Requirement as president , delivering a state of the unit address. This will be his third before a joint session of congress. The speech comes during an Election Year where President Biden is fighting for a second term in the white house. It is likely to be a rematch of the 2020 race. Tonights speech is not just about his policy agenda it is also him making a case to the voters in primetime. Following the president s speech, first term alabama senator katie britt will be delivering the republican response. After the president s speech and the gop response, it is your tu. Wehow would you describe the ste of the union . What resonated with you in President Bidens speech at the republican response . We will listen to youroices and messages via phone and social media come alive here on cspan, cspan. Org, and on our states cspan now app. Good evening and thank you for joining cspan for this evenings state of the Union Address. In just a few minuthe president and mrs. Biden will be leaving the white house to drive the 16 blocks of to the capitol. We will be able to watch that. We will also see the senate gather at the body on their half of the capitol and walk over to the house side where the state of the union is held. We will be able to see that as well. Right outside the House Chamber is statuary hall. And joining usre along with the rest of the media is Catherine Kelly mcmanus of politico. Catherine, the become quite an event here in washington, hasnt it . Catherine absolutely. The capitol isesident is not eve yet. The capitol is packed with guests and lawmakers. Peter how important is this speech to the president or the perception at least of the speech . Catherine this is bidens big bid for a second term pick this is an enormous audience you will have of course both in the know who they are voting for in november. But the Television Audience is ones and other speeches he will give where he will be surrounded by supporters pretty this is his chance to speak to the nation about what he believes he has accomplished in his time already as president and what he intends to accomplish going forward. He will be trying to mark wins. Count the reduction in flattening of inflation as a win. He will be talking about tackling Health Care Costs as a win. Whereas of course republicans will not be clapping. Peter what about looking ahead . What have we heard about the speech in the next four years if he wins . Katherine one thing in the very speech he will be calling for a gaza ease the entrance of aid into the gaza territories which has been besieged of course by israel counterattacks. But aid has not been reaching at the rate that the president and the u. S. Has be s with. He is hoping to land u. S. Response in order to ease that aid. That is progressive end of his party will be looking for, that acknowledgnt situation in gaza as israel and hamas are at war. Other things he will be pledging to do and remarkingn is that oil and natural gas exports and production are at its highest level inhe will be trying to coa Republican Point that moving to green energy has been creating an Energy Dependence internationally for the u. S. And he will try and counter that by pointing out that Energy Production with oil and natural gas are at an alltime high under his leadership. Peter over the last couple of years there has been a bit of a change in union with nancy peloi ripping up with an one of Donald Trumps speeches, some members shouting at the presidencan we expect any of tht activity tonight . Katherine we do. Speaker of the house mike johnson did make a plea tois conference earlier this week to keep decorum, to listen intentls we saw last year. In part because that heckling from Marjorie Taylor green boebe right back and was seen as coming away strong with that teractio about entitlement in government programs. And republicans do not want President Biden to come off looking sharp and responsive and that he can counterattack republicans if they come after him during the speech. You are correct tent years. It really did used to be a stayed, a staid, respectful affair, even from within the Opposition Party in congress. But these days things have changed. Tempers are running very high and of course rhetoric is hotter than ever. And so we do expect outbursts tonight, especially on the republican side of the aisle, despite their leadership making a plea for them to sy calm. Peter katherine tullymcmanus with politico, as always we appreciate you joining us outside the House Chamber. Katherine tpeter also joinings cspans Greta Brawner. Greta this week on cspan have been asking our viewers to participate in a poll of head of tonights state of the Union Address. You can do so now as well. Just scan the qr code we are going to put on your screen or go to cspan. Org poll. The question that we ask all of you issue is most important ahead of the president s state of the Union Address. You can see some of the options you have to participe , immigra, Border Security, etc. This is how people have been responding this week. 34 of the people that we asked, that is the most, said immigration and Border Security is the most important issue ahead of the president s stat a. The white house has said, according to a reptehat Presidet Biden is not going to be making any announcements on executive orders for Border Security ahead of or during his state of the Union Address. The preference is still that congress legislates this issue. We also hit the streetsto ask folks who are here in town that question, what is the most important issue ahead of the state of the union. Listen to the responses. Hi. m from st. Louis, missouri. And i would like the president to take care and close the border, because we aretoo many n here, and its just getting overwhelming and a lot of crime. Hi. Im from new jersey. I think i would like to see the president address anything related to gaza and palestine. Its very important right now. It sucks to see in the rents and people not talking about it and choosing to look at it in one im a postdoc fellow at Johns Hopkins university. I do research in intellectual history and social theory. And i think the most important issue i would love to see the president discussed in the state of the union is the danger that Artificial Intelligence poses to our civilization. Particularly in the way in which i think it might undermine haved economy. And might threaten our culture. Within the state of the union i would love to hear the president ■haddress its an important topic in all states in the u. S. Together as a nation to make a stronger and better. Peter the president s state of the union is slated to0ress 9 00 p. M. Eastern time, that is in about 50 minutes or so. Obviously we will be live. Last year, President Bidens state of the Union Address ran 72 minutes and 41 seconds. In 2022 it was six to two mi he delivered an economic speech that began his presidency. It was not an official state of the union. At wases, 58 seconds. Lets compare those to the averages of previous president s. Ronald reagan, about 38 minutes. W3george h. W. Bush, 45. 5 minute. Bill clinton, 70 minutes. George w. Bush, 52 minutes. Presenma went for about 61, 62 minutes in his speeches. Donald trump averaged 79 minutes andand joe bidens average now s 63 minutes and 29 seconds. Want to remind you that you join our conversation tonight and comment on the of the union speech anytimacebook and on x. Justbe cspan is our handle for those. And if you are away from your tv, you can watch us live on our cspan now app. Well, earlier, Greta Brawner sat down with mohammad yunus, editorinchief of theluthey hae president s job Approval Rating. Here is part of the conversation. Greta what to the poll numbers say . President biden is at a 38 overall approvalating. That is actually a decline from where he was back just in january. And it is actually two points lower than his three year average. So our latest read on President Biden is not promising for his camp. Back in january we compared where President Biden was just then, and where all previous president s in modern history were at that same moment. And whene that analysis when he was four points higher than he is now, he was behind every single president going all the way back to president. At 41 at the time. The only person close to him was president obama at 45 . Restingly, president obama made a pretty notable turn in his Approval Rating in that last year, really in the last three quters of his first term, to end it with a 52 Approval Rating preelection. Peter and we will see a little bit more of that conversation straight ahead with Mohamad Younis a little bit later. Ever since 1982 when president reagan brought hero of the air florida crashed to the state of the union, president s have been ng guests to sit with the first lady up in the gallery. The role of the guest is to add to the president s message on certain themes and polics guess tonight, two mothers. Katie cox is from texas. She spoke out nationally about reproductive care and her emergency need for an abortion. She was unable to get one in texas after roe v. Wade was overturned and the stes ban after the ruling. Another mother who was a guest of the president tonight, Latoria Beasley from alabama. She was undergoing ivf when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled an embryo is a person, and those caught destroying embryos could be held legally accountable. This threw ivf in alabama in limbo until action b legislaturh several critics stopping ivs services. A third guest, uaw chief sean fain. Lets go back to Greta Brawner. Greta members of Congress Also get to invite guests to tonights state of the union. They all get one guest. Families of american hostages in gaza are expected to be in attendance with members of congress. Senator tim kaine has invited the firsivf person born in the United States to be his guest. And speaker johnson invited the parents of journalist evan gershkovich, who is being held in russia. Tammy duckworth, senator tammy duckworth, along wh other democrats earlier today, held a News Conference to talk about the issue of ivf following the decision by the alabama supreme ■court and the importance of it. The president is expected to talk about reproductive rights as well tonight. Heres ahat the senator had to say on this issue. A few weeks from now, i am going to get to hold my younger daughter in my lap as she squeezes her eyewish, and blowss on her birthday cake. I get to have my nineyearold begging for a piece of cake without the frosting. I dont know how she is my daughter, but apparently she doesnt like frosting on my cake. I will cherish every moment of it, as i always do. But this year i know i will feel even more fearful than normal. After a decade of struggling with infertility after my service in a rack, i was only able to get pregnant through the miracle that is ivf. Ivf is the reasoth candles and birthday wishes and birthday gifts for both of my girls in the first place. Peter as we mentioned earlier, giving the republican response this evening is alabama senator katie britt. Here is a little bit more about her. She is in her first term as senator. She is 42 years old. Lives in montgomery, alabama with her husband and two kids. Shes an attorney, graduate of the university of alabama law school. Senator britt worked for a long time for alabama senator richard shelby, who endorsed her when he retired from the senate. Lets return tointerview with mf the Gallup Organization about voter satisfaction. Mohamad President Biden right now is behind not just in approval, it is in peoples overall satisfaction with how things are going in the country. The question of asking are you better off three years ago than you are today, just to give you a point of reference, in 2020, 51 of americans said they were better off three years ago than they were at the time. Today, that 61 is down to8 . So President Biden faces a lot of tough metrics. If the past is reason to assume the future. And there are a lot of reasons to not necessarily see that outcome this year because of all the unpredictable variables that you and others have been discussing. Peter and we expect the president and mrs. Shortly for that 16 block drive up pennsylvania avenue to the capitol. We will hope them walking out. We are also expecting the senate to come into session and then and they will be parading theree through statutory through statuary hall. Cabinet, the joint chiefs, etc. We will capture as much of that is possible. Once the house lights come on, we will shut up here cspan and we will let you see what is going on on the house floor as the members gather to hear the president s speech tonight. There is an additional eight cameras on the floor of the house for tonights speech, so tion. Lets return to Greta Brawner. Greta while we wait for the president to leave the white house and for the lightsco tons speech from reporters. This is breaking news from nbc earlier today. In his state of the Union Address thursday, President Biden is expected to announce the u. S. Military will establish a port on gazas coast which will be used to get aid in. Earlier, this is from jackie from fox news, a white house official tells me President Biden is not going to make any executive announcements on Border Security ahead of our during tonights speech. And then there is this from jim of axios. Will use tonights state of the Union Address to admit that prices are still too high in some areas, but argue things were worse under the former president. And there is also this from nbc news. In his state of the Union Address, President Biden will highlight the postcovid economic recovery and lay out the administrations plans to revamp the tax code, expand housing supply, and reduce the l budget deficit. Heres a little bit more on that reporting from jeff stein of the Washington Post. The president is expected to announce a■ 25 minimum tbilliok buyback tax, create a new corporate minimum tax of 21 , and ban firms from deduction cost of paying salaries over 1 million of federal taxes. Reproductive rights, also expected to be talked about. Heres an excerpt from the president s speech tonight. In its decision to overturn roe v. Wade,he supre Court Majority wrote women are not without electoral or political power. No kidding. Clearly those about i have no clue about the power of women in america. But they found out that when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, they will find out again in 2024. The president is excited to go on and say this. If americans send me a congress that supports the right to ch promise you i will restore roe v. Wade as the law of the land again. Peter. Peter after the president s speech tonight, he will be hitting the campaign trail. He has two campaign events. One tomorrow in philadelp and then on saturday in atlanta. Youe able to see these on cspan. And by the way, all cam■n 2024 coverage is available at cspan. Org for you to watch when you want and where you want. Week, Speaker Mike Johnson previewed what he felt was the state of the union. We will get to that in just a minute. The senate is just coming into session. This is where they gather on their side of the capitol, and then in a minute they will lero. [indiscernible chatter] cc fn■l■ [indiscernib c peter and that ie picture of the senate in their chamber. They are getting ready to walk over to the house side. That will be about a two minute walk. They will go through statuary hall were all the media is ■ them there as well. The president s cabinet will come through that little aisle there you see in the center into the House Chamber. The joint chief, several of the Supreme Court justices as well. With speech is due to begin in about 35 minutes. The president has not left the white house as of yet, and we hope to catch him and mrs. Bidea as they leave the white house as well. The house lights have not come up in the house yet. And when floor, we will go live and we will be quiet, and you will be able to watch the scene. Eight additional cameras are on the floor. Now, after the speech and the republican response of course, it is your turn. And your thoughts about the state of the union, about the president s speech, the republican response, etc. That will be after theerage of e 2024 state of the union on cspan. Peter and it looks like the senate is about to depart. We have seen both Mitch Mcconnell and chuck schumer, the two leaders there. And eagle eyed viewers, longtime cspan 2 watchers will note that former senator Patrick Lahey was there as well. Hes no longer senator but he has privileges. There is Vice President harris joining theand she will escort m over across the capitol. And looks like there is some activity at the ite house as well. We expect the president and mrs. Biden to depart from the south portico in just a few minutes, and we will catch that action as well. The house lights in the capitol in the house should be coming up in about five minutes or so. When that happens, that means a lot of the members are on the floor. We will have tvov 25 minutes of coverage before the speech begins. Now, after President Bidens speech, kae britt, firstterm senator, alabama, will be given the republican response. 42 years old, longtime legislative aide to former senator richard shelby. She is the youngest gop woman senator ever elected. And shell be giving the response about five minutes after the president finishes. Lets return to the capitol, and potentially to the white house as well. [indiscernible chatter] peter and you can see the senate walking through statuary hall into the House Chamber. We expect the president to be leaving shortly from the white house 16 blocks of pennsylvania avenue. Of course he doesnt have to stop for traffic or lights, so it is not a long drive forand te chamber should be coming on momentarily, so we will be going to that as well. Show you the action on the house floor. State of the Union Address due to begin at 9 00 p. M. Eastern time, about 24 minutes from now. [cheers and applause] [indistinct chatter] 4 [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] [indistinct chatter] how are you doing, sir . Doing good. Dont jump, i need you. See you all later. [indistinct chatter] and you are watching members of the house and senate gather on the house floor. We are about 10 mite as you can see, the president just left the white house, seemingly a little late. Greta brawner information on that . Greta the Washington Post noted that cease fire occupiers were blocking the route president would take to the capitol. Around 250 were sitting on pennsylvania avenue. Projected, bidens legacy is genocide, onto the side of the National Gallery of art, and are demanding that the u. S. End funding to israel. We are not sure if that is what delayed the president s departure. He is expected to speak towards the top of the hour, a little after. But that is from the Washington Post. Live coverage here of the state of the union on cspan. The joint session will come to order. The chair appoints as membs coe house to escort the president of the United States into the chamber. The gentleman from louisiana, mr. Ullys. From minnesota. The gentleman from new york. The gentleman from north carolina. Therom alabama. The gentleman from utah. The gentlewoman from michigan. The house will be in order. The gentleman from oklahoma. The gelegentleman from kentucky. Gentleman from new york. The gentlewoman from massachusetts. The gentlemen from california. The gentle man from california. The gentlewoman from washington. The gentleman from colorado. The gentlewoman from illinois. The gentlewoman from texas. The gentlewoman from massachusetts. The gentleman from michigan. Vp harris the president of the senate appoints the following senators as members of the committee on the part of the senate to escort the president 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, center senator from michigan. The senator from minnesota, ms. Klobuchar. The senator from the senator from wisconsin, ms. Baldwin. The senator from kentucky, mr. Mcconnell. The senator from south dakota, mr. Thune. The senator from wyoming, mr. Barrasso. The senator from west virginia, mrs. Capitola. And the senator from iowa. The members of the Escort Committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. ■[ the dean of the diplomatic court. [applause] u . The chief justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court. [applause] [cheers and applause] ■e ■f■ ■i [indistinct ■i [indistinct chatter] ■x [applause] [gavel banging] cabinet. [applause] [applause] [indistinct chatter] ot■0s