moment. that is it for us this afternoon. the lead with jake tapper starts right now. the state of our union is the lead is starting right now. president big tonit s address before a died congress and country to tout his accomplishments. and perhaps lay out his case for another term. but how might his message land with the american people who according to polls disapprove of the job he s doing. rare cries of joy as a little girl and her younger sibling are pulled from the rubble alive. a small bit of good news amid the growing death and destruction from the earthquake in turkey and syria. the death toll now soaring to more than 7,200 people. then, if you ve flown in the past few weeks, you know the skies are not very friendly. cancel takeoff clearance. delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance. an i-team meltdown, one airline grounded during the holidays, two runway near misses, now lawmakers want answers. welcome to the lead. i m jake tapper on capitol hill
delta 1943, cancel takeoff clearance. an i-team meltdown, one airline grounded during the holidays, two runway near misses, now lawmakers want answers. welcome to the lead. i m jake tapper on capitol hill where in just a few hours president biden is going to deliver his second state of the union address. the speech tonight is meant to lay out president biden s goals for the coming year, but it s also a test run to sharpen his message, as he is expected to launch a re-election campaign. i sat down with the president and other tv news anchors this afternoon for an off-the-record conversation. i can say that the president seemed in good spirits. he seemed eager to share his optimism with the american people. we do expect from separate reporting to hear president biden mention a wide variety of topics tonight, including inflation and the economy, health care, policing reform, combatting the opioid crisis, topics that are familiar ones for the president. but the dynamic, of course, is
will be sitting over his shoulder as biden delivers his remarks. since the house of representatives is now controlled by republicans. cnn s phil mattingly starts off our coverage from the white house with a closer look now at the last-minute preparations happening right now. madam speaker, the president of the united states. reporter: for president biden, a state of the union address that carries the weight of far more than a laundry list of policy priorities, where two years of legislative wins, rapid economic recovery, and a public health crisis waning i want to talk to the american people and let them know the state of affairs. reporter: have given biden and his top advisers no shortage of accomplishments to highlight in front of congress and millions watching at home in prime-time. but the moment and the audience critical for a white house still grappling with an electorate registering widespread unease, a newly divided congress, and the partisan battles ahead. mr. pr
moment. that is it for us this afternoon. the lead with jake tapper starts right now. the state of our union is the lead is starting right now. president big tonit s address before a died congress and country to tout his accomplishments. and perhaps lay out his case for another term. but how might his message land with the american people who according to polls disapprove of the job he s doing. rare cries of joy as a little girl and her younger sibling are pulled from the rubble alive. a small bit of good news amid the growing death and destruction from the earthquake in turkey and syria. the death toll now soaring to more than 7,200 people. then, if you ve flown in the past few weeks, you know the skies are not very friendly. cancel takeoff clearance.
hint about another major speech that advisers say may come in the next few weeks. so let me ask you a simple question. are you with me? yeah! reporter: and jake, while there is no timeline about a potential re-election announcement, one thing is clear, white house officials don t view this as just an opportunity to look back at the progress of the last two years. in fact, one of the constant threats throughout the president s remarks tonight, according to advisers, finish the job. they know there s more work to be done and they believe the president can demonstrate he s the man to do it, jake. phil mattingly at the white house for us, thank you so much. cnn s kaitlan collins and abby phillip are here with me now. kaitlan, how much of tonight s speech do you think will be president biden testing out a possible message for his 2024 re-election campaign? i don t think all of it will be about 2024. it s not going to be this big campaign rally-style speech. it will be a more ser