rights, she started on immigration and -- and spent most of her time there, and on inflation.

So that's clearly -- if you want to know what the 2024 campaign, what the candidates want to talk about, you had that right there.

The other thing is using her as an opportunity to reach out to many of the voters who may have abandoned Republicans during the era of Trump.

She made a direct appeal.

She said, this is to my fellow moms.

We see you and we stand with you, and really trying to appeal to them on the border issue specifically about trafficking and fentanyl use.

GEOFF BENNETT: Jonathan, how did that speech strike you?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: Everyone was so focused leading up to this night on President Biden's performance.

Will he have the energy?

Will he have the stamina?

Will he allay the fears that he's too old?

And after watching Senator Katie Britt, I'm just sitting here thinking, what in the Elle Woods was that?

It's not -- fine, the substance of which he had to talk about doesn't fit with my world view or political view, but it gets back to what I was saying before she spoke.

Sometimes, these speeches are prewritten and crafted.

And if you have watched the State of the Union, you sometimes come away thinking, that had nothing to do with what the president actually said.

And one line in particular jumped out at me was, Putin's brutal aggression in Europe has put our allies on the brink, which left me thinking, how would she vote on the Ukraine funding bill?

I don't think she'd vote for it, because no Republicans are pushing to get it to the floor.

So I have a hard time.

Responses to the State of the Union are always -- like, they're terrible chores.

They're terrible jobs.

They'd be great for auditioning for vice president.

But if you have to put the State of the Union up against the response, the State of the Union blows that one out of the water.

AMNA NAWAZ: David, got less than a minute here.

What are your takeaways from what we heard?

DAVID BROOKS: Yes, I thought she did a good job.

She's like -- a lot of people know somebody like that.

And so you have the career politician versus the mom.

You have the grand occasion versus the kitchen table.

I mean, I thought it was a pretty strong set of contrasts.

And so she happens to be talking to a country where like, I don't know how -- what percent, like 0.1 percent think the country's on the right track.

So she's got to -- she's talking to a country that's upset.

And she reflected that, I thought, decently.

AMNA NAWAZ: If there's one thing we know this election will be about, it's about the contrasts... GEOFF BENNETT: That's right.

AMNA NAWAZ: ... between those candidates.

Our thanks to all of you, to Jonathan Capehart, David Brooks, Amy Walter.

That concludes our special live coverage of the president's State of the Union address.

We hope you will join us back here tomorrow night on the "NewsHour."

And, don't forget, you can find much more reporting and analysis online any time at PBS.org/NewsHour.

I'm Amna Nawaz.

GEOFF BENNETT: And I'm Geoff Bennett.

For all of us here at PBS News, thank you for joining us, and have a good evening.