Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees Aired March 07, 2024 - 20:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: At the White House right now, President Joe Biden preparing to face Congress and the American people and deliver a speech that could have huge consequences for his re-election campaign. He'll soon leave for the U.S. Capitol to give his State of the Union address. Less than 48 hours after his long anticipated rematch with Donald Trump became a reality. Welcome to a special edition of AC 360. I'm Anderson Cooper. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And I'm Jake Tapper. About an hour from now, President Biden will walk into the House Chamber under enormous pressure to forcefully and successfully sell his vision for America and his argument for a second term. Mr. President Biden needs to take advantage of this opportunity with 10s of millions of Americans watching to make his case and perhaps the most important speech of his decades-long career in public life. This will be a critical test of the 81-year-old commander-in-chief. He will try to convince skeptical voters that they have benefited from his presidency and that he is ready and able to serve four more years, despite widespread public concerns about his age and about his stamina. The President's battle with Donald Trump, of course, looms over it all. In newly released excerpts of his speech, the President takes swipes at Trump while not mentioning him by name, hitting Trump on some of the most potent issues that divide the two men, the defense of democracy and the threat to reproductive rights across the country, perhaps foremost among them. We're also told the President will draw a contrast with President Trump - former President Trump, and Republicans on the economy as well, calling for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy. President Biden also will address an issue causing dissent within his party, the Israel-Hamas war. Administration officials say he will announce an emergency U.S. military mission to establish a port off the coast of Gaza in the Mediterranean to provide life-saving humanitarian aid. We're covering all of it, of course, with our team of correspondents at the Capitol, at the White House and in a battleground state that could very well decide the November election. First, let's go to MJ Lee who's at the White House. And MJ, as President Biden gets ready to head to the Capitol, what more are you learning about his speech? MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, any minute now, President Biden will get into his motorcade and make that short ride over to Capitol Hill, where he will deliver one of the most consequential speeches of his presidency. One word that I'm learning he - we do not expect to hear from the President tonight is the word Trump. A White House official who reviewed his prepared remarks earlier this evening tells me that the former president is not named. But aides have made very clear that it is going to be abundantly clear throughout the course of the speech that President Trump is exactly who President Biden is talking about and referencing in his speech tonight. Now, this speech, of course, Jake, has been months in the making. We know that the President did a full run-through this afternoon at the White House with his aides who were fueled, I'm told, by boxes of Andy's Pizza. And we know, of course, with any major President Biden speech, that there could be last-minute edits that are made to this speech. But I'm also told that, for the most part, this speech was finalized at least by this afternoon. One White House official telling me that that is simply because he knows what he wants to say. One just final thing I would note, too, from my position here, Jake, at the White House North Lawn, I can hear right now sounds of protesters that are near the White House. They are calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. This is just one more reminder of one of the toughest issues that President Biden will have to address tonight. We are told that it looks like these protesters are trying to get in the way of the President's motorcade. Again, he should be getting in that motorcade any minute now. Jake. TAPPER: All right. MJ Lee at the White House for us. Let's go to Capitol Hill now on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, where my colleague, Dana Bash, is in Statuary Hall. Dana? DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake. And I am here with the indefatigable, Manu Raju. You can feel the tension here outside the chamber. The question is, what is going to be happening inside. I know you have some great new reporting about the concerns. MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There's going to be a lot of tension inside the chamber. In fact, the House Republican leadership has counseled their members not to have any outbursts, not to heckle the President. Something that we saw last year, and Joe Biden turned it around against Republicans viewed in large parts, perhaps his most effective part of the speech. They're trying to avoid that tonight. But not just the House Republican leaders are urging the hardliners not to do that, also some other fellow like-minded hardliners, like Congressman Matt Gaetz has told his like-minded colleagues not to go that far. [20:05:07] BASH: Wow. RAJU: Saying it actually makes the President look more vigorous. He told me - he's told his colleagues, "Be best." And - but Dana, that is not going to be the only possible signs of a spectacle in the audience tonight. The former expelled congressman, George Santos, is using his floor privileges. He's going to be actually in the House Chamber tonight. And also, we saw those pro-Palestinian demonstrators. There is some expectation that perhaps this speech there could be interrupted by some pro-Palestinian demonstrators. We don't know that for sure, but that is the belief as we go into this critical moment for the President. But how does he deal with that, how does he deal with the outburst that could still be coming from Republicans, some Republican hardliners, like, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, told me that they may yell back at the President. So there's a lot to digest tonight. We'll see how the President deals with it. BASH: It's always crackling in here on a night like tonight, but it is next level tonight, Jake. TAPPER: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. And let's talk with our panel. Kasie Hunt, what are you hearing from Democrats on Capitol Hill about any possible anxiety they have? I mean, this is - it's not overstating it to say this could very well be the most important speech of Joe Biden's long career. KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I mean, you're absolutely right about that. And I think we'd be ignoring the obvious and I think all the people I've been talking to on the Hill would be ignoring the obvious if they didn't acknowledge that, yes, there are some nerves here. I mean, there is going to be a sense of being on pins and needles a little bit that they acknowledge, hoping that the President doesn't make a mistake tonight. Because I do think they also acknowledge just how high the stakes are. They are - you're absolutely right about that. I mean, this - I mean, Jamie, I think there's a sense it's even more important than the 2020 election for the President. JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. According to a source familiar with the speech, I was told that democracy in peril is back and they see this as the launch of 2024 and that this campaign, we have to, from their perspective, is more important, more dangerous than 2020. Remember, January 6th came after 2020, the 91 indictments. So I actually went back after I talked to the source and I looked at Joe Biden's convention speech. And remember those themes, soul of America, lightness and dark, character and decency, I'm told we'll hear more on those themes tonight. ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's - it reset the narrative around his age, around his stamina and then it's refocused. They just have to turn the ship to a whole different topic. It's going to be all of those things that Jamie talked about, but also the bread and butter issues. They understand that the economy is such a huge part of the American psyche right now, perhaps more so even than some of the loftier concepts that they're going to be talking about around democracy, whether they like that or not, people are paying attention to what's going on in their homes. They need to refocus the American attention at this particular moment, now that there's a real campaign underway, on the issues that they want it to be about, not what the narrative has been up until this moment. KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, THE SOURCE: I also think to know Joe Biden and to have covered Joe Biden is to know how meticulously he prepares for a moment like this. Obviously, every president rehearses for a State of the Union or the annual address to Congress. Biden dedicates hours to rehearsing the speech, time and time again, word for word, because he knows that public speaking is not always his strong suit, and they really want him to get it right. He's done it for his January 6th anniversary speech. I'm told that he's done it for this. And so he does prepare so carefully for this, knowing what it's going to look like. And the one thing with the State of the Union, everyone's always trying to jam their talking points in it to get their issues in it. By the end, it's kind of just a wish list by the end. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A laundry list, really. TAPPER: Yes. COLLINS: But what they know about this one is it's not even just substance. It's style over substance, style before substance and the White House has readily acknowledged that today. JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He has 242 days to do the political equivalent of bending a steel bar. He's underwater on every major issue, on the economy, on immigration, on vigor to be the President of the United States, mental capacity to be president of the United States. So the optics matter a lot. Is he vigorous? Is he making the case? Does he respond if he gets heckled or just somehow booed in the crowd, does he show that he's in the game and fighting? But the democracy part plays with some voters. He has to deal. His biggest problem right now is immigration and cost of living, immigration and cost of living. He has to convince people that it's going to get better and soon. TAPPER: One of the best things about being a Congressional correspondent is that lawmakers come to you. They're all over the place. And Dana Bash is in Statuary Hall, and she's got one of them. Dana? BASH: Thank you so much, I do, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We understand that the President is going to be talking a lot about corporate greed ... SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Yes. BASH: And about how to help people who are affected by corporate greed. WARREN: Yes. BASH: He's going to be singing from your hymnal, Senator. How do you want him to specifically talk about it to really get through to the American people? WARREN: I want to say it this way, he is singing from the American people's hymnal because while I've been talking about corporate greed for a long time, the American people were way ahead of both of us. [20:10:06] So for example, talking about now shrinkflation, the idea that companies think they can just kind of sneak it past us to keep prices the same, but give us fewer Dorito chips, fewer Oreos, fewer pieces of paper in the toilet paper roll. And American people are really sick of this. So I think what this is about is Joe Biden being Joe Biden. He gets out there and talks directly to the people he's fighting for. And he talks about using all the tools of government to come back and say, predatory pricing is predatory pricing and it's illegal. So they're going to start the investigations. They're going to stay after these companies and they're not going to try to give them a free pass. They're actually going to dog them on this and I think that's good. BASH: So there's the policy, the message ... WARREN: Yes. BASH: And the way that a leader communicates that message. WARREN: Exactly. BASH: What does he need to do, given the obvious? I mean, I don't even need to say it, we know that the American people are concerned about his age and they want to see a performance that shows that he can push the policies that you are talking about. WARREN: So, look, I think all we have to do is just turning loose and let Joe Biden be Joe Biden. Because when he winds up on the issues he really cares about, and those are the issues that hit American families in their pocketbooks, he's ready. He's off and going, because that's his whole life. I think voters are entitled to ask about anything they want to ask. But at the end of the day, every one of those questions strives toward, can you do the job, can that person do the job. I know that Joe Biden can do this job. And the way I know it is he is doing it and he's doing it so effectively on behalf of the people who need him. BASH: Senator, thank you so much for stopping by. WARREN: Thank you. BASH: Appreciate it. Jake, back to you. TAPPER: Thanks, Dana. And as we get closer to President Biden's actual speech, we're going to go back to Capitol Hill to speak with another prominent ally of President Biden. That's Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and we're going to go live to that anti-Gaza war protest happening near the Capitol right now. Protesters apparently hoping to cut off the President's motorcade route. There's much more ahead on CNN's State of the Union coverage. Stay with us. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:16:09] TAPPER: You're looking at a live view of Capitol Hill where anticipation is building for President Biden's State of the Union address, which should take place less than an hour from now. Let's go back to Dana Bash, who's inside the Capitol, with another special guest. Dana? BASH: Thank you. That's right, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, thank you so much for being here. The President is going to announce tonight that the U.S. military is going to build an emergency port to help get humanitarian aid inside Gaza. There are protests right now outside the White House, outside the Capitol. Do you think that this kind of move will help to quell that frustration? SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): Well, it's not a question of quelling frustration, Dana. It's a question of feeding starving children. We are looking at one of the great humanitarian crises in modern history. Hundreds of thousands of children are facing starvation. The United States, sadly, because we are arming the Israelis, is complicit in what's happening. It's got to stop. So I think when the President talks about airlifts, I think that's a step forward. When he talks about a pier and providing aid through the sea, that's a step forward. But at the end of the day, the way you get aid into northern Gaza is by demanding that the water restrictions be lifted, the convoys come in, and we start feeding people. BASH: Are you satisfied with what the President has done on that so far? SANDERS: No, I'm not. It's a step forward. But we have a long way to go. But the bottom line is, right now, Israel, in my view, certainly had a right to defend itself from the terrible Hamas attack on October 7th. They do not have a right to go to war against the entire Palestinian people. It is a mistake, to my mind, to be thinking about giving Netanyahu and his right-wing government another $10 billion. That's wrong. I oppose it. I hope the President will eventually oppose it. BASH: The President tonight, according to excerpts given to us by the White House, is going to say, my lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. Some other people my age see a different story, an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution. He's not saying the name Donald Trump. SANDERS: You think it might be Donald Trump? BASH: I mean, what do you think? SANDERS: Is that what you think? BASH: I don't know ... SANDERS: I don't know. BASH: Just a guess. SANDERS: Might be, good guess. Yes, I think it is. BASH: But what do you think about that message? SANDERS: I think it's an important message. Look, we as Americans are going to have different points of view, political points of view. But I would hope that every American appreciates that hundreds of thousands of men and women who put their lives on the line died to defend democracy and to defend freedom. And you have a former president whose name I will not mention, begins with a T, I won't mention it, though, who really is trying to undermine democracy. And I hope that we can come together and say, look, you disagree with me, fine. But elections are elections, somebody wins, you respect it. You call up that person. You don't try to make it harder for people to vote, you try to expand our democracy. So I think the President's point is a - an important one. BASH: Senator, thank you so much. Appreciate you stopping by. SANDERS: Thank you. BASH: Jake, back to you. TAPPER: Thanks, Dana. Let's get more now on those protests against President Biden, specifically against his handling of the Israel-Hamas war and his support for Prime Minister Netanyahu. CNN's Gabe Cohen is right now at a demonstration near the Capitol. Gabe, tell us what's going on. GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Jake, what you're seeing behind me are dozens of ceasefire protesters standing just a block or two away from the Capitol. They have shut down Pennsylvania Avenue, this major road. What they believe could be the motorcade route for President Biden as he makes his way from the White House to the Capitol for the State of the Union speech. Now, of course, they know it is unlikely that they would actually stop the motorcade. They considered this more of a symbolic protest. They wanted to block this road to, again, keep up that pressure campaign against the President. As those uncommitted votes are happening across the country, they felt like this was the biggest platform where they could make a statement to the President and actually block his route to come and speak in front of Congress. [20:20:04] But as we turn the camera around, you can see what's waiting for them here, Jake. There is a huge police presence, a line of officers. We haven't seen any arrests yet, but it looks like they are getting ready to start taking people into custody. It would likely be a misdemeanor charge. But look, Jake, these are people who have said they are ready to be arrested. They are here to make a statement. Some of them have been arrested several times throughout these protests that we've seen here in D.C. and around the country. TAPPER: All right. Gabe, thanks so much. We're going to keep tabs on these protests as they continue. Let's go now to John King, however, right now at the Magic Wall. And John, tell us what hurdles President Biden faces with voters who might be tuning in to watch him tonight. KING: It's a very long list, Jake. The President delivers this speech at a historic low if you look at it. Number one, this is the map from 2020. The President, 244 days from now, wants to recreate this map. He wants to win a second term. Let's walk through, as you mentioned, though, some of the obstacles. Here's one of them right here, the President's approval rating, personal approval rating. Often the north star, you judge an incumbent president seeking re-election, what's the approval rating? He's below 40 right now. That's near his all-time low at 38 percent. When he gave that first address to Congress, not technically a State of the Union, right after the inauguration, he was at 57. So he is nearly 20 points down from when he began his term and it's a huge problem for the President. So let's put that into historical context for you. Forgive me for turning my back. I just want to stretch this out. Look at these recent past presidents, where they were at this point, heading into the re-election year. Ronald Reagan was at 55 percent, he won. George W. Bush at 51 percent, he won. George H.W. Bush at 43 percent. He was a one-term president. He was at 43 percent. Joe Biden's at 38 percent. Barack Obama was at 45 percent and he won. Clinton at 56 percent and he won. Donald Trump, 10 points higher than Joe Biden is right now and he lost. So you look at that 38 percent. Most political pros tell you, you at least need to get close to Obama. Get into the mid-40s, and you have a chance to win. At 38, it's incredibly bleak and that's where the President is at the moment. Why? Because people simply do not believe they have been helped by the Biden agenda. Look at this stunning number in the New York Times Siena College poll from the weekend, fewer than 20 percent. Eighteen percent of the American people, registered voters, think Joe Biden's policies have helped them personally. That has to be a gut punch to the President. Forty-three percent think it hurt them. That's a huge challenge tonight. Try to convince the American people what he's doing has actually helped them. Again, the economy. There are a lot of great statistics when it comes to the economy. Joe Biden will say tonight he's a record job creator. That's a fact. He will say that the stock market's doing pretty well. That's a fact. But this is what people feel, cost of living. Food and goods, are you very concerned about the cost of food and consumer goods? A year ago, 75 percent said yes. It's down a bit, Jake, but only to 72 percent now. Housing, this is hurting the President. A year ago, 60 percent said they were very concerned about the cost of housing. That's up a bit to 64 percent. If there's one silver lining, look at the drop in concerns, very concerned about the cost of gas and energy. That is down a bit from a year ago. One bright spot, but here, these cost of living concerns still are hurting the President. And another issue that is just crushing him is this, the immigration issue. Again, these numbers are stunning when you look at them. How's the government doing with migrants at the southern border? Eighteen percent of Americans say a good job. Eighty percent say a bad job and this is where it's hard for the President. Seventy-three percent of Democrats say he's doing a bad job. Even his own party doubts about his leadership, 89 percent of Republicans say that. So Jake, if you look at this map, and if the President wants to have any hope - any hope of recreating this map, this number here and this line has to start going up and that journey has to start tonight. TAPPER: It's a big challenge. John King, thanks so much. We're going to get our very first look inside the House Chamber in minutes as dignitaries start to take their seats. And we're standing by for President Biden to leave the White House for the Capitol if he can make it through the protests. Coming up, we're going to get insights into the President's mindset at this pivotal moment from two insiders who know him quite well. Our live coverage of the State of the Union continues after this quick break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:28:07] COOPER: Welcome back. Right now, the spotlight is on Capitol Hill and one of President Biden's most important speeches ever, raising the curtain on his historic rematch with Donald Trump. We are standing by for the President to leave the White House for the Capitol, where he will deliver his State of the Union address. You see the protesters there. His motorcade will have to navigate around them against his - they're protesting, obviously, against his handling of the Israel-Hamas war and all of that is happening near the Capitol tonight. Let's go to Erin Burnett on Capitol Hill. Erin? BURNETT: All right. Anderson, thank you. And I am here with two people who know the President very well. Have - recently, Evan spent a lot of time with him reporting. And so when we sit here tonight, Kate Bedingfield, you were the communications director for three State of the Unions with President Biden, so you've seen his preparation. You've seen what he does. I was with him today at that off-the-record lunch. Obviously, I can't talk about the substance of it. But he knows every word in the speech. That's clear to me. How involved is he in this? I mean, does he get nervous as he's approaching and coming in a moment like this? KATE BEDINGFIELD: I don't - he doesn't get nervous. He is extremely - he's extremely involved in every detail of the speech. BURNETT: Mm-hm. BEDINGFIELD: He is somebody who cares tremendously about detail. He talks a lot about, as a young man, when he first came to the Senate, he had a couple of experiences where he was on the Senate floor and felt like he didn't have all the information he needed. He tells a story about having a debate about stripper wells - the wells that use a small - that draw out a small ... BURNETT: For a second, I thought you were going to be talking about something else. BEDINGFIELD: ... draws - no, no, draw out a small amount of energy and he was challenged by a senator who questioned him on details that he didn't have. And that was a really formative experience for him. And so he is very, very focused on detail, makes sure he knows everything cold. But he also loves this night. He loves - remember, he served in the Congress for 36 years. He loves the Congress. He believes in institutions in this country. And so the significance of a president standing up, delivering the State of the Union is something that's important to him. [20:30:05] So this is a night that he really enjoys. BURNETT: You know, you spent an extensive amount of time with him for your recent extensive article that I hope everyone will read who has in Joe Biden's last campaign. But as we sit here tonight, look at that Capitol where he's going to speak. You're remembering January 6th. EVAN OSNOS, BIDEN BIOGRAPHER: Yes. BURNETT: And the conversation that you had with him. So as he approaches here, any moment, his motorcade, he leaves the White House, he's going to come here and he's going to approach this Capitol with thoughts in his head. What did he tell you? OSNOS: You know, it was fascinating. I didn't expect him to do this. First thing he did when I got to the Oval Office was he said, let me take you and show you where, as he put it, Trump sat and watched the revolution, by which he meant where did Trump sit during those fateful hours on the afternoon of January 6th. He was in that Oval Office dining room. And the message from President Biden was fairly explicit, fairly clear, which was he, in some deep way, thinks that Donald Trump defiled the presidency. I mean, that is his visceral response. And over and over, when we talked over the course of this interview, he returned to this idea, kept calling him a loser over and over again. There is a degree to which this resonates for Joe Biden on the deepest personal level. I think there's also a way in which -- let's be honest, he spent 36 years in this building. For him, it is very much a part of his identity. As one of his aides said to me, you know, he loved being a senator, he misses being a senator. BURNETT: And I'm just the beast, obviously. The car that he's going to get in is in front of the White House, we see the motorcade waiting. And, by the way, I should say, that's over at the White House, just near where we are. Where we are, Kate, we've seen motorcades go by, we've seen the vice president's -- Kate, obviously, having been there, knew exactly whose motorcade it was, as Vice President Harris was coming. But, you know, obviously, age is front and center. And that was clear, even in the off the record that he had with all of us today. It seems to me he'll probably bring it up tonight in some way, shape or form. He certainly will be judged on it. And that judgment is on how he looks and how he moves and how he talks. How much has he internalized this? BEDINGFIELD: I think he has internalized it. I mean, he certainly looked, he is a political animal. He loves politics. He knows politics inside and out. He knows campaigns. He's not under the impression. That age is not going to be a factor in this campaign. I think, you know, he's somebody who, again, he came into the Senate when he was 29. You know, he was always the young guy who was, you know, up and coming. And I think he has fundamentally viewed himself that way for a very long time. And, you know, you speak to, you know, his gait and his physical presence, maybe not being as strong as it was when he was 35 or 40. But, you know, there is no doubt that his mental capacity is very much there. I can promise you that every aide who worked on this speech, who went through the lengthy and torturous process of putting this speech together and answering his every question -- BURNETT: Said by someone who has been there. OSNOS: Who've been on that end. BEDINGFIELD: Said by somebody who was on the end of that very torturous and yet, you know, greatest honor of my life process but, you know, very torturous. And he is demanding and he is exacting and everybody who was part of putting this speech together, I promise you, was feeling that. BURNETT: So Evan, you write of him on this issue of age after the extensive time that you spent with him. You write, "His voice is thin and clotted and his gestures have slowed, but in our conversation, his mind seemed unchanged. He never bungled a name or a date." And I will say my impression of being with him for 90 minutes at this lunch today was he had plenty of stats and stories and quotes, and none of them were bungled, none of them. A lot of back and forth. But it's interesting when you read this. Nobody wants to read that their voice is thin and clotted. OSNOS: You know? BURNETT: But it's nice that your mind is unchanged. But it just shows the stakes tonight. OSNOS: Yes, it really does. And I think a lot of Americans, when they turn on that TV tonight, this is one of the things they're looking to see. Look, we all know when we get older, it's going to change our bodies in some ways. The question before us is, does it change your mind? And are you able to make decisions? Are you able to land the point? Are you precise in your thinking? Are you sharp? Are you fiery when you need to be? We're going to see some of that or we won't. And that is really a key thing, I think, to be looking for. There's probably going to be moments tonight that he doesn't plan for. And as you've seen, as others who have been on the other side of the negotiating table with him have seen, he can get feisty in those moments. And part of the challenge and the task is to stay in command of the evening -- BURNETT: Right. OSNOS: -- but also make people -- BURNETT: When feisty maybe good. OSNOS: It can be very effective. BURNETT: Right. BEDINGFIELD: I think -- OSNOS: It can be very much the goal. BEDINGFIELD: Absolutely. I think feisty is great. I think it gets to kind of what people -- what I would imagine Joe Biden wants people to come away with. BURNETT: Yes. BEDINGFIELD: And I sense that he is fighting for them. And so for them to see some feistiness from him, that's a good thing. BURNETT: All right. We'll be here all night and we'll see what happens here. Anderson? ANDERSON COPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Erin, thanks. We want to hear from a key player in Capitol Hill as we get closer to the President's speech. Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill right now. Dana, who'd you just talk to? [20:35:07] DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I just talked to Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader. But before I talk about that, I want to tell you that a lot of key players are walking by me right now. Members of the United States Senate -- hi Senator -- are coming by. They're making -- hi senator, you want to come talk? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I've got to go here, speech. BASH: OK, that was Senator Kennedy, who doesn't want to come talk because he says he's got a speech to hear, but you see all of the senators coming in. This is what they do. They come -- hi senator -- from the Senate side of the chamber. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to (INAUDIBLE). BASH: Thank you, Senator. Thank you. Hey, Senator, come say hi for one sec. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. BASH: OK. What do you expect to see tonight and hear? What do you hope to hear? You're in a very important race in Pennsylvania, Senator Kasich (ph). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he'll focus, among other things, on border security, in terms of domestic issues, and lowering costs. And I hope he mentions something about greedflation and shrinkflation. BASH: That's important for your constituents? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is. BASH: And your voters? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. BASH: OK. Thanks, Senator. So I think most of the most of the U.S. Senate now has gone past me as they head into the House chamber, Anderson. You know, this is one of those traditions, even though so much of the institutional norms we have seen here on Capitol Hill get busted in various times for various reasons. But this is one of those traditions that continue, that the members of the Senate line up really in a bipartisan way and make their way over to the House for this momentous evening. Anderson? COOPER: And Dana, you were talking to -- you talked to Steve Scalise just a moment ago, yes? BASH: That's right, and I believe we can play some of that. I should mention before we go to that, that he is, the number two Republican in the House of Representatives, is suffering from blood cancer, and he has just recently returned from his home state of Louisiana, where he was getting treatment, back to the Capitol. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BASH: How are you feeling? REP. STEVE SCALISE (R), MAJORITY LEADER: I'm feeling great. Thanks. Really good to be back. And in remission from cancer. So God has answered a lot of prayers. BASH: Sure sounds like it. When he -- the chamber, when you're thinking about the chamber and the people in the conference, have you talked to them about decorum and about how to react and how not to react to the president? SCALISE: Well, I think you'll see both sides, you know, really looking to hear what the president has to say. And any State of the Union, you got a lot of, you know, standing up and applauding and a lot of you know, people just listening and sometimes there's some lines that maybe our side might not be as excited about as the other side and vice versa. But, you know, we'll see what the president has to say. We're going to be eagerly listening. BASH: Thank you for stopping. I'm glad you're well. SCALISE: Thanks a lot. (END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: And Anderson, now you're seeing photos of, excuse me, live pictures of the vice president of the United States, who is also the president of the U.S. Senate, making her way through the house chamber, obviously greeting some of the House members and her former colleagues. She too was a, not certainly didn't serve anywhere near as long as the president, but she too was a member of Congress before -- with the U.S. Senate before she was tapped by Joe Biden to be his running mate, Anderson. COOPER: Yes, Dana, as we continue to watch the senators come in, I want to talk to our team here in New York. Everybody here on this panel has either served in the White House or served on campaigns. So let's start David Axelrod with you. What would you be advising President Biden to be doing tonight? There's Senator Manchin, Romney as well. DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, look, I think he's got two big missions here. One has to do with what he has to say, because there are a lot of people who are hungering to know what is the message? What is the central argument for you in this contest with Donald Trump, and it has to include an economic narrative that people are willing to absorb, and it has to be value laden and future oriented. But the second piece is how he says it, because the central Republican argument is that things are out of control and Biden isn't in command, that he's somehow not able to take command. He needs to command this room tonight. COOPER: Which one is more important? Because a lot of people are going to be watching this tonight, but a lot of people are going to be seeing excerpts of it over the next several days on, you know, social media. AXELROD: Yes. Look, I think the first part is a long-term project. I mean, they both are, but the theater of this moment is very, very important. And that's why I think the Speaker of the House told his Republican colleagues, do not try and heckle, do not challenge because Joe Biden will take that challenge. And remember, someone said it earlier. He worked in this building for 36 years. He's very comfortable in that kind of environment. And in terms of the heckling and so on, I have to believe his team. I certainly would have been prepared him for this and they thought through how are you going to deal with it if it comes on this issue, if it comes from that person, if there are hecklers in the gallery around the Israeli-Gaza issue. COOPER: Yes. Senator Mitch McConnell, Scott Jennings, obviously you're an ally of the senator, worked with him for a long time. What are you looking for tonight? [20:40:05] SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I agree with Axe. I think basic image is the issue here because I think the narrative of this campaign as we've talked about on some of our election nights is strength versus weakness. And I think the words are going to matter less than what he looks like, what he sounds like. Does he look like, does he have the vigor to serve another term as president of the United States? You already see the Trump team out. The larger Trump organization out with an ad ahead of this speech today showing him at a podium looking confused and then showing sort of an overlay of Kamala Harris over his shoulder. She's going to be right over his shoulder tonight. And I think you're going to continue to see the Republicans go at that. So, the image here, can he get through this? I mean, it's not like you have to go up and do feats of strength. He's not going to be juggling bowling balls or anything. He should be able to do it. But if he has a blip, if he has a senior moment, the downside possibilities of this speech are a lot different greater than the absolute (ph). COOPER: Manu Raju, is there. Manu, talk about why so many of the Democratic members in the chamber are wearing white tonight. MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of the Democratic women are really to represent reproductive rights, abortion rights. This is a point that they have been making in several consecutive State of the Union addresses, especially taking in greater importance now in the aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade. You're seeing members really making their points on the Republican side as well. There were a lot of Republicans, Anderson, wearing white ribbons in support of so called angel families. Of course, those are the families who have had family members killed by undocumented immigrants. And also many Republicans wearing buttons representing their calls for greater demands on border security. Inside the chamber here, Anderson, members are pretty -- it's a pretty -- almost like a cocktail reception that people greeting each other pretty warmly right now. But mostly the Democrats and Republicans keeping to themselves on their own respective sides of the aisle. Not a ton of bipartisan mingling right now, as we expect a pretty tense moment when the president enters here and delivers a speech, Anderson. COOPER: Back here with the teams. We continue to watch. Ashley Allison, you work with Biden- Harris, the National Coalition director back in 2020. What do you hope to see from the president here? ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I think he has to be honest with how the American people are feeling both Republicans and Democrats. And I think that honesty will give him some credit. But then he has to lead with his heart. He has to talk to his coalition. He has a really big job because there are a lot of issues that people are feeling unsettled about and he needs to be able to tell young voters there is a future and I see it and I want to help transition you into this future. But then he has to talk to the Nikki Haley voters that are going to be tuning in and they're saying, what am I going to do now? And so he can't go too far to the left, but he also can't go too far to the center because his coalition is so fragile right now. It was very hard to build it in 2020 and it's going to be even harder this year. So we -- I agree with both Axe and Scott, is that it's how he presents the information. It's not so much what he says, but how, and people have to believe. I know things don't feel great right now, but it will get better with me. COOPER: Yes. We see Lindsey Graham there, Senator Tuberville as well. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: And I would just note, Mike Johnson's first day of the union as speaker. I think watching a year ago, all of us assumed Kevin McCarthy would probably be up there. So just major changes, seismic changes that happen very quickly in American politics. But listen, he's got a huge uphill battle to Ashley's point. There's some ground he can gain with moderates who feel politically displaced with Donald Trump as the nominee. They're going to be listening for what's his plan on getting aid to Ukraine. Is he going to continue to support Israel? And wanting to hear him talk about the border. This has to be a big theme tonight. It's the number one policy issue for voters across the board. I think he's going to start to sound much like a Republican on some of these things border issues. But on the flip side, he does have this issue with progressives and he can't risk alienating them. I also think it's interesting that Republicans chose to put up Katie Britt to get the response, 42-year-old senator, just a generational juxtaposition. Somebody who's about the age of how long Joe Biden served in the Senate, to just point to the juxtaposition of his age. VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes. That was Hakeem Jeffries. I hope someday I think he'll be up there as a speaker. I hope. But, look, I think he's going to look like a grandpa. And the question is, is he going to be a fighting grandpa? And I think he should be a fighting grandpa tonight. Look, whatever he says about overseas and this, that, everything he's done, groceries cost too much and the rent is too high. That is the bottom line. And if he can explain how he is going to go after these rip off grocery stores that are jacking the prices up too much, now he's going to push down on interest rates so he can get a house, you can rent a house, you can get a car, you can walk out the grocery store without having a heart attack, I think people are going to say, look, that's an old grandpa. That grandpa is fighting for me. And I think if he spends too much time bragging on himself, it's not going to work. COOPER: Often these things do become a long laundry list. JONES: Yes. No. Hey, listen, he's got stuff to be proud of. [20:45:04] Look, gas prices are low. Unemployment is down. Stock market is up. Student loans have been cut. All that stuff is good. But the groceries cost too much and rent is too high. If he's a fighting grandpa, he'll be alright. DAVID URBAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would say this. I think Joe Biden's going to do a good job tonight. This is his 51st State of the Union. He got elected in 1973. 51st time he's been in this chamber for the State of the Union. If he screws it up, shame on him. He's got a chance to practice it. So the bar is pretty low on reading the script and doing a good job. AXELROD: I think you just raised it actually. URBAN: So I think that he was listening to John King earlier in the broadcast. He's probably in the bathroom of the White House throwing up right now. Because what John King said was true. He's going to go out here and he's got to bend the steel bar across his head because the New York Times/Siena poll 38 percent approval. 18 percent of Americans think that Joe Biden has helped them. No matter what he says tonight, the next two hours, those numbers aren't changing. AXELROD: Yes, but this is a long term project. He needs to lay down the argument and I agree with much of what was said here. He needs to be Joe from Scranton tonight -- URBAN: That's right. AXELROD: -- not President Biden from the White House. He needs to talk about the day to day struggles that people are having and fit the things he's done and the things he wants to do into the fight to make it work for them, make the economy work for them. And I think that's going to be -- I hope that's the essence of what he does to them. ALLISON: And he can build that contrast because then he can talk about -- Donald Trump has never struggled for anything. He doesn't know your struggle. He pretends like he does, but he's not being honest. I have, and he can also talk about -- he doesn't have to build that -- bend that lead bar by himself. You have women in the chamber wearing white because their reproductive rights have been taken away. He has the most diverse cabinet ever. He's going to talk about housing tonight. Get Secretary Fudge out there talking about going into battleground states, talking to black women, talking to black men about how you can build generational wealth in your community because of the work Joe Biden has done. (CROSSTALK) URBAN: If you can afford a house. AXELROD: Fundamentally, what his message should be is I am fighting for your future. The other guy is absorbed by his past and vengeance. And that's not going to get you, that's not going to help you with your rent, it's not going to help you with your grocery bill. COOPER: We're waiting for the president to be leaving the White House. Let's go back to Jake in Washington. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: That's right, Anderson, we are waiting for the president to leave the White House. Normally, we would have expected him to have left by now. There are massive protests in Washington, D.C. We're watching some people walk out of the White House right now, and the president is not among them yet. And we're wondering, obviously, if there are an alternate route for the motorcade needs to be planned out by the Secret Service. Jamie Gangel has some news on one of the surprise attendees of tonight's State of the Union Address. Former New York Republican Congressman George Santos, who was expelled from Congress in a very rare act, still apparently has floor privileges and is there. Jamie, what more can you tell us? JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Once a member, always a member, so on. I guess, a lighter note, George Santos is back. You're right. It turns out, even if you're expelled. TAPPER: There is the -- I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is the first couple, First Lady Jill Biden. How are you feeling, sir, he was asked. And he said, good. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senior staff -- TAPPER: Did a little muscle flex of some sort. The President appearing to be in good spirits as he gets into the Beast, the nickname for that vehicle. And Jamie, I have rudely interrupted you to narrate the president leaving the building. Please continue. Tell us again about George Santos in the background scene, because I cannot imagine he was welcomed back to the Capitol. GANGEL: Well, it turns out that even if you're expelled, even if you're indicted, you still have floor privileges. And George Santos is back. I'm told that he was sitting in some seats and the GOP floor staff politely asked him to move from the seats to the back so that current members would have a seat and that he much to one person surprised that he politely complied with that, and he's now standing in the back. But it's -- there is just no end with George Santos. DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Thirsty George Santa. You know, Jake, in listening to our colleagues in New York with Anderson and listening to everyone here, the list of what Joe Biden apparently has to accomplish tonight is never ending. I mean, that to me is the toughest task for him. Yes, everyone's going to want to see the performance. But if you take what the White House sort of put out today and listen to what we all have been saying, he needs to tout his achievements to date. He needs to express like that he feels America's pain on high costs. [20:50:10] He needs to set forth a vision of a second term and focus on that economic populism. He has to draw a sharp contrast with Trump and the MAGA Republicans on things like democracy. Yet he also has to tout his ability to work across the aisle and rallying his base that has some appeal to the middle as well on things like abortion rights all while in total command. So like the -- it is a very tall order of all the things on his checklist that -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The thing that's super long. CHALIAN: -- he's trying to come. He has all the time in the world to do it. There's no doubt about that. TAPPER: Yes. But the good news is last year, he went for 80 minutes. So -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well -- CHALIAN: The measure is to what end if he does all of that. You know, we've seen presidents be able to get a little bit of bump out of a State of the Union, but it seems to me that there's much more risk here if somehow there's a disastrous performance of him doing damage, then there is the upside of really catapulting and instantly changing his fortunes. One of the reasons that Kasie and everyone else that we're talking to our sources are nervous, it's not just about his age, it's about the fact that he's behind in this race against Donald Trump. KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, that's 100 percent true. KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Can I just say one thing, just to say who is getting in the car with him? You saw the senior staff come out before him, Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed, the others who've been preparing with him. Those were his grandkids who got in the car with him, Naomi and Finnegan and Naomi, Biden's husband, who are often always with the president on really big moments. And something that you've see covering the White House, he's often surrounded by his family when he does have such a high stakes moment is this. And I'll say one thing that the White House that you hear from his advisers and his allies, as this moment, you know, expectations were also high last year, and they believe President Biden over delivered when he sparred with the Republicans, when he had those quick responses on Social Security and Medicare. So kind of, they see him as a victim of his own success of last year, that he's going up against that this year. TAPPER: So we see the motorcade making its way through Capitol Hill. Apparently Secret Service was able to plan an alternate route. There are big protests -- HUNT: Yes. TAPPER: -- in Washington, D.C. tonight. People who are demanding a ceasefire, which the president has, by the way, been trying to get done. The hurdle so far has been Hamas has refused to the terms. But John King you were going to say? JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just to follow up on Kaitlan's point and David's point. There's a huge debate in the Democratic Party. The Biden team is convinced that having the democracy element at the top. They know they have to deal with the other issues, but that having the democracy element, Trump is a threat to democracy. Speaker Johnson over my shoulder is a threat to democracy. The Republicans are a threat to democracy. They believe that that's their lead, right? That that should be the first punch they throw. And they believe that's the umbrella under which everything else falls. There are a lot of Democrats are saying no, especially Democrats in the Midwestern battleground states saying, no, the economic part has to be first. You have to come with the cost of living first. To David Axelrod's point, you have to go back to Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from Scranton who struggled through life. And it's a huge debate, the team around Biden. Remember most of the people on Biden, they've been with him for a long time. They've been with him through the defeats and they've been with him through the huge comeback in the 2020 primaries. And what they always say is that you're the same people who keep telling us we're going to lose. We're president. We're right. You're wrong. But we find out in eight months who's right, who's wrong this time, or we'll see if the president, you know, modulates and moderates over the course of the campaign. But it's a big debate. The more populous, the Elizabeth Warrens, the Bernie Sanders, the Debbie Dingles, they want economy first. HUNT: It's where the president himself is, right? And to a certain extent, a campaign, any successful campaign has to reflect the heart of the candidate at its center. And this is clearly what animates President Biden. I mean, he has talked about it explicitly, even saying, you know, he wouldn't probably be running if Trump wasn't running. Much to the chagrin of said long-time staffers for whatever that's worth. I just -- the one thing I do want to touch on, Jake, as we kind of watch this motorcade, try to wind its way. I mean having covered a number of these, you know, going back to the George W. Bush administration I've never seen pictures like the ones were, you know, protests in the streets. I do think it is worth noting them. And I also think it's worth noting that we expect Rashida to leave, who is the only Palestinian American member of Congress to be there on the floor today. And you'll remember she made a video standing in Michigan urging people to vote uncommitted in the Michigan primary. I think it's worth watching what she does tonight. TAPPER: And 100,000 of them, more than 100,000 Michigan Democrats voted uncommitted. A huge number numerically. We are used to 20,000 or so Michigan Democrats voting uncommitted in primaries, but not 100,000. Are we listening in to the House chamber now? What are we -- let's listen in. KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- of the United States into the House chamber. The Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, the Senator from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, the Senator from Washington, Mrs. Murray -- TAPPER: So there are procedural motions going on right now that the Vice President who is the president of the Senate is calling the Senate leadership to order. [20:55:06] Abby Phillip, when you talk to Democrats on Capitol Hill, when you talk to Democrats in the Biden administration, what are they telling you about how they think the president who has really been experiencing very low approval ratings from the American people and in polling is trailing Donald Trump in many key battleground states. How do they think he's going to turn it around? ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, especially in the president's orbit and inside of the campaign, they don't see this as any one, you know, one solution that's going to turn the whole thing around. They see that they have multiple things that they have to do simultaneously. One of them is about turnout among Democrats, which I think they believe the democracy element is a super potent argument for tried and true people on the left who are very concerned about that. But the reason he is talking about the economic issues is for the reason that Bob Casey, who stopped and talked to Dana earlier today, said, that's what his constituents in Pennsylvania want to hear about because they know that for the voters who are going to decide this election in states like Pennsylvania and in the Midwestern states and elsewhere in this country, it's going to be those pocketbook issues, and they understand. They've got to do them simultaneously. On President Biden's age, which is a continuous problem, their view is that it is what it is. They have to work around it. They don't expect that that's going to be something that they can just turn around by flipping a switch and suddenly people think about him as not old. TAPPER: And this is the diplomatic who are walking in right now. Kaitlan Collins, Speaker Johnson, Mike Johnson, who is from Louisiana, this is his first State of the Union. He was not trying to become speaker of the House. He kind of was like after five or six different attempts after the coup against Kevin McCarthy became speaker. Tell us more about him. COLLINS: Well, just one interesting thing about what you're going to see tonight with -- him staying over President Biden's shoulder, this is the third House speaker. As President Biden has addressed joint -- a joint session of Congress that he's been there. It was, first, Nancy Pelosi, then Kevin McCarthy, and now Mike Johnson. And, I mean, that's obviously not a typical thing. One thing, Jake, is you'll remember when Nancy Pelosi ripped up Donald Trump's speech. That is not likely to happen tonight, is that from Speaker Mike Johnson, he actually wrote a memo back in 2020 alleging that it was a felony for her to rip up that speech. Legal experts later doubted that and said it wasn't likely, but it is just remarkable to the sense of what has happened in the House. The fact that President Biden, in his third address, is now on his third House speaker to stand behind him as he delivers and addresses Congress. KING: And we talk about Trump as a foil tonight. Just quickly, the House Republicans will be a foil for the president tonight, too. It's just the idea, and this is how he tries to swing back on immigration. I was about to do something, I cut a bipartisan deal to do something very tough at the border, and Donald Trump told you guys to walk away from it, and you put Donald Trump ahead of the country. PHILLIP: I mean, if the White House could have written that script, they would have written that script of a House unable to do things. That was a gift to them in this last year. TAPPER: All right, and we're still seeing images of the motorcade making its way through Washington as various dignitaries are welcomed into the House chamber. Kasie Hunt, remind our viewers as we watch the U.S. Supreme Court justices walk in. HUNT: Yes. TAPPER: There are six justices that are here tonight. They are the Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who are the three Democratic appointees on the bench. And then, in addition to them, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who were two of Donald Trump's three justices appointed to the Supreme Court. It is obviously typical for the Supreme Court to come. Not every justice is there. Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito are not there. Clarence Thomas has not been there -- has not attended the State of the Union since 2006. Kasie, remind our viewers who see the sea of white of congressional women -- HUNT: Yes. TAPPER: -- Democrats in the House and Senate, why they are all wearing white. HUNT: It's about reproductive rights. And that, of course, has become the central issue, frankly, that Democrats want to promote for all of the discussions that we're having around this table about the President's challenges on immigration and the economy. Democrats are going to plan to answer those challenges with abortion. I mean, that is going to be something that we are going to be hearing over and over and over again throughout this election. And, frankly, you know, it's exploded into IVF, right? This big part of why what's going on with in vitro fertilization in Alabama is so important to this election is because it really casts the Dobbs decision as one that has an incredible range of unintended consequences. CNN Live Event/Special Aired March 07, 2024 - 21:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. [21:00:00] VOICE OF KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: In many cases, you're seeing Republicans have to scramble, to say no, no, actually that's not what we meant. We didn't mean to get in the way of you actually starting your family. So, this is one way, particularly, you know, when I -- I used to sit up in that balcony, with Manu, on these big nights. And I always noticed when you wear a little color, you kind of stand out. It's the thing we get to do, as women, right that the men don't have as much of an advantage on. So especially, when we see these overhead shots, you're going to be able to see that kind of spread out. VOICE OF JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: And not just IVF, but also contraception, right? And that's a big -- major issue, the Democrats are starting to talk about, how Republicans will be coming for contraception after this. VOICE OF HUNT: Right. And that was -- that was a warning in the Dobbs decision, right, from the dissenters, from the liberal justices. They said, look, this is a slippery slope. VOICE OF TAPPER: Republicans dispute this, of course, we should note. But there are-- VOICE OF HUNT: They do. VOICE OF TAPPER: --legislators, here and there, who have that-- VOICE OF HUNT: I mean, when you believe that fertilization that -- that life begins at conception, there are some consequences there. And when you start to talk about the technologies, I mean, it's entirely, we're seeing unintended consequence. VOICE OF ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Just-- VOICE OF HUNT: Let's just put it that way. VOICE OF PHILLIP: Just to note, I mean, how important this issue is. Dozens of Democrats have brought guests, related to IVF, and-- (CROSSTALK) VOICE OF HUNT: Including the first lady. VOICE OF PHILLIP: Including the first lady. So, that's another way that they show their priorities for this address. That's, from what we've gathered from the President's excerpts of his speech, it's going to be a big part of his remarks. It's also the most, I mean, maybe second to democracy, if you're talking about base Democratic voters, probably the most important issue for them is reproductive rights, in this election. (CROSSTALK) VOICE OF TAPPER: Not as surprising, by the way, that none of the -- none of the Democrats, as far as I know, brought anyone related to -- there's the first lady and President Biden. They have made it to the Capitol. Let's listen in. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, how are you feeling? JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Great. VOICE OF TAPPER: That's the second, how are you feeling, and great, of the evening. VOICE OF DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well from good to great, right? VOICE OF TAPPER: From good to great. Well, he got reinvigorated-- (CROSSTALK) VOICE OF TAPPER: --reinvigorated in the car with his grandchildren. But it's kind of surprising that nobody brought a guest, related at all, to the prosecution of Donald Trump. Because you could say -- I would not put it above any politician to bring, say, E. Jean Carroll, or anyone like that. Maybe they are in there. But that's something else that's -- a cloud over all of this is the fact that Donald Trump, who President Biden will be facing in November, has all these legal problems, Kaitlan. VOICE OF KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. And as MJ Lee reported earlier, that Joe -- Joe Biden -- President Biden is not expected to say Donald Trump's name. But he won't have to. I mean, it's going to loom over this entire situation. House Republicans know that as well. And that's why, when you talk to the White House, they say the headline from tonight, though he will be talking about those other issues, democracy is going to be the takeaway. And so, when you see the Supreme Court justices, and think about what a big role they are playing, in this election that we are about to see, in when President -- former President Trump is going to potentially face his trial, for his attempts to overturn the election, it's hard to ignore what a presence the Supreme Court is, in this room, and what dynamic and impact they are going to have on this election. VOICE OF TAPPER: And if you -- if you -- you've seen a couple familiar faces flashed in the last minute. One of them was George Santos. Another one, in between, right there, in between John Roberts, the Chief Justice and Sonia Sotomayor, behind them, that's Justice Kennedy, Anthony Kennedy, who resigned from the Supreme Court. I believe he was replaced by -- was it Brett Kavanaugh, who took his place? And-- VOICE OF CHALIAN: Correct, yes. VOICE OF TAPPER: So that -- that is, it's interesting, I suppose. (CROSSTALK) VOICE OF TAPPER: As with George Santos, he still enjoys privileges. Not to compare, Justice Kennedy, and Congressman Santos. VOICE OF JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And-- VOICE OF TAPPER: But they are both formers. There we see Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, both of whom, in the last couple weeks, endorsed Nikki Haley, talking to Lindsey Graham. VOICE OF JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, who did not endorse Nikki Haley. He is still with Donald Trump. Just to go back to something that John King was mentioning earlier, about the debate and things that are important. A number of centrist Democratic sources, and frankly, moderate Republican sources, who want Biden to win, over Trump, said to me, this afternoon, he better talk about crime. He better talk about immigration, and the border. They see these, as just along with reproductive rights, a critical message. VOICE OF KING: And again, this is where you get this debate, among Democrats, because overall, violent crime statistics are down, nationally. They are down. So Democrats bristle. They say no, you're playing into the Fox News argument. No, you're playing into the Republican argument. But in major cities, the Democratic governor of New York just mobilized the National Guard, to deal with subway crime, in New York City. And so, this is again, a debate in the party, about do you -- if you talk about it, are you playing their game? But you're absolutely right. If you talk to Democratic pollsters, and the people who run the numbers, amongst swing voters, suburban voters, the people, who decide close presidential elections, they are very disappointed, in the President's performance, on crime and immigration. VOICE OF CHALIAN: Well, he's clearly going to try to flip the script on immigration, as he's been doing, for the last several weeks. [21:05:00] And to Abby's point, about reproductive rights, earlier, it does totally energize and mobilize the base. But the reason it's been so successful, for Democrats, is because it goes far beyond the base. It actually -- we -- that issue, when it is on the ballot, abortion rights, in a post-Dobbs world performs better than the generic Democrat, because it's bringing in Independents, and some Republicans, to that issue as well. So, it's a double whammy. It's a base mobilizer. And it actually adds to the coalition with Independents. VOICE OF TAPPER: And if -- and if you talk to Democrats, about the bad polling, for President Biden, the thing they will say is, you can look at polls, all you want, we're looking at elections. And they -- they're talking about the fact that since the Dobbs decision, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, in the special elections, and a referenda, in states, whether red states like Kansas and Ohio and Montana, or the special election, in New York, Democrats have won, and the pro-choice or pro-abortion rights side has won. There's Congressman Matt Gaetz. And they're hopeful that that will help Joe Biden. VOICE OF HUNT: It will. And can we just talk for a second? We've seen a lot of the Supreme Court justices, who are down on the floor, tonight, and how, what a -- what a unique position they occupy, this time. I mean, yes, they always -- there's always a cadre of them, at these speeches. It has become increasingly political, over the years. I mean, I was sitting in the gallery, when Samuel Alito mouthed at President Obama, that what he was saying, about a Supreme Court decision, about election funding was not true. And that was seen at the time, as something that was very remarkably -- a remarkably political statement, from one of these justices. But they literally sit at the very heart of the election that Joe Biden -- President Biden is up there, tonight, fighting for, in a way that they have not been, certainly since 2000, in Bush versus Gore, and possibly ever, in terms of having to decide whether or not President Biden's opponent is going to be able to be charged in the, you know, for basically sending a mob, to this very building, on January 6th, 2021. VOICE OF PHILLIP: And you know what though (ph)? It's important to point that out. But one thing I will say, about the view, from the Biden campaign, and from the White House, is that they are not looking to these criminal cases, against Trump, to play the role in this election. They do not think that that is going to be what this is going to turn on. And there are a lot of people, out there, talking about how -- it is obviously important for democracy, for the country. But they understand that the prospects of these cases, being concluded before the election, not great. The prospect of them being definitive, and going in any particular way, and moving voters, in any particular way, is too uncertain. What they do know, though, and I think to Jake's earlier point, they're not wrong, when they say that voters have been voting, in a way, that sometimes differs from what they say to pollsters, about how happy or unhappy they are, about Joe Biden, or even the direction of the country. The reason for that is abortion. But the reason for that is also because of choices that they have, at the ballot box. VOICE OF TAPPER: Let me-- VOICE OF PHILLIP: And when Republicans put up candidates, who are on the far-right, and they don't choose their candidates properly? That has made a huge difference in these races. And they think that's how they see November, at the top of the ticket, as well. VOICE OF TAPPER: Let me bring in Evan Osnos, right now, who is -- who has been President Biden's biographer, just did an interview with him for The New Yorker magazine. Evan, do you think this is the most important speech, of President Biden's career? VOICE OF EVAN OSNOS, BIDEN BIOGRAPHER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER: You know, he's had a very long career, Jake, as you know. But I think it is a credible case to make. Look, this is an unusual moment, because it is both the chance for him to try to talk about what he's done. And then, he is also making his biggest pitch, to the largest audience, he's going to have, before November. I was talking to somebody, who is very close to him. And I said, how do you think he handles the pressure of a moment like this? And they said, look, to be honest, he's been dealing with pressure like this, his entire adult life. The weirdest moment for him was when he wasn't under pressure, when he was in that period after his first -- after the Obama presidency. VOICE OF TAPPER: Evan, let me just interrupt for one second. I'm sorry. I'll come right back to you. But there we see, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, the husband of the Vice President, Kamala Harris, who you see there, on stage. Doug Emhoff, who has become one of the administration's leading voices, on the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States. Doug is Jewish. There, he just waved at his wife. And she seems to be smiling at her -- at her goofy husband, in an affectionate way. Evan, back to you. VOICE OF OSNOS: Well, I was just saying that, I think, in some ways, a lot of us look at what a President is going through, at a moment like this, the pressures they're under. We've been talking, tonight, all about the many issues he has to cover. [21:10:00] And in some ways, you saw him get into that car, and he is projecting the spirit of a guy, who is relishing this moment. I don't think that is fake. I will tell you, my impression, from being in the Oval Office with him, recently, was this guy doesn't have a whole lot of doubts, about what he's doing. We're having a big national conversation, about this. And there's a lot of people who wonder whether he should have done this. He's not wondering. You don't come away from a conversation with him saying is he staring at the ceiling tonight (ph)? He's -- that's not the moment he's in, Jake. And it can be hard to capture that, I think, from far away. (APPLAUSE) VOICE OF TAPPER: There is the first lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, taking her seat, next to the second gentleman, or near the second gentleman, surrounded by what are called Scott Nicks (ph), that is special guests of the President of the United States, there to illustrate various policy points, and ways that what the administration has been doing, has affected them. There's the former House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi. President Biden is running late, we should note. He is in a holding room, right now. VOICE OF HUNT: Par for the course. (GAVEL BANGS) VOICE OF TAPPER: And he is -- there is the Speaker gaveling in the session. Should we listen in? Let's listen in. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Speaker, the President's Cabinet. (APPLAUSE) VOICE OF TAPPER: The President's Cabinet walking in, right now. Obviously, there is the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who has been rather busy, these days, what with all sorts of crises in Ukraine, in the Middle East. Followed by the Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen. (APPLAUSE) VOICE OF TAPPER: Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, whose health issues became something of a problem, for the administration, when he failed to disclose them, even though he had been hospitalized. Thankfully, his health is good. Evan Osnos, it is quite a balancing act, for President Biden, as we -- David Chalian outlined all the things, all the things he needs, to achieve with this speech. You see other members of the President's Cabinet there. The Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack; the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, and on and on. Is it Deb Haaland, who is the designated? VOICE OF COLLINS: No. VOICE OF TAPPER: We do not know yet? VOICE OF COLLINS: It is-- VOICE OF TAPPER: We don't know? VOICE OF COLLINS: I just saw a picture of her. VOICE OF TAPPER: Oh, so it's not her? VOICE OF COLLINS: I just saw a picture of Deb Haaland. She just posted a picture with the many members of the Cabinet. VOICE OF TAPPER: Oh, so it's not her. VOICE OF COLLINS: The one we don't see is Gina Raimondo. I'm not saying it's her. VOICE OF TAPPER: No. We just saw her on the floor. VOICE OF CHALIAN: That was -- we just saw her there. VOICE OF TAPPER: We just saw Gina Raimondo. VOICE OF COLLINS: So, she's the only one-- VOICE OF TAPPER: We are trying -- sorry folks, at home. We are trying to figure out a nerdy D.C. parlor game, which is -- yes, there's the Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland. So, not her. VOICE OF KING: There's Deb Haaland. VOICE OF TAPPER: Who is the designated survivor kind of a dark thing, a dark tradition in this in this country, about who will maintain the continuity of government, should the worst possible thing, in the history of the known universe happen, to this building that we're looking at right now. There is always somebody, from the Cabinet, who does not attend. There's the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House of Representatives, for, in their view, the Republicans in the House, not carrying out his duties at the border. The border, obviously a huge issue. There's Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. VOICE OF COLLINS: Well I believe it's the Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona. VOICE OF TAPPER: Miguel Cardona is the Secretary of Education, we believe, is the designated survivor. VOICE OF COLLINS: Waiting for-- VOICE OF TAPPER: But John King, the issue of the border? You see Alejandro Mayorkas, right there, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who was impeached, although the Senate is not going to take up that issue, so he will not be removed from office. And even if they were to take it up, the votes would not be there. How much -- like what to say, if you are President Biden, and this is such a huge issue, immigration and the problems at the border? And obviously, Republicans have been talking about the border problems, for quite some time. VOICE OF KING: Republicans gave him the perfect framing, by walking away from the bipartisan deal, a deal that had many border security pieces in it, that the President personally does not favor, and that many in his party don't like even more than him, the progressives in the party don't like even more. So he's going to say tonight, I was about to do something big, something you Republicans have been asking for, for two decades or more. And Donald Trump told you to walk away. And so, you're putting Donald Trump ahead of the urgent needs of the country. It's a strong political argument, because it happens to be true. That could have been passed, and it could have been done. And Trump called Speaker Johnson, and other Republicans, and said, do not do this. Don't help Joe Biden. It might help him in the campaign. Do not do this. It's a powerful argument. The flip side of the Republicans is going to be, you've been president for 1,142 days. So, you were president for about more than 1,000 days, before you started these negotiations. Where were you for the first three years? And that's a perfectly valid argument too. Because in terms of the illegal crossings, and the apprehensions at the border, and other issues, they are way, way up. So, this is a -- it's a giant policy divide, about what the -- Biden was unwilling to do, in his first three years. But Trump has given him potentially, if they can craft it and play it right, a gift, in essentially telling Republicans, don't do what you have tried to do, for years, because it might hurt my campaign. [21:15:00] VOICE OF TAPPER: And if you're wondering who gets those great seats in the -- by the aisle, so that they can shake hands with, for instance, the United Nations Ambassador, the -- those seats are coveted, quite a bit. People come early. Manu Raju is in Congress, right now. And Manu, like how did Joe Manchin get that sweet spot? VOICE OF MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He brought -- he had someone saving it for him, Jake. In fact, a lot of these members, this is -- that's actually kind of unusual. In the past, people had been here for hours and hours and hours, holding the seats. This time, they had people saving them. But I want you to key in on when Joe Biden enters the room, he'll be greeted by some of his fiercest critics, in the House GOP, some Republican hardliners, who are sitting right as he enters. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, sitting near the entrance, and next to Congressman Matt Gaetz, and there's Congressman Marjorie Taylor Greene also sitting very close to the aisle. Both Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene told me, earlier today, that they will not be afraid, to yell back at Joe Biden, if they feel like that, in their view, he is saying something untruthful, or something that they don't like. And Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course, was someone, who said that Joe Biden was a liar, during last year's State of the Union address, something that Speaker Mike Johnson absolutely does not want to see. So, how will they greet the President, when he enters? That's a question. When Jill Biden was just introduced, the first lady, Marjorie Taylor Greene was seated, while the rest of the chamber was have -- giving a standing ovation, Jake. VOICE OF TAPPER: Yes, we should point out, just for fairness sake, that, Joe Biden was not lying about what he brought up, when Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled, liar, he had been saying that there were Republicans proposing sun-setting services, like Medicare and Social Security, and they in fact were. But that was a deft moment, for President Biden, concerns about his acumen, and alacrity, notwithstanding he was able to take that moment, and ad-lib, and say, oh, so members of the Republican Party, you agree with me? Let's listen in for this big, big, big moment for President Biden. WILLIAM MCFARLAND, SERGEANT AT ARMS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) (NOW: BIDEN ENTERS HOUSE CHAMBER FOR STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS) (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): (inaudible). BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep looking this way. Keep looking this way. BIDEN: Don't let -- don't focus on them (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) all right. BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We love you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll cover here. Mr. President. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are making us (ph) happy Joe. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been seeing, Mr. President. We have been seeing, Mr. President. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about you. This is about the changes you're (ph) making. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about the changes you're (ph) making. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is about the changes you're (ph) making. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, you see Barbara. You see Barbara Lee, right here. BIDEN: Barbara Lee. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see Barbara Lee. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President. BIDEN: Let me closer to the (inaudible). (LAUGHTER) (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Mr. President. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save democracy. [21:20:00] (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep moving. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, keep going. Keep going. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over here, Mr. President. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over here, Mr. President. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over here. BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you doing? Today is the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. BIDEN: I know and (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, good. BIDEN: It's today. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good, good, good. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you, Mr. President? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here we go. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got it? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible) Joe, oh my. You're doing a good job. SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): (inaudible). BIDEN: I'll tell you what (inaudible) come back. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: All right (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for everything. You are the best. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We got to get the good stuff over here. BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. It is. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. You're doing great tonight. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe, you are the best. BIDEN: (inaudible). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you look out and see all this white, you know we're wearing it for you. BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh (inaudible). Well. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: How are you doing tonight? (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the last member (ph). BIDEN: (inaudible). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You're going to do great. BIDEN: Thank you. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're going to be yelling you out. BIDEN: They're going to be yelling (ph) too, so. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you. Come on let's take the selfie. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just hold still (ph). (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible). (DEMOCRATS CHANTING "FOUR MORE YEARS") BIDEN: Chief, how are you? JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES: Really good to see you. BIDEN: God bless you (ph). McFarland, I'm going this way? MCFARLAND: Yes, sir. (DEMOCRATS CHANTING "FOUR MORE YEARS") (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: (inaudible). VOICE OF TAPPER: So, President Biden making his way down the aisle, greeting all sorts of members of Congress. You saw some people, trying to say hi, affectionately. Some people challenging him, for various reasons. He is greetings -- greeting his, the Joint Chiefs of Staff now. This is one of the great moments, in American politics, watching the President, whoever he is, come down and see all the branches of government. You see people in both major political parties. There is a common purpose, no matter what the nastiness that has been said. There is some degree, even during the harsh political times, of fellowship, and camaraderie. Jamie Gangel. VOICE OF GANGEL: So, Kasie was just talking earlier, and we've all been watching all of these people, on the floor, greeting him. And Kasie made the comment that even in these polarized times, you see that kind of enthusiasm. I was just told that many House Republicans on the escort committee, those are the people who come in with the President, declined to have their photo taken in the traditional photo line, so. [21:25:00] VOICE OF TAPPER: Yes, no, it's obviously very harsh times. And look, you saw him walk in. And one of the more loud members, of the Republican Party, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Congresswoman from Georgia, put on a MAGA hat. VOICE OF HUNT: Which is not allowed. VOICE OF TAPPER: Which is not allowed. VOICE OF HUNT: I have to say. VOICE OF TAPPER: You're not allowed to do that. And I mean, according to the rules of the House and the Senate. VOICE OF HUNT: The House. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) VOICE OF TAPPER: And she was wearing a pin, referring to Biden's border crisis, quote-unquote, and challenging him to say the name of Laken Riley, the University of Georgia student killed, recently, in a tragic accident, a tragic incident rather, a murder by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) VOICE OF TAPPER: Here he is, presenting copies, of his State of the Union address, to the Vice President and, of course, to the Speaker of the House. Let's listen in. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Good evening. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Thank you. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Where is Jill? (GAVEL BANGS) (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Good evening. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Good evening. If I were smart, I'd go home now. (LAUGHTER) (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: 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. 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 the same chamber, to address the nation. Now, it's we who face 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. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: But Ukraine-- (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Ukraine can stop Putin. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Ukraine can stop Putin, if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons-- (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: --that it needs to defend itself. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: That is all-- (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: --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. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: But now, assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those, who want to walk away from our world leadership. Wasn't long ago when a Republican president, named Ronald Reagan, thundered, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Now-- (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, do whatever the hell you want. (BOOING) 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. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) [21:30:00] 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. (CHEERS & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: 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 6th, 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 6th 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 6th. 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 (ph) 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. [21:35:13] 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) BIDEN: Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink, now our economy is literally the envy of the world. [21:40:02] Fifteen million new jobs in just three years, a record, a record. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: Unemployment at 50-year lows. (APPLAUSE) 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) BIDEN: Where is it written we can't be the manufacturing capital of the world? We are, and we will. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: More people have health insurance today... (APPLAUSE) 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) 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) BIDEN: ... right here in America, where they belong. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: And it takes time, but the American people are beginning to feel 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) BIDEN: ... creating good-paying American jobs. (APPLAUSE) 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! 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) BIDEN: ... many of those jobs paying $100,000 a year and don't require a college degree. (APPLAUSE) 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) 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) BIDEN: I like it. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: I'm with you. (APPLAUSE) 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. [21:45:03] The UAW orked 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) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (CROWD CHANTS "FOUR MORE YEARS) 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) 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) 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) 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) BIDEN: Because Medicare will no longer have to pay those exorbitant prices to big pharma. [21:50:04] 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) BIDEN: They're making a lot of money, guys. (APPLAUSE) BIDEN: And they will still be extremely profitable. It will not only save lives; it will save taxpayers another $200 billion. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 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) 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) 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) 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) BIDEN: I'm not going to let that happen. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BIDEN: We stopped you 50 times before, and we will stop you again. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 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) 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) 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) BIDEN: That's for two years. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BIDEN: And my administration is also eliminating title insurance on federally backed mortgages. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BIDEN: When you refinance your home, you can save $1,000 or more as a consequence. (APPLAUSE) 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) 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) BIDEN: Now pass and build and renovate two million affordable homes and bring those rents down. (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) BIDEN: To remain the strongest economy in the world, we need to have the best education system in the world. [21:55:04] (CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) 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, kingergarten or first grade hearing - having heard a million fewer words spoken. Well, studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school, go on to earn a two- and four-year degree no matter what their background is. (CHEERING & APPLAUSE) 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 workforce, 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 workforce to that enterprise, but none of you do that anymore. Why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best educated workforce 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 & APPLAUSE) 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 & APPLAUSE) 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 & APPLAUSE) 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. (CHEERING & APPLAUSE) BIDEN: And folks, look, such relief is good 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 the public-school teachers a raise. (CHEERING & APPLAUSE) 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 & APPLAUSE) 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 & APPLAUSE) … CNN Live Event/Special Aired March 07, 2024 - 22:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) [22:00:00] JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's 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 will pay additional penny in federal taxes, nobody, not one penny. And they haven't yet. In fact, the child tax credit I passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of working families and cut child poverty in half. Restore that child tax credit. No child should go hungry in this country. The way to make the tax code fair is to make big corporations and 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 and signed, big companies have to pay a minimum of 15 percent. But that's still less than working people pay in federal taxes. It's time to raise corporate minimum tax to at least 21 percent. So, every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share. Also on 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 them $20 million if they want, but deduct a million. End it now. You know, there are 1,000 billionaires in America. And 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 that Americans pay. No billionaire should pay a lower federal tax rate than a teacher, a sanitation worker, or a nurse. 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 ten years. And imagine what that could do for America. Imagine a future with affordable child care. Millions of families can get the 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 thick family members. 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. Many of my friends on the other side of Iowa want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security and Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you. 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. Iowa -- 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. Well, that's good to hear. You're not going to cut another $2 trillion for the super wealth. That's good to hear. I'll protect and strengthen Social Security and make the wealthy pay their fair share. Look, too many corporations raise prices to pad the profits, charging more and more for less and less. [22:05:01] That's where it's cracking down on corporations to engage 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, same size bag, put fewer chips in it. No, I'm not joking. It's called stringflation. Pass Bill Cassidy's bill and stop this. I really mean it. You probably all saw that commercial on Snickers bars. 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 that are there without your knowledge. My administration announced we're cutting credit card late fees from $32 to $8. Banks and credit card companies are allowed to charge what it costs them to instigate the collection, and that's more held 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. Folks at home, that's why the banks are so mad, it's $20 billion in profit. I'm not stopping there. My administration 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. 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. 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 darned. That's amazing. That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges, help tackle the back load of two-minute cases, 4,300 more asylum officers, and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now. What do you guess? 100 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. This bill would save lives in the border. It would also give me and any new president a 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 has -- yes, yes. You say no, look at the facts. I know you know how to read. 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 in the Senate to demand they block the bill. He feels a political win, he viewed it as 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. 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 these smugglers $8,000 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 the chance of the $8,000. [22:10:12] 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 say to suggest my referendum, my Republican friends owe it to the American people, get this bill done. We need to act now. And if my predecessor is watching, instead of playing 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 hears what he will not do. I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poison in the blood of our country. I will not separate families. I will not ban people because of their faith. Unlike my predecessor on my first day in office, I introduced a comprehensive bill to fix our immigration system. Take a look at it, as all these and more. Secure the border. Provide a pathway to citizenship for DREAMERs and so much more. But unlike my predecessor, I know who we are -- as Americans, we're the only nation in the world with a heart and soul that draws from old and new, home to Native Americans and ancestors have been here for thousands of years, home to people of every place on Earth. They came freely. Some came in chains. Some came when famine struck like my ancestral family in Ireland, some to flea 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. Look, folks, we have a simple choice. We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it. I'm ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now. 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. We miss him. Joining us tonight are other marchers, both from the gallery and on the floor, including Betty 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 them and signed into law. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. But 59 years later, where force has taken us back in time, voter suppression, election subversion, unlimited dark money, extreme gerrymandering. John Lewis is a great friend to many of us here, but if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes that march with him, then it's time to do more than talk. Pass the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. [22:15:00] And stop, stop denying another core value of America, our diversity across American life. Banning books is wrong. Instead of erasing history, that's make history. I want to protect fundamental rights. Pass the Equality Act. And my message to transgender Americans, I have your back. Pass the Pro Act for Workers' Rights. Raise the federal minimum wage, because every worker has a right to a decent living more than $7 an hour. 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. I'm taking the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world. I'm cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030, creating tens of thousands of clean energy jobs like the IBW work is building and installing 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, conserving 30 percent of America's lands and waters by 2030, and taking action on environmental justice fence line communities smothered by the legacy of pollution. And pattern after the Peace Corps and America Corps, I launched the Climate Corps to put 20,000 young people to work in the forefront of our clean energy future. I'll triple that number in a decade. To state the obvious, all Americans deserve the freedom to be safe, and America is safer today than when I took office. The year before I take office, murder rates went up 30 percent. 30 percent, they went up, the biggest increase in history. It was then, through my American Rescue Plan, which every American voted against, I'm mad at, we made the largest investment in public safety ever. Last year, the murder rates saw the stoppage decrease in the history. Violent crime fell to one of his lowest levels of 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, more community violence interventions. Give communities the toll to crack down on gun crime, retail crime and carjacking. 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. Directing my cabinet to review the classification of marijuana and expunging thousands of convictions for the mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply using or having on their record. 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, so we can finally, finally end the scourge against women in America. There are other kinds of violence I want to stop. With us tonight is Jazmin, 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 that 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 that the vice president is leading the charge. Thank you for doing that. Meanwhile, meanwhile, my predecessor told the NRA he's proud he did nothing on guns when he was president. After another shooting in Iowa recently, he said when asked what to do about he said just get over it. There was his quote, just get it over. I say, stop it. Stop it, stop it, stop it. [22:20:02] I'm proud we beat the NRA when I signed most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years because of this Congress. We now must beat the NRA again. I'm demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. 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 crises abroad, including 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 7th 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, our 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 -- 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 a right to go after Hamas. Hamas ended this conflict by releasing hostages, laying down arms, could end it, by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th. But Israel has a -- excuse me -- Israel has a added burden, because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards, under hospitals, daycare centers, and all the like. Israel also has a fundamental responsibility, though, to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. 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 innocent women and children, girls and boys, also orphaned, nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement. Homes destroyed, neighbors in rubble, cities in ruin, famines without food, water, medicine. It's heartbreaking. I've been working nonstop to establish immediate ceasefires that would last for six weeks to get all the prisoners released, all the hostages released, to get the hostages home and ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis and build toward an enduring and more -- something more enduring. The United States and the 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 in Gaza every day. And Israel must do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza to ensure humanitarian workers aren't caught in the crossfire. They're announcing 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. And I say this, as a lifelong supporter of Israel, my entire career, no one has a stronger record with Israel than I do. [22:25:08] 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. 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. We're standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. I revitalized 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, let's say, to protect our children online. 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. That's why the song, support and help of Dennis and the V.A., I signed the PACT Act, one of the most significant laws ever, helping millions of veterans exposed 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. Let me close with this. Yay. I know you don't want to hear any more, Lindsey, 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. [22:30:04] And other people my age see it differently. 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 in 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 their legacies inspired me to pursue a career in service. I left the 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 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 of our first black President, now President to the first woman Vice President. In my career, I've been told I was too young. By the way they didn't let me on ascended elevators for votes sometimes. Not a joke. And I've been told I'm too old. Whether young or old I've always been known -- I've always known what endures. I've known our North Star. The very idea of America is that we're all created equal. It deserves to be treated equally throughout our lives. We've never fully lived up to that idea but we've never walked away from it either and I won't walk away from it now. I'm optimistic. I really am. I'm optimistic, Nancy. My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are, it's how old are our ideas. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas, but you can't lead America with ancient ideas, 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. Tonight, you've 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. I see a future where the middle class finally has a fair shot and the wealthy have to pay their fair share in taxes. I see a future where we save the planet from the climate crisis and our country from gun violence. Above all, I see a future for all Americans. I see a country for all Americans 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've 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 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. JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, a very forcefully delivered speech by President Biden. Only a few hundred words into it when he made his first of at least a dozen references to Donald Trump, though not by name. He referred to him as, quote, "My Predecessor" which he did over and over. And like it or not, I have never heard a State of the Union address that had so many references to the man, the political opponent, President Biden, the President will face on the ballot this November. He started, in fact, with two issues that can be quite awkward for Republicans to talk about, issues that separate Trump from much of his party, the middle of his party for sure, such as the need to support Ukraine versus Putin, the need to oppose the January 6th insurrectionists. [22:35:00] He himself was the one to invoke Reagan's quest into the country in 1980. Are you better off than you were four years ago? He brought up the economic and health crisis of COVID in 2020. He accused Trump of failing what he called the duty to care about the American people. Of course, much of the speech was, you know, other issues, such as is the norm for such a speech. Areas where polls show real weakness for him. He offered a new proposal to help Americans with high housing costs. He talked about the need for humanitarian relief in Gaza. There was a discussion of his record, of course, infrastructure projects, prescription drug benefits. His presentation, his enunciation, of course, is not as clear as it once was a decade or two ago. His mind did seem fairly sharp. He ad- libbed a response to a pretty harsh moment as some heckling about the tragic murder of UGA student Lakin Riley. He got her name wrong. He called her Lincoln Riley. But as a general note, he condemned her murder, which was something that people were talking about. Dana Bash, what did you think? You've been to a lot of State of the Union addresses. Do you think that President Biden met the moment? DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: He certainly met the moment that his members of his party, those who are really upset and worried about this coming election year, and frankly, what would happen if he didn't win another term because of their concerns about who's on the other side of the ticket. They wanted him to be a fighter. And boy, fight did he deliver. Now, there is some criticism already that we're hearing from some Republicans that it was too political. And the retort already is, compared to what? I mean, you saw Marjorie Taylor Greene sitting there wearing a MAGA hat. One of the things that you mentioned, that he used the word predecessor. By our count in the prepared remarks, he used the word predecessor, Jake, 13 times. And that is not only important because I don't remember that ever happening in this kind of speech, but because of what predecessor denotes. And that's in the past. ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: What's so striking to me is that Republicans, I think because their whole thing right now is that Joe Biden is slow, that he's too old, that he can't do this, they walk into this trap every time that the White House sets for them. Their Speaker, Mike Johnson, tried to counsel them not to heckle, not to react in this way. And they did it. And it creates an opening, an opportunity for Joe Biden to react. He said to them, I know you know how to read. He had he had a lot of moments where he was kind of trolling them. And that worked for him in this speech, because that's essentially, at the end of the day, this was a speech about all the things that Presidents make speeches about. But the question before Joe Biden today that he needed to answer the most was, how does he present to the American public? Republicans, it seemed to me, really handed him a golden opportunity on multiple occasions during the speech to do exactly what his aides wanted him to do, which was show some fight, show his ability to react in the moment. He likes to ad lib. It's not always it doesn't always work out well for him. He did it a few times tonight without any major gaffes. And I think that was ultimately the bar that his aides wanted him to clear. JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The American people settled this in 244 days. But it was clear to me from the beginning and the end that he and his team, whether you like that or not at home, understand the challenge. This is the 36th of these for me, State of the Union's or presidential addresses at the beginning, first one being 1989. Never heard one so political. Never heard one that is such a campaign speech. But what do Republicans say about Joe Biden? He is weak and he has weakened America. And he doesn't have the vitality, the alacrity, the vigor to be the President of the United States. He came out hitting on Ukraine. Stand up to Russia. Be strong, Republicans. Don't be weak. Right at the weakness argument that he's weakened America, that he's personally weak, then went right after January 6th, said, I'm going to bury the lies and took the heckling for it, and then turned to an issue that Democrats think is absolutely critical for them, IVF, reproductive freedom, the broader issue. And he did it all with fight. He did it with punches. He came out punching and came out swinging right from the beginning. Then he did the traditional State of the Union laundry list. And then he came back at the end and took on the age issue. Does it work? Who knows? But he tried a little humor. He took the back and forth from the floor. It was clear to me that they understand what the Republicans have done and are going to try to do to him by saying he's personally not up to it. He's not strong and he's weakened America. They came out to fight. KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, and I think one of his weakest issues that he pulls on is immigration and the border. [22:40:00] Obviously, he knows that it came up later in the speech. But Senator James Lankford might have delivered him one of the strongest moments of the entire speech where they were talking about that bipartisan border deal. He went into the specifics of what was in that agreement being formed by one of the most conservative senators in the Senate. He was negotiating that. And Senator Lankford mouthed, "that's true", as President Biden was speaking and then the other moment -- UNKNOWN: They were talking about the details of what was in the bill. COLLINS: Talking about the details of what was in the bill. And the other moment where at the beginning, we watched Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene hand President Biden that button that they had made that talks about his border crisis, as you quoted what it said on the button earlier, Jake. And she said, asked him to say Lakin Riley's name. And then he pulled -- held the button up. He's into relishing those moments that he had last year, the back and forth with Republicans and was trying to recreate that and kind of take it head on. DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Relishing and prepared for them, right? There were some that were clearly understood on immigration. You're going to get some feedback. I mean, you could see how it was playing out as they rehearsed it in Camp David and the like. John, to your point about it being a political speech, there's no doubt about it. It is. It was a reelection speech wrapped in a State of the Union. But I found it was also a speech just reflective of our times. Nothing is as it once was in American politics. And I think this speech, the demeanor from the folks in the House, the President going into raw politics, it -- him calling on his -- calling out his predecessor all these times. Yes, that's unprecedented. It's also unprecedented to be running against a guy who once served as President, who you defeated, who's trying to come back. It's also unprecedented, you know, that he's facing all these trials and what occurred in this -- in this very chamber on January 6th. All these things are -- and I just think if we apply our sense of what State of the Union addresses have been, it's not -- that's just not where our politics are anymore. And so, while I know the Republicans will criticism -- criticize him for being political here, it seems to me he actually gave a speech that -- that is of this moment. BASH: No question. KING: I agree. I agree 100 percent. BASH: That was my point when I said compared to what? Yeah. KING: But it's often Joe Biden in the past who has tried to go back to those moments. I remember those moments. Mitch McConnell's my friend. We can do bipartisanship deals. Joe Biden tonight realizes we don't live in that world anymore. In the past, he has tried to pull to go back to that world. He's realized that world doesn't exist. TAPPER: Yeah, I think what's interesting, Jamie Gangel, is -- is what David touched on -- on the preparedness. He wanted -- he wanted and was prepared for the Lakin Riley moment. Again, Lakin Riley, the UGA student tragically murdered by a Venezuelan undocumented immigrant who should not have been in this country and should not have been free. He obviously had been told they are going to bring this up. This wasn't news, by the way. I mean, like we you know, we all learned a few hours ago that the Marjorie Taylor Greene was going to have these pins. And also, obviously, this has been a horrible story in the news and one that a lot of people have been talking about, including Republicans. And he not only did he did he say her name, he mentioned that he had lost children, too. And he lost his daughter when he was in his 30s and he lost his son, Beau, a few years ago, talked about their misery, repeated something Marjorie Taylor Greene said about like killed by an illegal, although he's already getting some blowback from -- from immigration advocates about using the term illegal to talk about undocumented immigrants. And then he talked about how the compromise on the border would have disincentivized people crossing illegally because instead of staying -- staying around for five or six years until their hearing, it would be six weeks. And so, it would stop the incentivization of crossing the border. Talked immediately about it. And then said, do you want to debate the border or do you want to fix the border? JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: I think this is a critical point, because, Jake, you're absolutely right. There is no question they prepared for those moments in the White House. There is also no question that Congress, the Senate, this is Joe Biden's home. And he likes to spar in moments like this. We have seen that. That is classic Joe Biden. Yes, he was prepared on specific topics. But from the -- from the very beginning where he said, funny, if I -- if I was smart, I would go home now. And everyone laughed to the end where he said, I'm almost wrapping up. That's what we see with Joe Biden. I want to point to a couple of things. I heard from a Democratic source who, like we've been told, many in the White House was worried about how Joe Biden would do today. And the source said he under-promised and over-delivered the two things that we never like to talk about. High energy and his age. He addressed his age. He came across with high energy. All the Republicans have a phone full of Republicans saying that was a campaign speech. But even they admit that he delivered. [22:45:00] TAPPER: So, let me just let me just say -- I misspoke. I said something on Lakin Riley. She was found on the University of Georgia campus. She is a nursing student, but she's not a University of Georgia student per se. And I apologize for forgetting that -- for confusing that detail. Anderson. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Jake, thanks very much for the team here in New York. Van Jones, you were watching this closely. VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Man, very proud. Very proud. Look, strong at the beginning. Strong on Ukraine. Strong about January 7th --January 6th. Strong in the middle. He was, well, he put his chest out to those Republicans. He ain't scared of the Republicans. He said, hey, let's -- fight right now about the border. Let's fight right now about these tax cuts for gazillionaires. Strong at the end. Owning his age issue. I thought that was a remarkable, fiery, powerful, vigorous guy. And I think it gives people a lot of confidence that this guy might be able to go. And by the way, he's still standing there talking to people. He came in slow. He talked to everybody. He was at the beginning, strong in the middle, strong at the end. COOPER: Ashley, what did you think? Because before the speech, a lot of folks on this panel were saying that there were two missions, not only about his agenda and what his second term would look like, but perhaps even more importantly, is he all there? Is he vigorous? ASHLEY ALLISON, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE SENIOR POLICY ADVISER: Yeah, I mean, we said it was also about performance, right? And I think tonight he showed that he could give a very long speech. And if you come for me, you know, don't come for me unless I send for you. You know, one of those moments. And so, I was getting texts throughout the speech from progressive leaders, from folks who are adoring the speech, talking with black men in Michigan. And they were saying, I can get behind this agenda. I will say I did hear from some voters on the Gaza issue who were unsatisfied. But there is still eight more weeks. And I think that there is an opportunity. But tonight, I think Joe Biden did what he was supposed to do. SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: He talked about Snickers and snack chips before he ever got to the border. He was obsessed with his political rival more than he was obsessed with the condition of the American people. It was so weird. This guy lectures us all on unity, the soul of the nation. And he gives the most partisan convention speech in place of a State of a Union that I've ever heard. It's the literal opposite of unity. It's so partisan. He's obsessed with taunting Republicans. It's not statesmanlike. Let me say one more thing on Israel. A little too much. Got to hear both sides on Israel and Hamas for me. No, you don't have to hear both sides. Israel's our ally. Hamas is the enemy. He lied about our ally and implied that they are not delivering humanitarian aid. They are delivering humanitarian aid. I do not like every week this administration is going back on our commitment to Israel. And it was in this speech. And it's going to get worse. DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would just say this, too, you know. Whoever coached the speech, loudness doesn't equal energy, right? It was the loudest State of the Union. I had to turn my IFB down because my ears were bleeding. It seemed like, to me -- COPPER: What's interesting is both of you guys who are Republicans are not talking about, he didn't seem like he knew where he was. URBAN: No, no, let me finish. He seemed like Walt Kowalski. He talked about this like Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino screaming at kids, get off my lawn, like an old guy screaming at kids. DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: My guess is that when he got into the heart of his agenda, the things that you ridicule about the cost of food and, you know, price gouging and so on, I bet you that scored with a lot of people. I think that the populist economic agenda is a powerful, powerful thing for him. Look, there are parts of it. I'm not sure that the attacks all landed exactly, they may have landed well in that room for sure. And they landed well with base voters for sure. I'm not sure with those swing voters that they landed, as well. But I do think that the agenda he -- I also, by the way, think that probably what doesn't land well is his proclamation that our economy is the envy of the world and that, you know, inflation is under control. UNKNOWN: I would say -- COOPER: You had also raised the question of his performance and the importance of that. I'm wondering what you think. AXELROD: Oh, I -- listen, I think that he passed the first test, which was -- he did command the room, he was in the moment, he did respond. You know, I think Marjorie Taylor Greene walked right into a trap there, it was kind of fun to see. No, I think this was his setting and he did very well. And I think his people will be really pleased with it. COOPER: Alyssa. ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Listen, Donald Trump did Joe Biden a huge favor. He set the expectations on the floor. Joe Biden basically had to show up and not keel over on the dais tonight. And he massively outperformed that. Just objectively, there was some stumbling, there was some the coughing, he's prone to sometimes a stutter, but he did show energy, he showed the ability to get through a long speech. [22:50:00] Now, I think he was smart to start with setting the stakes very high at the top, to talk about Ukraine, to talk about the threat to democracy, where he starts to wane is in the middle. When he's talking about the economy, it was like patting himself on the back, sort of, it's actually better than you feel that it is. The border, the substance of it was quite good, that should have been at the front end of the speech, the number one issue for a plurality of voters. But overall, I think most people are going to say that looks like a man who's up to the job. COOPER: Let's go back to Erin on Capitol Hill. Erin. ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks, Anderson. All right. You both know him so well. You've been here preparing for three State of the Union speeches with him. What did you just see? KATE BEDINGFIELD, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I thought that was terrific. That was vintage Joe Biden. He gave an incredibly forceful performance, which is, as everyone's been discussing, was what he needed to do tonight. He needed to show that vitality. He showed how comfortable he is in this environment. We were talking about that before he started to speak. He loves the Congress. He loves the Senate. He loves the opportunity to go back and forth. He loves the House. And so, this was really a moment for him to show command, which you saw him do as he was going back and forth on immigration and a couple of other issues. You know, he really likes to engage. And so, him having the moment, having the opportunity to do that, you really saw kind of the best of him. You saw somebody who was on top of his game and very comfortable. And I think that was probably the single most important thing. You know, the other thing I thought was interesting is that he really he used a lot of language that really painted Trump and the Republicans as weak. I mean, he said, you know, right at the top, you know, we're not going to bow down in talking about supporting Ukraine. BURNETT: Like in all caps. Right. Yeah. BEDINGFIELD: It was really -- he did a lot to sort of frame the Republican position on a lot of issues as weak. He obviously you know, he talked about you can't only love your country when you win. And so, I thought it was interesting that he kind of wove that narrative through the speech, because that's obviously, you know, that's an important piece of kind of the case that he's making. BURNETT: And you, Evan, having chronicled his career and spent so much time with him in recent days, back to your description in that time, right, that you felt his mind was there, but his voice was clotted. His voice was not clotted tonight. EVAN OSNOS, BIDEN BIOGRAPHER: No, this is a guy who came out with a very clear intention to show Americans what he thinks people around him see. And this is what you often hear described from people who've spent time with him behind the scenes. Look, he got out there and from the very beginning, he was comfortable in that chamber. He wanted to get up there on the lectern. He was not rushing, spending time with people. And then he gets up there and he begins to speak. And what you heard, I think this is very important, was a kind of comfort with the issues and a level of emphasis that the clear thing was, if you turned off the sound on that speech and you just watch that person at the lectern, you wouldn't have had a lot of questions about whether they were in command of that chamber, whether they were in command of the material. And very many people out there are going to be seeing that speech in that. They're looking to see, am I reassured? You know, the number of people who said to me in the days before this speech, I'm nervous. I'm nervous because any moment could become fodder on social media. There was no moment tonight that becomes, you know, a day-long story. This is -- that speech speaks for itself. BURNETT: And the ad libs, Kate, were frequent, but yet would, you know, circle back purposefully. BEDINGFIELD: Exactly, exactly. And you had asked earlier if he was nervous. Absolutely not. BURNETT: All right, Jake. TAPPER: Thanks, Erin. And we're watching President Biden make his way out of Statuary Hall. And it is definitely a moment where he seems to be, I'm sorry, making his way out of the House chamber is definitely a moment where he seems to be relishing what he just did. He seems to be enjoying it. A lot of congratulations from Democrats standing. BASH: You know, speaking of Democrats, while this speech was going on, I was getting texts from a couple of senior Democratic leadership aides saying, you know, what Republicans did was lower expectations. TAPPER: Okay, let's interrupt right now. We're going to listen to the Republican response. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama. KATIE BRITT (R) ALABAMA: 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've been alive. [22:55:00] 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 past time, 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 Laikin 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. [23:00:00] She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland.