Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker. Madam speaker mr. Speaker. The president. The president. The president. Of the United States. By special invitation of the speaker of the house. Tonight, President Biden delivers the state of the Union Address. We are just getting started. A divided audience in the room. And the nation. The president makes his case for an american comeback. Lets finish the job this time. The economic success story. And its partisan combat over the southern border. U. S. Support for wars abroad, an assault on the fundamental rights of women, and the preservation of democracy itself. Democracy must not be a partisan issue. Tonight, Rachel Maddow, rachel wallace, it jen psaki all here for msnbcs special coverage of the state of the Union Address. Good evening. And thank you for joining us. For the State Of The Union. For democracy, this is the School Band Recital and the Scout Jamboree and the black friday sale and the Christmas Pageant and the new years eve ball drop and my girlfriends birthday, all rolled into one. Happy birthday, honey. We know you could watch the president s state of the Union Address, anywhere and everywhere. It makes us all the more grateful that you are watching it here with us. Its a big night for all of us. Im Rachel Maddow here at nbc headquarters. Nicolle wallace is here. Chris hayes, arie melbourne, jen psaki. Well have a whole bunch of colleagues over the course of our special coverage tonight. There is really nothing else in American Life and american politics, quite like the State Of The Union. Theres no other moment, when you get the president and the Vice President and the entire u. S. Senate and the entire House Of Representatives and the cabinet and the heads of all the branches of the military and the Supreme Court justices all in one room. And if you are someone who likes to show off how Many Political figures you can recognize on site, this is your Night Director of labor, director of the office of management and budget. And the office for palou. We will be playing along and inevitably getting some of them wrong, as long as im on the microphone. State of the union is prescribed in the constitution. Its always a big deal. Its an even bigger deal when election is running for re election. President Bidens White House has made no secret of the fact that they see tonight as an unparalleled opportunity. For him to set the terms of the Long Campaign ahead. This could well be the largest audience President Biden addresses, until the Democratic National convention, which is nearly half a year from there. So tonights speech comes just after President Biden and donald trump all but swept the Super Tuesday Nominating contest this week. Trump is now the Presumptive Republican nominee. Biden has been the Presumptive Democratic nominee from the beginning. We dont expect mr. Biden to call mr. Trump out by name. But according to kperplts released from the white house earlier this evening, President Biden will draw a contrast between two visions of the american story, as he describes it. One that embraces, quote, freedom and democracy, honesty, decency, dignity, equality and respect. Versus another version, when he says is based on resentment, revenge and retribution. So maybe he wont say trump but hell spell it every other way. President biden will talk about the booming economy that he has shepherded. He will also call on americans to elect a congress that will restore roe versus wade, that will restore the right to have an abortion as the law of the land. On the republican side tonight, well watch to see if members of congress can keep it together there have been increasingly rowdy, republican outbursts. Today, House Speaker mike johnson repeatedly warned his republican colleagues that decorum is the order of the day. We shall see. It hasnt been for a long while. Ue about the a big night ahead. Weve got lots to talk about. Were going to start with chris hayes. Thank you very much. Joining us now from the capitol is minnesota senator amy klobuchar. Senator, i know youre on the rules committee and a special role you play in tonights activities. Is that right . Yes. Get to escort the president in. I hear that he is very excited about this speech in good spirits, a seasoned leader. And as rachel was just noting, i am remembering last year when maybe decorum didnt rule and they were heckling him and he went with the punches and did an extraordinary job. So im looking forward to this speech. Are there specific areas that you feel particularly invested in. Things youre looking for . Signal little from the white house. Particularly about pressing legislative issues right now. Sure. Supplemental funding . As well as an agenda past that. Clearly, the president will be focused on getting this budget done so theres not a shutdown. And focused on getting humanitarian aid to gaza. But the other thing is going to be the contrast he is defending the rights, freedoms. And theyre trying to destroy them. He is defending demock realistic. And theyre trying to defeat it. He has the backs. Youre going to hear a lot about costs. Im very interested in the to culs on prescription drugs. Since i led that bill back about negotiating medicare prices. And finally, that is happening. Insulin capped at 35. I think youre going to see a futuristic speech. Youre going to see a speech not just about accomplishments, as important as that is. But also the progress that needs to be made for the future. And really future orientation to what needs to happen in the second term for President Biden. You get to bring guests along, one of your privileges as a member of the United States senate. Yes. Do you have any guests tonight . I do. I have a woman named ann buzzy, an iron ranger in northern minnesota. She is an incredible woman who is paying 10,000 a year for her husbands prescriptionless. What that has meant for 10 blockbuster drugs, including eloquist, and jardience. I memorized them. More can come to bring down drug prices for the people of this. I know you have your hands full. Its going to be great. Thank you. Rachel . You know, what she said off the top about decorum. And what we put right at the very top of the broadcast, with a big voice talking about what is going to happen. It is weird because of what is going on in the president party. And how he tries to address the legislative priority. And were also like, what are they going to do . I mean, theres a little bit of a there is anticipation of what weirdness may come from the republican opposition. I dont know if speaker johnson has the ability to calm them down or talk them out of it. But i think its telling that thats a big part of how we brace for nights like this. Look. At a selfish level. Makes it more fun to watch, right . Anything could happen. Can be more stressful. But i think it gets back to the election dynamic. President biden is the only one in charge of his destiny. Right . You just said it. Speaker cant control his caucus. It is the analog. Trump cant control his impulses. Trump will be what he will be. Republican members will be what they will be. They cant control themselves. But the president is the most disciplined and experienced and i know we talk a lot of times about how that cuts against him. But of all people, he is the only one who is in control of how this night goes down. Hes having the same conversations Behind Closed Doors that we are having right now. Anything can happen. And somebody is going, oh, god, but dont say the f word. I mean, i think it would be great. But that probably for another. Last time, it went great for him. And the public watches this, right . And theyre reminded, oh, wait. What happens in washington . The president has to wait with this congress. Why is there that new speaker some people have some idea that the guy who could barely get in there the first time, mccarthy, then got fired. And now they got this new guy. And when you talk about immigration, theres real stuff to be done. The economy, they have been doing it. Kind of the white house argues without congress. Right . And then you say, we want to do more. This is one of the least productive congresses in history. Theres more i can do. Thats why he wants a second term. And also, implicitly, negative in the painting. Everyone else in this room on the republican leadership, hasnt done much, with their time or jobs that you elected them to. Thats very true. And i think the best moment last year that we all remember last year was the Social Security moment, right . When the president had the back andforth. Theres no doubt, as nicole and i both can confirm. You plan those moments to the best that you can. But theres some aspects of it that you cant plan. Because they cant plan. If somebody in that audience today going to yell about immigration . Are they going to yell about Something Else that the president has to respond to . The white house also plans for that. Its also maybe weirder that youre sitting in the last few weeks, planning out, okay, how are you going to respond if Marjorie Taylor greene yells about this . How aring go to respond . Theres news that there are efforts to stop that. Mike johnson thinks it reflects poorly on his members. And he wants to respond it that. And like, nah, dude. Like were going to do it anyway . Yes. Like i dont even check my behavior from my preacher. The rules of theater. My point. Self regulation is a good skill to teach your kids, just as a side note to teach your kids. Like Self Regulating is important in adults. There is a contrast to aries point. Everyone in america knows who donald trump is. Everyone knows who the president is. Joe biden. Maybe one in five people know who mike johnson is . Uhhuh. Maybe i dont know what percentage of people can tell you which Party Controls the House Of Representatives. The basic facts of that dynamic you just listed. Thats like news to a lot of people that come to watch the State Of The Union on a night that tens of millions of people Pay Attention. And very briefly, there is who is mike johnson . And then theres why is mike johnson . And goes to how they fight among themselves. Even conservatives. The point you made, arie, about how this is one of the least productive congresses, if not the least, in the history of the United States is a doubleedged thing for the president , too. He wants to talk about getting things did know with his bipartisan. But he is literally standing p in front of a congress that cant put a why. We shall see. We are still waiting for President Biden to leave the white house, get in the beast, drive over to the capitol to deliver this years state of the Union Address. Were going to take a quick break now. We want to be back with you before all the action starts. Stay right here with us. I must say to you. That the State Of The Union is not good. The state of our union is sound. The state of our union is strong. Buzz our economy is troubled. The State Of The Union depends on each and every one of us. What is the state of our union . It is growing stronger, but it must be stronger still. To educate people and hopefully save lives. When my son brian died in a drunk driving accident, my name is brian hivler. When my son brian died in a drunk driving accident. I put out a video and tried to stop young people from drinking and driving. No other family had to go through what we did. Tiktok has the power to change society. And thing the where the power of tiktok thrives. Ere the Powe Of Tiktok thrives. Its a little pill with a big story to tell i take oncedaily jardiance at each days start as time went on it was easy to see im lowering my a1c jardiance works twentyfour seven in your body to flush out some sugar. And for adults with Type 2 Diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. Serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and Genital Yeast or urinary tract infections. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction. You may have an increased risk for lower limb loss. Call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection in your legs or feet. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Jardiance is really swell the little pill with a big story to tell i have no more campaigns to run. My only agenda i know because i won both of them. [ applause ] President Obama at the State Of The Union, after winning re election. Republicans very excited he would not be campaigning again. Him rubbing it in just a little and winning the interaction. So heres the split screen for you on the occasion of this year s Campaign Year State Of The Union. President obama is scheduled tomorrow since he became the presumptive nominee. Tomorrow, he will host at his home in maralago, viktor orban. Hes been in power for 15 years. During that time, hungary has significantly backslid to something more like an auto autocracy. Last year, tried to block military aid to ukraine. Meanwhile, when President Biden gives the state of the Union Address tonight. A different Prime Minister, from sweden, will be watching from jill bidens box suite. That neutrality ended today when today, this day, sweden became the newest member of nato. The 32nd country to join nato. They decided to end neutrality in response to russias invasion of ucrepe. So the Prime Minister of sweden will be a guest while President Trump tomorrow hosts Viktor Orbans best friend forever. The split screen here is always there when the president is speaking during a Campaign Year. I dont know whether this was timed to coincide with the State Of The Union. If it was staged to be a poke in the eye. But i wonder what you think President Biden will make of it . Prime minister of sweden sitting there, a new member of nato. It can be and holding nato together and holding the alliance together, during this nightmare that is happening, is one that President Biden can be proud of. So i think people can make a big deal of it. And hes sitting in front of a Republican Caucus that is as noninterventionist, isolationist generation as weve seen. Donald trump is trying to style himself as a president in waiting, as sort of what viktor orban was when he lost and returned to power. Then began to dismantle democracy so he wouldnt lose again. And he hasnt. Somebody is going to be literally sitting with a man with whom he can get advice on how to remain in power perfect. At home, allegedly going to fact check joe President Biden on pretend twitter. Hes got his own plan to style himself while the real president is talking as the president in waiting is consulting with the dictator who is going to train him. He is, for all Intents And Purposes the apprentice. I think he has to do more than point to nato as accomplishment. This is something you have to connect the dots for people. The opposite is a threat. I think you have to go against it and say, being against it is a threat. I think the whole reaction may get more traction in foreign capitols than in ours. Theyll be looking in ukraine. In europe, to see how half the room reacts. Will they clap . Im not sure. And to see this lurch of not just the presumptive nominee. But one of the two parties. I mean, they know more about Mitch Mcconnells retirement and comments about Foreign Policy than probably folks paid to your point. But this is, i think and i interviewed the former Prime Minister of australia. This is what theyre watching to see. What does it matter . Because the opposite is dangerous to you and you and you. Its not just bragging about the state of the alliance. And i think you had your program as well. That european leaders are looking and wondering if its worth dealing with the current president of the United States if he cannot control Foreign Policy. And theyre watching as the current sitting president of the United States has his Foreign Policy held hostage by a civilian, by a retiree in florida, who seems to actually control whether or not the United States theyre also watching for this connection, as nicole said. These foreign capitals, they get briefings on our politics in the United States, who is up and who is down . And i think in this speech, i think i would expect the president to connect the importance of funding for ukraine, as a Defending Dephoblguracy and defending authoritarian impulses to the challenges here. Because the other challenges that President Biden and secretary blinken when they go overseas is sometimes a lack of recognition of the challenges we have here at home. So acknowledging that and acknowledging and speaking to the defense of democracy, the Inflection Point that were in. And tying that to ukraine, is, i think, the way i would expect him to do it. This is addressed to the public. And youre going to hit your big moment little. And we talk about that. So sometimes people remember. You dont have every day, where you can just kind of give a World Briefing about what is going on. Why are these countries that have been comfortable at a Security Level being neutral shifting . This isnt world war ii but it is the biggest land war since world war ii. It sounds like a criticism but thats what his florida friend talks and admits. This is all of the chaos. And i think thats where most of americans attention is. And theres very little interest in either party for foreign adventures. And yet, this is how much its moving, even with push against putin. Imagine the alternative. Hmm. And hes also fighting tonight for lack of better phrase, the entropea of attention. Which is what happens when anything goes on. When it was inviting ukraine it was roll and cover. And people pay less attention as it goes on. And you see the salience fall down. You see it in polling. How important is it to you . Even though its a low salience issue, not front of mind for most voters, it is still popular. A Strong Majority still supports continued aid to ukraine. Although it has decreased over time. It has decreased over time, both with media and donald trump. But it remains a popular issue, a majority issue. And what he has the unique role as the bully pulpit is to try to increase the salients back up. And its working. You can personalize it, too. If you do publicopinion polling in the United States with the American Public on figures, on names they have heard of, on individual people, the person who comes in basically lower than Toenail Fungus is Vladimir Putin. Yes. They have talked the right wing into the idea that that is somehow, some sort of america first, nationalist thing. But its about helping Vladimir Putin, who is wildly unpopular in every sector of the American Public. For President Biden tonight, thats an easy thing to point out. I will mention that Evan Gershkovichs parents will be there, the reporter who has been held in russia, unjustly, by Vladimir Putin for a year now. We just had Alexei Navalny assassinated in russia. And its still a very, very short, sharp shock. We know the white house invited navalnys widow to be here even show she couldnt. Id be surprised if we didnt hear about that. But confronting evil. And guests of mike johnson. Really important bit of signaling on precisely that. He gets to invite who he wants. He gets to signal what he wants to communicate. And i think that is a very good sign on where he is on this particular issue. The other big piece. And this is the sort of thing that i hear out in the world. That people in the regular world, who dont necessarily Pay Attention to Foreign Policy, arent necessarily jazzed On The Issues of putin versus, you know, ukraine. They arent really thinking about it. But when they talk about ukraine, what they wind up talking about is the United States spending tax money over there right. Instead of over here. And it would be probably helpful if somehow President Biden can do two things. He has to tauck about the scale. I think so people overestimate the scale of that spending versus what is spent domestically. Wild. People persaoefz it as much more money. But also, they connect it to a lack of spending in the cities. A lack of spending for them. And he needs to make that case. Were going to make a quick break. I do want to let you know, while were talking about this topic, one of the things were keeping eyes on tonight. There has been one arrest already thus far. At a not gigantic, but significant sized protest outside the capitol. This is a Protest Calling for an immediate ceasefire in gaza. Again,y we just got word that there has been a single arrest. This is outside of the capitol on not only a highprofile, but highsecurity event, with so much of the government establishment of the United States gathered in that one room to hear this address tonight by the president. Protestors making their views known. In just a few minutes, we expect Speaker Mike Johnson to call the house to order ahead of President Bidens address. Were going to squeeze in this last quick break. And well have live pictures inside the capitol on the other side of this. So stay with us. Through the investigations of the socalled watergate affair. I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end. One year of watergate is enough. [ applause ] if there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. I have Type 2 Diabetes, but i manage it well jardiance its a little pill with a big story to tell i take oncedaily jardiance at each days start as time went on it was easy to see im lowering my a1c jardiance works twentyfour seven in your body to flush out some sugar. And for adults with Type 2 Diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. Serious side effects may include ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and Genital Yeast or urinary tract infections. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction. You may have an increased risk for lower limb loss. Call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of infection in your legs or feet. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Jardiance is really swell the little pill with a big story to tell good evening and happy mardi gras. Im bobby jindal, governor of louisiana. Tonight, we witnessed a great moment in our history. Speaking will be governor bill clinton of arkansas. These theseern americans were charge chosen. And expressing stheplzs about the part republicans play in their lives. In the short time ive been in washington, nothing has frustrated me more than the false charges the president laid out tonight. Its that timing. Too close. Look. Well clean it up afterwards. Well fix it in post. The assignment is thirsty work. Its a little bit like what used to be called the Sports Illustrated cover curse. It is a great honor. It means you are a big deal and people expect for great stuff for you. But it often doesnt go well for you. The person who will deliver tonights republican response is katie britt. A Freshman Center senator from the state state of alabama. At age 32, shes also the youngest woman to be elected from any state. Senator britt is an interesting and strategic choice for republicans. She ran on her staunch opposition to abortion she celebrated the overturning of roe versus wade. Republicans have lost election after election, after election, any time its tied to that subject. After the alabama Supreme Court effective banned invitro fertilization. The alabama signed that bill last night, which happened to be on the eve of senator katie britts national debut. Lucky her. Joining us is john, columnist. John, great to see you tonight. Great to be here, too. Thanks for having me. So you have seen katie britt up close in Alabama Politics, for a lot longer than people on the National Scene know her. What should we expect . And what have you come to learn about her in her years in Alabama Politics . Well, she came to power, sort of as an alternative sort of politician to the craziness of the mel brooks of the world and the buffoonery of tommy teberval. And i think she wants to present that to the nation as an alternative to crazy. But at the same time, if you really want to see who she is, you have to look at sort of the Republican Party that exists in her state, which is, you know busy right as we speak. You know, passes more dont say gay bills and bathroom bills and ignoring Prison Crises that also affect life. And so, you know, if thats if thats the if thats what youre going to get from katie britt and probably anything that anything she thinks donald trump might want to hear. She was up against mo brooks to get to the senate seat in the first place. Mo brooks started off as very much team trump. And company sort of turned on him, effectively, disassociated himself with him in a way that was very harmful for mr. Brooks campaign. Katie britt ended up winning that campaign by a lot, after trump and brooks split. I mean, we all saw that drama unfold. But where you would put her on the scale of zero to trumpy, in terms of what type of republican politics she had. How closely shes aligned herself with the former president. And crucially with his claims of election fraudulence. She campaigned, initially people would say, shes not like that. She really doesnt believe that. Shes not that trumpy. Which only leads me to say, you are what you pretend to be. And in the time that shes been elected, she has pretended to be nothing but a trump shoeshiner. I think she hopes deeply to be put in that Vice President ial lottery. So i think that in many ways, its sort of an illusion, because she has been the result is exactly the same. If you had Tommy Tuberville saying crazy things. And you had katie britt saying less crazy things. But ultimately, the result is the same. And i think thats where we are. John archibald, pulitzer writer. My favorite person to read of all of them. John, its great to have you here. Thank you, my friend. Thank you. Live shots from the chamber here as Vice President Kamala Harris enters the chamber. We also saw the Democratic Senate leader, chuck schumer, the Republican Senate leader, mitch mcconnell, coming in behind her. This starts the process, a long process, which will take at least the next 20 minutes, as we see members of the house and Senate Already there. But well see the diplomatic core of the cabinet, the joint chiefs, the military leaders and the various branches, all come in. Well keep eyes on that as it happens. Chris . Katie britt is a fascinating figure. And choice. And choice. Clearly, look, they understand they have to protect themselves on this flank. They have coordinated this timing, right . Like shes coming to be like, look. We signed the i vf bill. Were not coming for your frozen embryos, ivf users of america, even though the majority of the house members of the Republican Caucus, are currently right now, cosponsors on a bill that has filed in congress that would nationalize Supreme Court ruling that has no carveout for i vf. Buzz the other things is sort of the Expectation Setting that happens when youre a senator in the state where Tommy Tuberville is the other senator. Its like a bridesmaid dress. Its like, you look good, if youre next to Tommy Tuberville. Katie britt is like extremely, extremely, respected and looked to, as like the future in Republican Senate circles. She was a staffer for a long time. She was chief of staff, whose seat she now holds. Inside, outside transcender. Shes also the only republican woman in the senate with kids. She said shes raising. Which is why probably she is their choice. Right. It is still odd. I understand they have to protect their right flank. And when she won her senate seat, she proudly bags and was excited about roe being overturned. She could be like republican ghandi. And still possesses a position that 83 of americans propose. Abortion is more popular than it has been since the poll question was asked. And Radical Republicans have made it so. It doesnt matter. I have a question. They dont have an answer. Alabama did sort of an end around it. They dont answer it. Embryos are children. Doesnt matter what law they pass. Does that mean you can freeze children . Right. When youre defending frozen children. You know youll lose it, right . Beyond that. I think johnson has invited someone who runs a pregnancy crisis center. Theyre not doing themselves any favors, visavis the election. If everyone was smart on that side, they would just shut the hell up until november. No one talk about it, wait until we get in power and do it. But they cant do that. Theyre going to run on this, because it is their strongest issue. And keep talking to themselves. And well keep dying. And problem is, local news still exists. And even right wing local news will still cover a woman who has died because she was not able to get healthcare in the state of texas. Its going to happen in florida and texas. It will happen everywhere. And those stories are so compelling, just as narratives. Theyll to be irresistible to the media. It doesnt matter how attractive and reasonable sounding katie britt is. And the reality is, its something like, only 35 of the Republican Party disagrees with the alabama ruling. But mike johnson wow. I dont know that you all saw the mike johnson interview today. Because he was asked about ivf. Didnt answer it. What he said, its new. As if its the 1970s and were in a brave new world. First of all, hes probably been around wasnt he born in 1970 . Thats my point. The problem is i come from the 1980s. I was in high school in the 1980s. And when we first started hearing about this, and quote unquote, test tube babies. The right, i promise you, as someone who grew up christian in the 1980s, was foursquare against it, believed it was demonic and believed that life begins at conception. If you create 12 embryos, they believe you must implant all 12 because they already people. If you say life beginsa the conception. That means by definition, if you dispose of an embryo, you have frozen, you have killed a person. That is what they believe. They can cover it up in different markets and slogans, but that is actually what they believe. When you are talking inside. Theres senator Tommy Tuberville. Speaking of. But when you have the with wide shots, you might have noticed there are a lot of female members of congress who are wearing white or cream colored. And it really stands out when you see the wider shot of the room. Those are members of the Democratic Caucus specifically wearing white for reproductive freedom. This is going to be the centerpiece of what happens tonight, almost regardless of what is being said. With republicans choosing a republican from alabama to give the response to the State Of The Union, an antiabortion republican from alabama and to have the Democratic Women highlighting it in this very high visibility. Can i make a note that we did not coordinate. We just randomly wore white. And youre not coordinating as part of this message. No. You both just look amazing. Thank you. Speaking of which, jen psaki, you have a guest. I do. Jeff nussbaum, former speaker for President Biden. Thank you for joining us tonight. Good to be with you. This is fun. One of the things we have been talking about, in this world were living in, in 2024, how do you prepare for the moments that might be scripted in a speech, and might not be . So as somebody who has written speeches with President Biden, helped him walk through them, helped him practice with them . How do you do that . How do you prepare for protestors on either side of the aisle. Or moments where you want to put the other party in a tough spot. Well, you do prepare. And i think you mentioned it earlier. You have lines ready. You have responses ready. You have a pretty decent sense, even though the speaker has tried to tell his caucus to stay in control. But they may not. But you also ultimately, the president is up there alone. And he has to trust his instinct. So bill clinton, one ofs this advisers, he would go up for the State Of The Union, would whisper, you have the best political instincts ive ever seen, trust them. Part of the president is being alone. Part of it is preparing. And i think this year especially, i think if there are responses, chaos. Certainly, last year, the president showed that he can rumble with anyone. Right . He went through that exchange. So he wants to wade into an exchange. We know he can win it. But also, this year, if he gets if he gets if the rabble rises up. I think it presents the perfect split screen between the chaos in the house and a president up there who is being a leader. So im not one to tell him what he should do. But i think either way, he can win the exchange. The excerpts struck me as particularly spicy. Spicy scranton joe, maybe an indication of that. Tell us about how as a speech writer, you prevent these speeches from becoming elistical and make it more of a story. And what these excerpts may tell you about the tone of the speech . Completely agree. I had the same response when i read the excerpts. I thought spicy, yes. But also conversational. Yes its an oeration but also a conversation. He enjoys those conversations. Hes at his best in this. I think youve seen, hes taking an oration moment and turning it into a conversation. And people trying to get their piece in. There are a lot of people in government and out of government who have validated if they have a line. Thats why you want a leader and people around him, who know what theyre about. Luckily, President Biden knows what hes about. Because hes always been about it. From the bottom up and middle out you know, restoring the middle class. Rebuilding our infrastructure, rebuilding our economy. So part of it is, resisting those impulses on a staff level. Part of it is a leader saying, theres one story im telling. And im going to bring in the information that advances that story. Jeff nussbaum, always a pleasure. And people do the weight room. Has happened. Thank you for joining us tonight. Meaning youre saying if people know you have a hand in helping craft the speech . People will stalk you . Like inside the white house . Theres crazy behavior that takes place. Nicole may have experienced this as well. Because everybody wants their line, their proposal. Yeah. Their thing in the speech. And as jeff just talked about. The challenge, when youre writing the speech or when youre the communications director, is you need it to be a story. Not a list. Theres a lot of disappointed people. You just drink a lot less water. Make sure you cant get cornered. The reason were looking at this door, through which a whole bunch of people you dont recognize just walked through is because of that right there. The president and first lady, leaving the white house. Getting in the president ial limousine for the very short ride over to the House Chamber of the u. S. Capitol. President there is taking his time, getting in. Look like he turned around. And kind of greeted some people . As you guys know, nicole and jed, having been there and worked there. It is very much like Christmas Pageant time. It is like all systems working. And everybody working a lot. And things are changing right down to the last minute. Its very high energy, high stakes. And theres always the divide. People have to go. But most want to watch him to see what the president is saying. They tuesday the short straw is actually the person in the car or behind it. Because most people want to see what people are saying and dont want to be the person fielding any lastminute calls. Its not like the american president , where michael j. Fox says, i gotta write a brand new speech. At the last minute, you want to see what the country is hearing and hear the reaction positive and negative. I think President Biden is saying, im not a lip reader, but a play one on tv. I think he said, feeling good. Yeah. Waving as he goes. You know, also keep this mind that this is the first time the president gives the State Of The Union, we dont call it the State Of The Union but it tpaerbl effectively is. So 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. At least one of the states of the union that President Biden has had to give had to be changed, at the last minute, because of the invasion of ukraine. Thats right. It was in 2022. And the speech that we had prepared was leading with the economy as they often do, almost always do. And we essentially ripped up the speech, which doesnt happen often, but sometimes it does happen. Because of events in the world. And the in the moment we were facing, and its not quite that at all but i was speaking with somebody from the white house yesterday, curious about what the president would say about gaza but they said its not quite written yet. There was an announcement that they made today where they want to provide the most uptodate details and there are details where you sometimes you have to. I did the size of this motorcade is intense. But the fact that this is president ial movement jen, you asked in your interview and it was interesting about how the white house is preparing for potential disruption and i think bidens death at dealing with this from republicans, he did a very well when Marjorie Taylor greene did that before, how can you respond if the disruption is on gaza. I can tell you how i hope you respond by showing empathy, and to say, i share your desire to end this war and to save lives in gaza and that is the piece that has not been communicated, which is thats what hes trying to do and there are a lot of people in the country who are frustrated but theres also a lot of people in the country who feel that some of the language that theyve seen from some of the Democratic Party is anti semitic. Im not validating that but its a difficult issue for President Biden and for democrats, because of all of that. One of the things thatll be interesting about that part of the speech is donald trump and the republicans have basically maintained what i would call, strategic silence on the question. Or it just needs to finish, think thats what he said. The phrase is not my favorite. And what you see however and you will see in the room is that there are two coalitions in america, two parties, one of which, is having a battle over this issue and one of which is having no such battle, which is, for square in One Direction and on one side. Thats been true about everyone whos been speaking about this in the Republican Party. So itll be interesting to see that in the room, because there is no division on the republican side. And it points in only One Direction. Pulled one moment the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Scalise, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. Amer, the gentleman from new york, mr. Phonic, the gentleman from alabama, mr. Palmer, the gentleman from utah, mr. Moore this list of names that we are getting from House Speaker, this is the Escort Committee which is a long list of members that will walk in along with the president or start his address. I want to bring in ryan mostly because hes in the room. He cant join us on camera but he can join us audio only. Ryan, can you give us a sense of what youve been saying, what we have noticed is the number of Democratic Women wearing white and we are told that it is in support of women and their reproductive rights. Its making a stunning visual. If it comes across that way on television, its even more stark when you are in the room. When you walk in, you are drawn to these women, not only because they are dressed in the white color but they also made the decision to punch themselves together and sit in one big block, and it certainly sends quite the message because as i said before, your eyes are immediately drawn to them and the message they are sending out of course with everything thats happening in the country right now, related to the overturning of roe v wade, the controversy over ivf in alabama and just in general, the overall conversation about womens rights. I spoke to a congressman about this and she said this is something that Democratic Women feel is an urgent topic that needs to be discussed. And this is something that we see members do, they dont have the opportunity to speak at a night like tonight that there are millions of eyeballs paying attention to whats happening here in the chamber of this is a way to send a message to all of the people that are watching that this is an issue they care about and they are not the only ones, we will see members wearing ribbons that denote a number of Different Things in fact republican members that are wearing white ribbons that represent their concerns about the border crisis and what they would describe as the violence connected to the border crisis of course, thats up for debate as to whether or not thats a causation or a correlation but regardless, that is an issue that is front and center for republicans and so, these are all the subtle ways that members try and make their most important issues, that they care about, front and center in a speech like tonight. One of the things that members do, they push the white house they say, this is an issue that we want you to talk about but theres no guarantee that any of this will get into the speech. Ryan, thank you, and keep us on speed dial, flag us if you are noticing other dynamics at work in the chamber there. Speaker johnson on the right, Vice President on the left, this is the House Sergeant at arms. This is the dean of the Diplomatic Court along with the serving ambassador to the United States, the longest serving ambassador to the United States, hes the ambassador to palau. We will see the justices introduced shortly, we will see the first lady introduced, the cabinet introduced shortly. Watching along with us as our friend claire mccaskill, former senator from missouri. Am i right, youve been able to talk to some Democratic Women in the room tonight . Ive had communications with some of my friends and former colleagues, and they are, to a person, very optimistic about the speech. They think biden is going to be comfortable in that room. I dont think anybody in that room has been to more state of the Union Speeches than joe biden. So, he knows most of the people there, especially in the senate side and they think hes going to be loose and aggressive and frankly everyone is assuming that somebodys going to act out on the other side. Theres a little bit of a concern that there may be some acting out along the gaza issue and i think what you all said earlier holds true. I think most of the members that i communicated with, think itll give him an opportunity to show the empathy that everyone is feeling about the loss of innocent lives in gaza and the terms of how the war is being prosecuted. You see the chief there, john roberts, in the lead justice kagan, all members never attend together anymore but correct me if im wrong, but Justice Alito hasnt attended, since the State Of The Union when he was kind of heckling President Obama and got caught on camera, that was the last time he came . Yeah. Thats an interesting way to leave your mark. I think you would want to clean up that impression. We have sometimes seen former justices, retired justices Justice Kennedy is there. And then we see Justice Ketanji brown jackson, thats a privilege that you are allowed, we should also mention along those lines that another privilege, House Floor Privileges are extended to former members of congress, theres been a buzz about expelled member of congress, george santos, sort of proudly returning and using his Floor Privileges to try to attend this evening. He has pled guilty to multiple felony charges, had he been convicted of any the felonies, you would not be allowed on the house floor but as a former member, even one thats been expelled, he technically can be there. So he can be there. Lurking somewhere, and hoping desperately that we will talk about him and put his picture on television. While i have just talked about him now, maybe that will do it. Nobody ever thinks of someone like him existing. Ive been doing one of My Favorite Things to do, its te