[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] [indistinct conversation] >> the house will come to order. >> it took president biden 20 minutes to get from the podium out of the house. in about five minutes, the response from republicans will be delivered. that begins in about five minutes. the president will be speaking about issues in depth. he will be talking medicare in tampa. and then the governor association, and a meeting with the newly elected brazilian president lula da silva. your response to what the president had to say. now of course, you can send a text message as well. just remember to include your first name and your city. >> a cbs reporter tweeting this about the speech. " and i cannot recall seeing a speaker like speaker mccarthy tried to tonight. " >> instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share. >> [boos!] pres. biden: anybody who doubts it, get with my office, i will give you a copy of the proposal. i'm not planning on naming them, but it is being proposed. look, folks, the idea is that we're not going to be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we don't respond. [applause] >> from president biden's address, one of the most raucous moments, as a reporter notes. ahead of tonight's speech, this poll by the washington post found on this question of the debt ceiling and whether there should be spending cuts included, 65% of u.s. adults said the debt payment and federal spending should be handled separely by the president and congress. we will bring more reaction from the state the union address after we hear from the republican governor, sarah huckabee sanders. peter? >> and sarah huckabee sanders was just elected this past november. she took office on january 10. and she won by 28 points. she served as president trump's press secretary for a couple of years. her father was governor of arkansas from 1998 to -- from 1996 to 2007. and governor sanders met her husband brian on her father's 2008 presidential campaign. and they have three children. after the governor speaks, we will go to your phone calls and your reaction on social media, either via text message or our social media platforms. remember, you can also listen to everything you are hearing tonight on c-span on our c-span now app. it is free, and it is available at all locations where you download your apps. that is the governor's mansion in little rock, where sarah huckabee sanders will be speaking from in just a minute. here she is. >> good evening, i am sarah huckabee sanders. being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe anything. i heard tonight from president biden. from out-of-control inflation and violent crime, to the dangerous border crisis and threat from china. biden and the democrats have failed to you. they know it, and you know it. and it is time for a change. tonight, let us reaffirm our commitment to a timeless american idea that government exists, not to rule the people, but to serve the people. democrats want to rule us with more government control, but that's not who we are. america is the greatest country the world has ever known because we're the freest country the world has ever known. we're the people who are strong and resilient. five months ago, i was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. it was a hard time for our family, particularly our kids scarlett, huck, and george. but we kept our faith and persevered. thanks to exceptional doctors here in arkansas, a successful surgery, and of the grace of god, i am cancer free. through it all, i couldn't help but think about my mom. she was 20 years old and in her first year of marriage when she was diagnosed with spinal cancer. the doctors told her she might not live. and if she did live, they said she'd never walk again. and if she did walk, she definitely would never have children. the daughters she was told she would never have was just sworn in as the new governor of arkansas and is speaking to you tonight. adversity and fear of the unknown can paralyze us. but faith propels us to charge boldly ahead. we can't stand still in the face of great challenges. you and i were put on this earth for such a time as this, to charge boldly ahead. i'll be the first to admit, president biden, and i do not have a lot in common. he is for government control. at 80, he is the oldest president in american history. i'm the first woman to lead my state. and he's the first man to surrender his presidency to all welcome mob -- two a woke mob that can't even tell you what woman is. you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race. but not to love one another, or our great country. whether joe biden believes this madness, or is simply too weak to resist it, his administration has been completely hijacked by the radical left. the dividing line in america is no link between right and left. the choice is between normal or crazy. it's time for a new generation of republican leadership. upon taking office just a few weeks ago, i signed executive orders to ban crt, racism and indoctrination in our schools. eliminate the use of the derogatory term latinx in government, repeal covert orders and said never again to authoritarian mandates and shutdowns. americans want common sense from their leaders, but in washington, the biden administration is doubling down on crazy. president biden inherited the fastest economic recovery on record. the most secure border in history. cheap, abundant homegrown energy. fast rising wages. a rebuilt military. and a world that was stable and at peace. but over the last two years, democrats destroyed at all. despite democrats' trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in american history. as a mom, my heart breaks for every parent who has lost a son or daughter to addiction. 100,000 americans a year are now killed from drug overdoses, largely from fentanyl pouring across our southern border. yet the biden administration refuses to secure the border and save american lives. and after years of democrat attacks on law enforcement, and calls to defund the police, violent criminals roam free, while law-abiding families living in fear. beyond our border, from afghanistan to ukraine, north korea to iran, president biden's weakness puts our nation and the world at risk. and our most formidable adversary is dangerous and unacceptable. president biden is unwilling to defend our border, defend our skies, and defend our people. he is simply unfit to serve as commander-in-chief. and while you reap the consequences of their failures, the biden administration is more interested in woke fantasies then the hard realities americans face every day. most americans simply want to live in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn't start, and never wanted to fight. every day we are told we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags and worship their false idols. all while big government colludes with big tech to strip away the most american thing there is, your freedom of speech. that's not normal, it's crazy. and it's wrong. make no mistake. republicans will not surrender this fight. we will lead with courage, and do what's right, not what is politically correct or convenient. republicans believe in an america where strong families thrive in safe communities. where jobs are abundant, and paychecks are rising. where the freedom our veterans shed their blood to defend is the birthright of every man, woman, and child. these are the principles republican governors are fighting for, and in washington, under the leadership of senate republicans and speaker kevin mccarthy, we will hold the biden administration accountable. down the street from where i sit is my alma mater, little rock central high. as a student there, i will never forget watching my dad, governor mike huckabee, and president bill clinton hold the doors open to the little rock nine. doors that 40 years earlier had been closed to them because they were black. today, those children once barred from the schoolhouse are now heroes memorialized in bronze at our statehouse. i'm part of the progress our country has made. and i believe giving every child access to a quality education, regardless of their race or income, is the civil-rights issue of our day. tomorrow, i will unveil an e ducation that would be the most far-reaching, bold conservative education plan in the country. my plan empowers parents with real choices, improves literacy and career readiness and puts a good teacher in every classroom by increasing their starting salary from one of the lowest to the highest in the nation. here in arkansas, and across america, republicans are working to end the policy of trapping kids in failing schools and scenting think -- sentencing them to a lifetime of poverty. we will educate, not indoctrinate our kids. and put students on a path to success. it's time for a new generation to lead. this is our moment. this is our opportunity. i knew generation born in the waning decades of the last century, shaped by economic booms and stock market bustss. forced by the triumph of the cold war and the tragedy of 9/11. generation birmingham with passion and new ideas to solve age-old problems. yet unafraid to challenge the present order and find a better way forward. if we seize this moment together, america can once again be the land of the free. and the home of the brave. during my two and a half years at the white house, i traveled on every foreign trip with the president. a trip i will never forget was on december 20 5, 2018. my husband and i had just cleaned up wrapping paper that was shoved into every corner of our house thanks to our three kids. when i had to walk out on my own family's christmas, unable to tell them where i was going that night, because the place i would be traveling was so dangerous they didn't want anybody to know that the president was going to be on the ground. even for a few hours. we boarded air force one in complete and total darkness. there were no lights on the plane, no lights on the runway. our phones and computers shut down and turned in. we were going completely off the grid. nearly 12 hours later, in the pitch black of night, we landed in the war-torn part of western iraq. it was again a similar scene. no lights on the plane, no lights on the runway. the only thing you could see was coming from about a mile away, and a dining hall where hundreds of troops who were in the fight against isis had gathered expecting to celebrate christmas with senior military leadership from around the region. they had absolutely no idea that the president and first lady were about to walk into that room. and when they did, it was the sight, and is see -- and a scene, and a sound i hope i never forget. the room erupted. men of every race and religion, every political party and demographic you can imagine started chanting in perfect unison, over and over and over again, "usa! usa! usa!" it was an absolutely perfect picture of what makes our country great. one of the young soldiers yelled from the back, "mr. president, i reenlisted in the military because of you. -- i reenlisted in the military because of you. the president said, i'm here because of you. shortly after, that young soldier came up to me and he said, sarah, you have a tough job. i told him, what i do is nothing. you take bombs and bullets. that's a tough job. in a moment that i know i will cherish for the rest of my life, that soldier reached up and pulled his patch off of his shoulder and placed it into my hand. a sign of ultimate respect. he said, sarah, we are in this together. overwhelmed with emotion, speechless, i just hugged him. with tears in my eyes and a grateful heart, for our heroes who keep us free. that young man and everyone who has served before him, all of those who serve alongside him, and the thousands we know who will be called upon to serve after him deserve to know they have a country and a community back home doing our part in the fight for freedom. america is great because we are free. today, our freedom is under attack. the america we love is in danger. president biden and the democrats have failed you. it's time for a change. a new generation of republican leaders are stepping up. not to be caretakers of the status quo but to be changemakers for the american people. we know not what the future holds but we know who holds the future in his hands. with god is our weakness, we will show -- with god as our witness, we will show that america is still the place where freedom reigns and liberty will never die. thank you. god bless you. god bless america. >> and that was sarah huckabee sanders, the governor of arkansas. there's the governor's mansion in little rock. now it's your turn. text messages only. please include your first name and your city if you would. jerry, stratford, republican. you heard the president and now governor sanders. what's your response? >> at least for 20 years, i've heard politicians of both stripes talk about comprehensive immigration reform. in my question, why would anyone care about passing a new law if it's not going to be enforced? three to five new democrat voters have come across the border since biden took office. there are still existing laws not being enforced. passing new laws to me makes no sense. i will paraphrase something governor sanders says. that's that 1600 pennsylvania avenue is no place for the woke mob to be reeling from. i think this nonsense is politically nonsense. a woman's nonsense has to come to a stop. >> spencer, michigan, democrat. what did you think of the presidents speech? caller: yeah. i thought the presidents speech, isp or ca did when he spoke about tyree nichols. he didn't have to have that talk with his kids. i'm a black man. i've had that conversation with my parents. it's very tough. almost every day, we see people that are innocent that are being really hurt. to see the acknowledge of the -- to see the need for change, to see both sides of the i'll stand up when he said we are going to find solutions, that there will be justice delivered, that was something i was very appreciative to see. >> independent, lori. what was your view of tonight? >> well, mccarthy made me angry. he looked like he had taking -- taken a sleeping will. i thought it was disrespectful that he didn't seem enthusiastic for children's medical care, for clean water infrastructure, affordable insulin, children being able to sit with their parents on flights. you know, i remember nancy pelosi being very disrespectful when trump spoke. she tore up papers. by the same token, trump only got up there and talked about how great trump was. by then tonight was talking about issues that affect us, the rest of americans. i was disappointed to see mccarthy completely apathetic to all sorts of issues that affect us directly. >> greta, what do you have for us? >> c-span's coverage of tonight's state of the union speech on twitter. we have put together this graphic for our viewers that shows president biden speaking tonight for a little over 72 minutes. how that compares to his previous two speeches. last year was around 62 minutes. is joint address to congress in 2021 was around 65 minutes. fox news knows the president was interrupted 100 times tonight with applause. before tonight's speech, many people may have noticed the interaction between mitt romney and george santos. mitt romney is the senator and was walking down the center of the aisle as the senators do when they come into the chamber. many people saw this. now, some reporters were reading lips and said that mitt romney said, you ought to be embarrassed. another reporter tweeting out that romney told reporters when he left the chamber that he told george santos ahead of the address that he should not be parroting in front of the president. when asked if he was disappointed, he responded yes. another reporter tweeting out that mariette miller somehow got between santos in the aisle before president biden made his way down the aisle. she got presidential hand sake. santos was shut out. this report calling it an incredible locking move. a familiar face with on the center aisle tonight, for our longtime c-span watchers. few things in life you can count on but one of them is representative sheila jackson lee holding onto her spot on the aisle for the state of the union. she's had this seat on lockdown for decades. >> the president speech went for 73 minutes. that looks like the second-longest behind president trump at about 80 minutes of all the modern states of the union. republican line. good evening. >> how are you doing? i'm a 19-year-old from pennsylvania. i'm a republican. every year i watch the state of the i was hoping joe biden would use the bipartisan congress he was given to put a knowledge branch out to republicans and try to work on making america better for my generation. i don't think he did that tonight. i think it's a sad opportunity for america. governor sanders did a drip -- great job responding. we are optimistic for the future of america. >> what's and if you -- issue of concern for you? >> immigration. joe biden brought this unfortunate father who lost her daughter to drug use. we are seeing all these mishaps at the border. i don't think that is something president biden should be touting. he should be working to fix that. that is something he did bad on his first few days of office. funding that was directed toward -- from president trump toward border security initiatives. >> thank you for calling. where do you go to school? >> daytona beach, florida. >> what are you studying? >> aeronautical science. >> there you go. thank you for calling in. mike is in yuba city, california, independent line. what did you think of the presidents state of the union speech? >> for the most part, i liked it. i've seen a lot of things on the republican side, they didn't stand or applaud for something that really hits me when he goat, when he talked about the 1% paying their fair share. i think overall, we should have a flat tax. everybody should pay their fair slayer. no loopholes. make it simple. just put it out. will gain more money that way and support these programs that we need. put the money back in for the elderly people. what happened to the money that was borrowed from social security in the first place. why isn't that money put back into social security? they support these wars that we had previously, before our time. why isn't that money put back in there with interest? i want to know where that money went. >> the president spent a bit of time working about social security and medicare. he got a full standing ovation when he said that medicare and social security would not be cut. the republicans stood up with the democrats. did you see that? >> what happened to the money that was taken out? that hasn't been replaced. why is it such a crisis right now? it wouldn't be if that money was put pack. >> thank you for calling in. democrat. good evening to you. >> good evening. thank you for having me. i appreciate it. i want to say that joe biden's speech was a speech that was in the right mood for our country. may i say something to sarah huckabee, who came out saying that she can't trust a word of this president. this is a woman who was a press secretary under trump. by all circumstances lied to us about covid. by all circumstances, told us that puti