[ applause ] we have been listening to ukraine s first lady addressing congress in person there. and back with me, nbc s chief foreign correspondent, richard angle, and ellie rafa and samen schuster. you spent a good deal of time with her for time magazine. an incredible read. and she touched on emotion in this speech. child of parents, a mother. will her son go to school? is that what you expected from a speech like this today? i think so.
good morning. translator: dear madam speaker, ladies and gentlemen, i m grateful to be here and to address the congress of the united states of america. i know this is the first time when the wife of the president of a foreign country has the honor to address you within these walls. this is really important for me and for my country. and today, i want to address you as politicians and party representatives. as well as mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, daughters and sons. i want to address you not as first lady, but as a daughter and as a mother.
another hour. i m lindsey reiser. we have our eyes on capitol hill. ukraine s first lady is set to speak to congress. she has been in washington and meeting with jill biden and president biden, acting as an ambassador for her country and her husband, president zelenskyy. she is here to explain what ukraine still needs to fight russia. and the latest update from the white house about russia s plans in ukraine is putting all of this top of mind. russia is beginning to roll out a version of what you could call an annexation playbook, similar to one we saw in 2014. the russian government is reviewing detailed plans to purportedly annex a number of regions in ukraine. joining me now, elsa barber,
what then can you do? you just never give up. change doesn t come easily, as you know. but it will come if you never give up. we have already passed bills three or four times and sent them to the senate making the point we want this to happen. we want a vote in the senate so that when we go out to the elections in midterms, voters can hold their representatives accountable, those who do not support the right of women to make decisions about their own health care. those who do not support the right of women to have access to birth control. we want votes on those bills. we want to hold these people accountable in elections. we want to elect pro-choice women and like-minded men who will come to congress and fight, fight strongly and hard to bring this change. congresswoman, do you have any plans we were speaking to one of your colleagues in our last hour. she called it civil disobedience.
democrats need to make climate change in the midterms? it s very important this year. you look at polling and it can be misleading. climate change is not one of the top issues. you look at the numbers and climate change is the number one issue for voters under 30 years old. one of the most important issues for democrats overall. they re guessing whether young voters are going to come out. voters are sick and tired of congress to do nothing. biden is saying, i m going to do everything i can. let s be honest, we have to pass a bill here. young voters, one of the keys to this election, saying climate change is now their most important issue. i want to listen to what senator dick durbin told ari