♪ ♪ >> announcer: this is a fox news special presentation. ♪ ♪ >> welcome to live coverage of president joe biden's 2024 stated the union address.

i'm shannon bream and washington. president biden making his way through the capital to the house chamber. this is the final state of the union address of his first term and it comes as he is facing tough challenges in his effort to get reelected by the american people to a second term. in the latest fox poll shows that the job performance approval numbers from voters are at 42% overall. now tonight he has a chance to move that needle using the power of the presidency to reach a broad audience across multimedia platforms. he has a lot of work it to do. he is supposed to focus on key issues voters think he is managing poorly. only 37% of voters approve of his job performance on the economy, which is one of their top issues. only 31% approve of how he is handling the israel/hamas war. and a whopping 66% disapprove of his handling of immigration. and it's that last topic, the last number highlighted by republicans most including the trump campaign.

just today, the g.o.p. led house passed the laken riley act that would require i.c.e. to charge legal migrants with burglary or robbery, that nursing student to murder last month on the campus of yuji a. an illegal immigrant from venezuela charged with her brutal death. suspect jose antonio ibarra had been cited for misdemeanor shoplifting in october and let go. congressman mike and collins represents a district where brightly was killed. he did invite lakin's parents to attend tonight's speech, but they declined. they are grieving very much. so collin says he will leave his guest seat and the public gallery overlooking the house chamber up empty tonight in laken riley's honor. america's border crisis sure to be a key theme of the g.o.p. response to president biden's address. it is going to be given by the freshman senator from alabama, 42-year-old katie britt. then after tonight president biden will be traveling to several key swing

states to capitalize on the interest including georgia on saturday where his rival, former president donald trump will also be campaigning. joining our coverage tonight, former g.o.p. congressman jason chaffetz, and former democratic maryland congressmen and one-time presidential candidate john delaney, we will get to them in just a moment. but we want to check in with fox senior correspondent chad pergram as we get to a historic moment, hey, chad. >> chad: shannon, good evening, 100 people squeeze into the house chamber to hear the president a person, that's not the audience. president lyndon johnson elevated the speech to prime time in the 1960s. that's why it influences how viewers perceive the president. tonight is about contrast. republicans want to contrast the oldest president with the youngest female g.o.p. elected senator. that's katie britt. now, how will members conduct themselves? marjorie taylor greene tells me

"decorum has been destroyed in d.c." she will "to decide in the moment as to whether she will hector the president." she called him a liar last year, and guess who is back? former representative george santos is here for the first time since he was expelled, former members are allowed back in the capital. shannon. >> shannon: chad, how is that going over, the appearance of former congressman santos? >> chad: i just saw a tweet from richie torres a democrat from new york says that we should change this. he should not be here. members are allowed back in, they had only expelled five members prior to him, so they are on a little bit of uncharted territory letting someone back in like tonight good however when i asked him, i said where will you be sitting? he was not clear if he would be in the chamber. former members whether you are expelled or just left or retired, you are allowed back in the building and have floor privileges. and george santos also indicated he does have interest running

for office. >> shannon: okay, things are never dull on capitol hill. let me get to the point that you mentioned that there may be some rambunctious nest from some of these g.o.p. house members. the white house still talking about that last year. they very much felt like it ended up being a win for president biden showing that he could go back and forth respond in real time and really engage and show that he was sharp and able to engage in this debate with them. but my sense is from g.o.p. leadership that i talked with, they do not want members to do that tonight. they can't really stop them. >> chad: no, they have to respect the gavel. and this will be the challenge for mike johnson. this is the first time he has presided over a state of the union as he gambles them down, they have to stop or they can potentially be removed and keep in mind that for vice president harris presiding in her capacity as the president of the senate alongside mike johnson, this is her third speaker in three years. nancy pelosi a couple of years ago, kevin mccarthy last year, and mike johnson this year. >> shannon: the famous ripping

up of the speech by speaker pelosi very memorable. chad, don't go far as we await the president's arrival in the chamber for the state of the union come i want to bring in two members, former members of congress who have been through many of the state of the union addresses. we know a lot of people crowded into those i always and they want to get a self he went the president or wish him well, or at least in the tv camera range, but he has a lot to do that's not just about policy, this is a part of his reelection going into the former general electi election. >> he does have its hands full, the expectation about his cognitive capabilities in his ability to stick to script and to show the vigor that he needs not only to get through this speech, but to justify a four more years the presidency, that's a tall order, the expectations are so low on his ability to actually do that that if you just get through the speech in some ways they will look and say isn't that great, he made it through the speech. >> shannon: we can understand and tell you that he has made it into the capital, of course it's a long process we know even once

he gets to the chamber to get down through all the well wishes, in the meantime we will have a new fox poll telling us about the race and the issues, that continue to tell us the economy is number one, immigration number 2, how much does he need to talk about those two tonight and take any kind of responsibility for turning them around? >> i think he will talk about all of those things, shannon, this will be a great night for the president, because he will deliver a state of the union speech which is what this is supposed to be, actually. not a political speech. i think he will talk about how the economy is strongly a very low unemployment, good economic growth, stock market at record highs. so he is a good economy to talk about and he will talk about more work he wants to do on that with american still struggling. he will talk about how he has restored america's role internationally. nato has never been stronger. he has been supporting our ally israel ever since the terrorist attack on october 7th. he is going to talk about that. i think he will talk about how he has restored a sense of bipartisanship to washington.

400 bipartisan bills, some transformative ones. he has a vision for the future. infrastrucre chips investing in the next generation of jobs and workers in this country. but he's also going to talk about work that we have to do like passing the bipartisan border bill. dealing with the mental health crisis, dealing with our debt and deficits. so i think will be a great speech for the present and because he has a lot to talk about and he can talk about the state of the union, which in general is very good, particularly if you consider how we have turned this country around since covid. >> shannon: well, the poles have not caught up to that yet and i feel like some of the conversation tonight will be about reminding people unemployment is down, gdp is upcoming and even though in personal life most people are telling us they don't think the president's policies are helping them, and track the polling things that it is hurting them, so if you're still paying more for groceries and gas and rent and mortgage and all of those things come your personal experience will impact how you answer these poles. we do have a few excerpts from tonight and it's clear that the president is going to talk about the issue of abortion and

reproductive rights. it's something that is worked well for democrats in part from the excerpt, it says women are not without electoral or political power, no kidding, clearly those bragging about overturning roe v. wade have no clue about the power of women in america, but they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023 and they will find out again in 2024 part of what we will hear from this argument against republicans and by extension president trump for president biden tonight. >> jason: all politics is local, and for some this will be a major issue. but for those things that are listed by the democrats and saying the state of the union is good, most of america is not feeling that. they will say inflation has come down. no, the rate of increase has come down a little bit, but you still -- it's expensive. one of the most viral things on the internet right now is the cost of going to five guys being over $20. so those types of things hit

americans. illegal immigration. if the president of the united states does not address how he made nearly 100 executive orders in his first 100 days to get rid of what donald trump had done, and how bad the millions of people coming into this country have made it, the president will be missing an opportunity. i don't think he will solve it or shown any propensity to do it. there's a reason why it is a top two issue and he better address it tonight or he will not gain ground. >> shannon: i was with him today at lunch, they have journalists and to talk to the president and get a sense of where he gets leading into tonight, and my sense was, yes, he knows he will talk about the border, but it felt clearly as he has on publicly as well that he will point the finger at republicans who say, you had three years, you took that dozens and dozens of executive actions, you can take action now, so applause here it sounds like, it is the first lady. we see dr. jill biden coming on n. the president cannot be far behind. we hear bipartisan welcome, that applause as she enters. you can see the second gentleman there as well.

longtime democratic there who has been in leadership in transition there. and we will get the question about why so many of the democratic women are dressed in white tonight. this has become a bit of a tradition for them. three or four years ago they started saying this was in connection with the suffragettes who were fighting for women's votes. let's listen into the speaker for a moment. >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. [applause] >> shannon: so you see secretary of state antony blinken leading the charge there. we are having this conversation as we always do when this starts, who is the so-called designated survivor? 70 from the administration still setting out. we are waiting to know who that is tonight. but these are a lot of folks, these cabinet secretaries that will go out and make the case for this administration as a president is going to start

doing after his speech tonight hitting the campaign trail in earnest. they will also be advocates and surrogates talking about what their individual departments have accomplished as well. but we will talk about the fact that i think this white house is going to point the blame at the house g.o.p. tonight. >> john: as they should. what the american people want, the representatives in washington to do is to work together and solve problems, bipartisanship is important. good minded democrats and republicans found a bipartisan solution to the border. we all know we have a border crisis. we could be passing that law today, the border would be more secure, but president trump basically indicated he did not want to pass and everyone got in line. and listen, the american people don't like that. they don't want to the, they don't want to play politics. they want solutions and we have a bipartisan border bill waiting to become law, which would make the border more secure immediately. just like by the weight 2012,

2013 when we had a bipartisan border bill and the republicans in congress would not put it up for a vote. so to make these points -- >> shannon: the house republicans will also say we sent over hr too, which they know that they will not agree to that, but we sent you a bill that went by the wayside. >> john: but it was a partisan bill, the bipartisan border bill in the senate goes to the house, you never put it up for a vote. same thing today, a bipartisan bill out of the senate would make it more secure just like the 2013 bill would have, not getting a vote. my way or the highway. that's not how -- >> shannon: we just saw the dhs secretary now facing potential impeachment over what is happening at the border, republicans trying to make a point on out. we will see if it goes anywhere. >> jason: the democrats seem to think that they had the house on the senate and the presidency for two years and did not do anything, and put forward nine exact it of orders reversing what donald trump had done and if they just reverse those 98 orders, they would have a secure

border, because we did on day one of the biden administration, joe biden get rid of that secure border, never even talked to the border patrol, the person who is in charge of the border patrol for goodness' sakes, so it is a point of contention, but they have not fixed it. they have not addressed it and to blame republicans is laughable. >> john: two bipartisan border bills in the last few years would've made the border more secure, never got a vote in republican-controlled house of representatives. >> shannon: okay, it sounds like secretary cardona is the one who says the dead designated survivor tonight. i want to go back to change. pulling and filling act chad, we have supreme court justices, and numbers, what -- what can we expect once a president gets there, because he has a lot of pressure tonight, but he's going to get a lot of cheerleading on the way and from his party. >> chad: he comes in with bill mcfarlane who is the house sergeant of arms, reading eight

words, mr. speaker, the president of the united states, karen gibson who is the senate sergeant of arms, they escorted him down the aisle here. and remember this is something that is required in the constitution state of the union. but not necessarily in this form. article 2, section three of the constitution mandates a president give congress the information on the state of the union, but it was not always a speech. remember it was mostly a written report until about 111 years ago and the term stated the union became part of the lexicon, that's what the advent of radio, and i remember some pictures back there from the 1930s with fdr who really embraced radio nbc, cbs. and it was harry truman who first had the televised state of the union speech. and went into prime time, but the thing to look for his behavior, that's what we talked about earlier. also these contrasts or whether they talk about the border and whether or not some of the progressives, members of his own

party take him on in some ways if they do that after the speech. there has been some friction there. i talked to a political scientist at the university of akron david cohen the other day and he said he has two challenges here. former president trump and some democrats in his party especially where there is this convergence of policy over the middle east. and the other thing to look for here, shannon, tripwire's as i call it. you might remember this was not a state of the union speech where he was a joint session of congress. joe wilson, the republican congressman from south carolina, shot at nancy pelosi ripping up the president trump speech. those sometimes site bites as i will call them, they are what we remember from the state of the union speeches as a president goes out and gives a good speech and nothing strange happens, everybody forgets about it. but if something weird happens, that's what will go down in the history books. >> shannon: you are absolutely right, you mentioned that he not only has to manage republicans, but does have some more progressive left leg of the party that are very upset with

what is happening between israel and gaza. we have heard that they want to hear him more forcefully call out israel tonight to put pressure on them to be more strategic about their attacks and whether they move forward with the ground offensive in raw file. he said early on that we stand with israel, but he has ramped up his public criticism of mr. benjamin netanyahu. let's listen in. speak with the president the united states. [cheers and applause ] [cheers and applause ]

[cheers and applause ]

[cheers and applause] >> shannon: you are watching as president biden, his final state of the union address of his first term. a lot of well-wishers as he comes into a jammed packed chamber tonight to make his case on what he has accomplished, but also to make the case of the work he still is left to do. and that second term that he is going to springboard off of this address heading out to key states like georgia and other swing states where he really needs to make inroads there. it looks like that is congresswoman marjorie taylor greene who is a vocal critic of this present and in her maga here tonight. and she commented that she may if she feels like she needs to speak out tonight, she will. she made her way to the aisle to clearly make a connection with the president or at least make a connection with the tv cameras, the points that she is trying to make. let's talk about polling where

he has an opportunity needs to make up ground tonight on the economy. has he handled it well or not in the latest polling? underwater by 25 points, has he made the u.s. safer, underwater by 30 points. has unified the country? underwater by 43 points on that point. and has been upside down by 47 points. john, that's a lot of room for improvement. >> john: absolutely, a lot of ground to make up. but i think that this speech will be a part of it today. i think these polls are interesting and relevant to a certain extent, but still a long way from the election. and there is a lot of things, women's reproductive freedom, he will talk about that tonight. he will talk about roe v. wade should be the law of the land. every time that has been on the ballots, democrats have won. so when i read too much into these polls. i think the president is going to give a very good speech tonight and talk about the economy and how he will turn this country around post covid

and has rebuilt to the alliances overseas and how he has invested in the nation. he is bringing jobs back. the chip stack, the infrastructure bill, his bipartisan achievements. and i think this will kick off what i think will be a successful run for the president between now and the election. >> shannon: do you think that the polls where people feel like he has not done a good job and the handling of these things, are the polls wrong? do they not give them credit? where is the accurate reading on where the electorate is. because no poll matters until you go to the ballot box any vote. >> jason: i think his policies have actually failed, the way the country is failing is about safety. people know that their money is worth less, the safety and their neighborhoods. it feels dangerous out there. safety on the border, it is not secured. safety overseas, we have new wars that are waging. so when you talk about safety, the president has a long way to go, because he has not implemented as policy. democrats have had the house on the presidency, and it's losing. and that's why the country knows

that it is off track -- >> shannon: in an interesting moment there as he stops and has a chat and shakes hands with senator joe manchin, who at the white house has had concern with a third-party run. so for them a bit of relief that joe manchin has said he has not. he is not running for his senate seat, but he want to mount a challenge as populace, he is a centrist in that argument he is making, won't be doing that this year. and we are supposed to hear from this group no labels tomorrow about some kind of decision of whether or not they are going to not a third-party run, and related shake things up in the polling when it adds another name. and you look at rfk jr., cornel west, a no labels party, do you think that the white house is worried that it would be a negative impact on them to have a third-party run? >> john: it depends who it is. if mitt romney is announced as the no labels candidate tomorrow, i have no information to think that's the case, i think that the white house would actually be quite pleased with that. because if you look what has happened with nikki haley and

president trump, there is a very large percentage of the republican voter base that does not want to vote for president donald trump. >> shannon: my question as so many of the nikki haley boaters, and i was in iowa and new hampshire talking to them, we have the fox news voter analysis and an exit look, many of them weren't republicans and some of the states. they were open primaries, and that's a freedom that you have to vote. so many crossover people that were democrats who chose to vote in the g.o.p. caucuses for her, can you say that those g.o.p. voters that they are voters that will come home if they are not really g.o.p. voters to begin with, a section of them? >> jason: i think the summer when you see the supreme court in the shot, people understand that it's going to be either donald trump or it's going to be joe biden. and the make about the supreme court drives a lot of people to who they are actually going to vote for. i think donald trump did a very good job announcing his list and look at the people he did put on the courts. and that was a huge selling

point for president trump. >> shannon: a couple of them right there, senators gore search and kavanaugh who are in that shot, and i love covering the supreme court, this is a jam-packed term, not only deals with president trump and that may impact to the legal cases involving him is to run any campaign, but they will also have situations on abortion, on guns, and when this happen and are thrown back into the campaign cycle, those are really big issues that can cut either way. be a plus or minus for dems or republicans based on what they do and how fired up the reaction is to the decisions. >> john: back to the haley point for one second, i do think that the results and how strong sick dylan and how strong nikki haley was is very relevant for the general election, obviously these issues are referencing are going to energize the base, but it will be fought and a very small number of states and to your point about third-party candidates, they make a difference. but what also makes the difference is the fact that

there is a lot of republicans who do not want to support president trump. i think that some of president biden's polling challenges right now are some democrats dissatisfied with it. you touch on some of these points earlier and will the white house be able to get all of those democrats home by the election? i don't think that there is any question they will. the one thing that donald trump does do is turn out democrats. >> shannon: he really does. he motivates -- >> john: people who are upset, i don't get enough student debt, or the people upset about president biden's policy and terms of standing up for israel -- >> shannon: they are not going to vote for president trump. but will they stay home? >> john: no. >> shannon: do they lose that enthusiasm? you are hearing the speaker mike johnson again, the third speaker of the last three years on one of the state of the union's gambling as president biden gets there and gives a copy of the speech to the members three years ago, nancy pelosi tore up the speech that president trump had given her. but heading off to the vice president who is there as

the president or leader of the senate. she has actually been called in a number of times this term to vote on tie-breaking issues just outside of how things have been in the senate. but let's listen in as the president get started. once the applause for him subsides, he has a lot to live up to tonight. not only in substance, but in form. i think a lot of people are just going to be watching to see the energy level is and how he articulates in this ahead. and we will listen in as hundreds, thousands actually more than a thousand people packed into that chamber, members -- it's always interesting to see who is on the list and a number of them are people dealing with issues of law enforcement, the border and those who have lost kids to fentanyl. a lot of representatives they are as we and tonight. [cheers and applause] >> president biden: good evening. if i was smart, i would go home now.

[laughter] mr. speaker, madam vice president, members of congress, my fellow americans, in january 1941, franklin roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation, and he said, i address you at a moment unprecedented in this state of the union. hitler was on the march, war was raging in europe, president roosevelt purpose was to wake up congress and alert the american people that this was no ordinary time. freedom and democracy were under assault in the world. tonight, i come to the same chamber to address the nation. now it is we who face unprecedented moments in the history of the union. and yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the congress and alert the american people that this is no ordinary moment

either. not since president lincoln and the civil war have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today. but makes our moments where is the freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time. overseas, latimer pruden of russia is on the march invading ukraine and sowing chaos throughout europe and beyond. if anyone in this room thinks that putin will stop at ukraine, i assure you, he will not. [applause] but ukraine can stop -- ukraine can stop putin if we stand with ukraine and provide the weapons that they need to

defend themselves. that is all ukraine is asking. they are not asking for american soldiers. in fact, there are no american soldiers in the war in ukraine, and i am determined to keep it that way. [applause] but now assistance to ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership. it was not long ago when a republican president ronald reagan thundered mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. [applause] now my predecessor, a former republican president tells putin "do whatever the hell you want."

a former president actually said that, bowing down to a russian leader. i think it's outrageous. it's dangerous. and it's unacceptable. [cheers and applause] america is a founding member of nato, the military and now alliance of military nations founded after world war ii to prevent war and keep the peace, and today we have made nato stronger than ever, welcoming fennel into the alliance last year. [applause] and just this morning, sweet and officially joined and their minister is here tonight. please stand up, welcome. welcome, welcome, welcome. and they know how to fight.

mr. prime minister, welcome to nato, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen. i say this to congress. we have to stand up to putin. send me a bipartisan national security bill, history is literally watching it. history is watching you. if the united states walks away, it will put ukraine at risk. europe is at risk. the free world at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish and cause us harm. my message to president putin is simple. we will not walk away. [cheers and applause] we will not bow down. i will not bow down.

[cheers and applause] in a literal sense, history is watching. history is watching, just like history watched three years ago on january 6th, when insurrection stormed this capital and placed dagger to the throat of american democracy. many of you were here on that darkest of days. we all saw with our own eyes the insurrectionist were not patriots, they had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power to overturn the will of the people. january 6th lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election posed a great greatest threat to u.s. democracy since the civil war. but they failed. [applause] america stood. [applause] america stood strong, and

democracy prevailed! we must be honest. the threat to democracy must be defended. my predecessor, and some of you here seek to bury the truth about january 6th, i will not do that. this is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. here's a simple truth, you can't love your country only when you win. [cheers and applause] as i have done ever since being elected to office, i ask all of you without regard to party to join together and defend democracy. remember your oath of office to protect those foreign and domestic. respect, respect free and fair

elections, restore trust in our constitutions and make clear that political violence has no place, no place in america. zero place. [applause] again it's not hyperbole. to suggest that history is watching or watching. your children, your grandchildren will read about this day and what we do. history is watching another assault on freedom. the social worker from birmingham, alabama, 14 months ago, 14 months ago she and her husband welcomed a baby girl thanks to america with ivf. she is scheduled treatments to have that second child, the alabama supreme court shut down ivf treatment across the state, unleashed by a supreme court decision to overturn roe v. wade paired she was told that her dream would have to wait, but her family had got through, it should have never happened.

unless congress acts, it could happen again. so tonight let's stand up for families like hers to my friends across the aisle, don't keep us waiting any longer! guaranteed the right to ivf. guarantee it nationwide! [applause] like most americans, i believe roe v. wade got it right. i think vice president harris for being an incredible leader in defending reproductive freedom. [cheers and applause] thank you. my predecessor came to office to see roe v. wade overturned. he is the reason it was overturned, and he brags about it. look at the chaos that has resulted. to join us tonight is cak kate ,

the wife and monitor and mother from dallas who had if fetus in a fatal condition. she said her own life and her ability to have children in the future were at risk if she did not act because texas law and her ability to act, kate and her husband had to leave the state to get what she needed. but her family got through should have never happened as well, but it is happening and too many others. our state law is banning the freedom to choose, criminalizing doctors, forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states and get the help they need. many in this chamber and my predecessor are choosing to ban reproductive freedom. my god, what other freedom will you take away? look, it's a decision to overturn roe v. wade, the supreme court with majority made. and with all due respect,

justices, women are not without electoral power. excuse me, electoral or political power, you are about to realize just how wrong you are. [cheers and applause] clearly. [cheers and applause] clearly those bragging about overturning roe v. wade have no clue about the power of women. but they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot we won in 2022, and we won in 2020, and we will win again in 2024. [cheers and applause] if you the american people send

me a congress that supports a right to choose, i promise you i will restore roe v. wade as the law of the land again. [applause] folks, america cannot go bad. i'm here tonight to show we are going to move the way forward. because i know how far we have come. four years ago next week before i came to office, the country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis of the century. remember the fear, record losses, remember the spikes in crime and the murder rate, the raging virus that took more than 1 million american lives of loved ones and millions left behind, the mental health crisis of isolation and loneliness, a president, my predecessor failed the most basic presidential duty that he owes to american people,

the duty to care. i think that's unforgivable. i came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation's history. we have. it doesn't make new of a thousand cities and towns that american people are ready for the greatest comeback story never told. [applause] so let's tell the story here! tell it here and now. america's comeback is building the future of american possibilities. building economy for the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down. investing in all america, and all americans to make sure everyone has a fair shot, we leave no one, no one behind. the pandemic no longer controls our lives. the vaccine has saved us from covid, now being used to be cancer. turning set back into comeback. that's what america does.

that's what america does. [applause] folks, i inherited an economy on the brink. now our economy is literally the mv of the world. 15 million new jobs in just three years, a record. a record. unemployment at a 50 year low. a record 16 million americans have started small businesses and each one is a literal act of hope. this historic job growth and for lack and hispanic americans, 800 new manufacturing jobs in america and counting. where is a rig, we can't beat the manufacturing of the world, we will and we will are.

more people have insurance today than ever before. the racial wealth gap is as small as it has been in 20 years. we just keep going up, inflation keeps going down. inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3%, the lowest in the world and trending lower. the landing is and will be soft. and now instead of importing foreign products and exploiting american jobs. we are exporting american products and creating american jobs. right here in america where they belong. [cheers and applause] and it takes time, but the american people are beginning to feel it. consumer studies show consumer confidence is soaring. by america has been the law of the land since the 1930s. past administrations including

my predecessor, including some democrats as well in the past failed to buy american. not anymore. on my watch, federal projects that you fund like helping build american roads, bridges, and highways will be made by american products and built by american workers. creating good paying american jobs. and thanks to our chips and science act, the united states is investing more development than ever before. during the pandemic, the shortage of semiconductors, chips that drove up the price of everything from cell phones to automobiles, and by the way, we invented those chips right here in america. well, instead of having to import them with private company is now investing billions of dollars to build new chip factories here in america. creating tens of thousands of jobs.

many of those jobs paying $100,000 year and don't require a college degree. [applause] in fact, my policies have attracted $650 billion in private sector investment in clean energy, advanced manufacturing creating tens of thousands of jobs. here in america. [applause] and thanks to our bipartisan infrastructure law, 40,000 new projects have been announced all across your communities. and by the way, i noticed some of you strongly voted against it are strongly cheering on that money coming in. i'm with you. i'm with you. and if any of you don't want that money in your district,

just let me know. [laughter] modernize those roads and bridge ports, public transit systems, removing poisonous lead pipes so every child can drink clean water without a risk of brain damage. [applause] providing affordable, affordable high-speed internet for every american no matter where you live, urban, suburban, or rural communities in red states and blue states. record investments in tribal communities because of my investment of family farms. [applause] because i invested in family farms led by my secretary who knows more about this than anybody i know. we are better able to stay in families because those farms where their those children don't have to leave to make a living. it's transformative. the great comeback story is belvidere, illinois, home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years.

before i came to office, the plants was on its way to shutting down. thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. hope was fading, when i was elected to office we raised belvidere repeatedly knowing unions would make all the difference. uaw work like hell to keep the plant open, and together we succeeded. instead auto factory shutting down, auto factories are reopening the new state and battery factories are being built to power those cars. [cheers and applause] folks, the folks of belvidere essay, instead of your town being left behind, your community is moving forward again. because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas, 4,000 union jobs with higher wages are building the future and belvidere right here in

america. [cheers and applause] here tonight uaw president sean phan, great neighbor, sean, where are you? stand up. [applause] and don sims, third-generation worker, uaw worker at belvidere. i was proud to be the first president to stand at the picket line. and today don has a good job in her hometown providing stability for her family and pride and dignity as well, showing once again, wall street did not build america. they are not bad guys, they did not build it though. the middle class built the country, and unions built the

middle class. [applause] i say to the american people, when american gets knocked down, we get back out. we keep going! that's america. that's you, the american people! it's because of you, america is coming back. it's because of you our future is bright, it's because of you. and tonight we can proudly say the state of our union is strong and getting stronger. [cheers and applause ]

tonight i want to talk about the future of possibilities that we can build together. a future where the days of trickle-down economics are over, and the wealthy and biggest corporations no longer get the tax breaks. and i understand corporations. i come from a state that has more corporations invested in every one of your states in the united states combined, and a representative for 36 years, i'm not anti-corporation, but i grew up in a home where trickle-down economics did not put much on my dad's kitchen table. that's why i am determined to turn things around so the middle class does well. when they do well, the wealthy will still do very well. we all do well. and there's more to do to make sure you are feeling the benefits of all we are doing. americans pay more to prescription drugs than anywhere in the world. it's wrong and i am ending it.

[cheers and applause] with the laws that are proposed and signed, not one of your republican buddies voted for it. we finally beat big pharma. instead of paying $400 a month for a box of insulin with diabetes, that only cost ten bucks to make, they only get paid 35 a month now and still make a heavy profit. [applause] and what to do next, i went to cap the cost of insulin, $35 a month for every can loo american that needs it. for years people have talked about it, but finally we got it done and gave medicare the power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, just like the va is able to do for veterans. that's not just saving seniors

money, that saving taxpayers money. we cut the federal deficit by $160 billion. [cheers and applause] because medicare will no longer have to pay an exorbitant prices to big pharma. this year medicare is negotiating lower prices for some of the costliest drugs on the market that treat everything from heart disease to arthritis. it's now time to go further and gave medicare the power to negotiate for 500 different drugs over the next decade. [cheers and applause] they are making a lot of money, guys. and they will still be extremely profitable. it will not only save lives, it will save taxpayers another $200 billion. starting next year, the same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on medicare at

200 -- coat $2,000 a year. these are expensive cancer drugs that cost ten, 12, $15,000 print i want a cap it at $2,000 a year for everyone. [applause] folks, i'm going to get in trouble for saying that, but anyone want to get an air force one, traveled to toronto, berlin, well, moscow probably. and bring your prescription with you, and i promise you i will get it for you for 40% the cost you are paying now, same company, same drug, same place. folks, the affordable care ac act -- the old obamacare, it's still a very big deal.

[cheers and applause] over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of conditions. but my predecessor, many in this chamber want to take those prescription drugs away by repealing affordable care act. i'm not going to let that happ happen. [cheers and applause] we stop to 50 times before, and we will stop you again. in fact, i'm not only protecting it, i'm expanding it. the enacted tax credits of $800 per year, reduced health care costs for many working families. that tax credit expires next year, i want to make that savings permanent. [applause] to state the obvious, women are more than half our population,

but research of women's health has always been underfunded. that's why we are launching the first ever white house initiative on women's health research led by jill doing an incredible job as first lady. [applause] it will pass my plan for a $12 million to transfer women's health research to benefit millions of lives all across america. i know the cost of housing is so important to you, inflation keeps coming down, mortgage rates will come down as well. and the fed balances that. but i'm not waiting. i want to provide an annual tax credit that will give americans $400 a month for the next two years as mortgage rates come down to put towards their mortgages when they buy their first home or trade up for a little more space.

just for two years. [applause] and my administration is also eliminating title insurance on federally backed mortgages. when you refinance your home, you can save $1,000 or more as a consequence. for millions of renters, we are cracking down on big landlords, who use -- to break antitrust laws by price-fixing and driving up rents. we have cut red tape so builders can get federally financing, which is already helping build a record 1.7 million new housing units nationwide. now past, now passing build and renovate 2 million affordable homes and bring those rents do

down. [applause] to remain the strongest economy in the world, we need to have the best education system in the world. [cheers and applause] and i, like i suspect all of you, want to give a child, every child a good start by providing access to preschool for three and four years old. you know, i pointed out last year -- i think i pointed out last year that children coming from broken homes where there are no books, they are not read to, spoken to very often start school, kindergarten or first grade hearing a million fewer words spoken. studies show that children that

go to preschool for nearly 50% more likely to finish high school, go on to earn a 4-2-year degree no matter what their background is. [applause] and that a year and a half ago with leaders at the business roundtable, they were mad that i was ever angry -- they were discussing why it wanted spend money on education. i pointed out to them as vice president i met with 182 of those folks, don't hold me to the exact number, and i asked them what they needed most, the ceos, you have had the experience on both sides of the aisle, they say better educated workforce. so i looked at them and i said, i come from delaware, the pond to use to be the eighth largest corporation in the world, and

every new enterprise would say, they educated the workforce to that enterprise, but none of yoo that anymore. why are you angry with me providing you the opportunity for the best educated workforce and the world? and they looked at me and said i think you are right. i want to expand high-quality tutoring and some are learning to see that every child learns to read by third grade. [applause] i'm also connecting local businesses in high schools so students get hands-on experience and a path to good paying jobs, whether or not they go to college. and i want to make sure that college is more affordable. let's continue to increase people to work and middle-class families and increase investments in hbcus including hispanic institutions.

[applause] i was told i could not universally just change the way we dealt with student loans, i fixed two student loan programs that already existed to reduce the burden of student debt for nearly 4 million americans, including nurses, firefighters, and others in public service. [applause] like the public educator from minnesota who is here with us tonight. where are you? thank you. he has educated hundreds of students so they can go to college, now he is able to help after debt forgiveness paid his own dollar to college. [cheers and applause] and folks, look, such relief is good for the economy, because folks are now able to buy a home, start a business, start a

family -- while we are at it, i want the public school teachers, raise. [applause] and by the way, the first couple of years we cut the deficit, now let me speak to the question of fundamental fairness for all americans. i have been delivering real results and fiscally responsible ways. we have already cut the federal deficit of over a trillion dollars. [applause] i signed a bipartisan deal to cut another trillion dollars. it's my goal to cut the federal deficit another 3 trillion by making big corporations finally beginning to pay their fair share. [cheers and applause]

look, i'm a capitalist, you want to make millions and millions of bucks, that's great, just pay your fair share in taxes! affair tax code is how we invest to make this country great, health care, education, defense, and so much more. but here's the deal, the last demonstration enacted at $2 trillion tax cut, overwhelmingly benefiting the top 1%, the acus corporations. and exploded the federal defic deficit. they added more to the national debt than any presidential term in history. check the numbers. folks at home, does anybody really think the tax code is fair? do you really think the wealthy and big corporations need another $2 trillion tax break? i sure don't. i'm going to keep fighting like

hell to keep it fair. under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny and federal taxes. nobody, not 1 penny. they have not yet. [applause] in fact, the trial tax code that i passed during the pandemic cut taxes for millions of families that cut child poverty in half. restored that child tax credit. no child should go hungry in this country. the way to make the tax code fair is to make a big corporations and very wealthy began to pay their fair share. remember in 2020, 55 of the biggest companies in america paid $40 billion and paid zero and federal income taxes. zero. not anymore. thanks to the law i wrote and we sign, big companies have to pay a minimum of 50%.

but that's still less that working people paying federal taxes. it's time to raise corporate minimum tax to at least 21%. [applause] so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share. i also want to end tax breaks for big pharma, private oil, private jets, maximum payment with a million dollars can be deducted, they can pay them 20 million if they want, but deduct a million. and it now. you know, the 1,000 billionaires in america. you know what the average federal taxes to those billionaires? no... they are making great sacrifices. 8.2%. that's far less than the vast majority of americans pay. no billionaire should pay a lower federal tax then a

teacher, sanitation worker, or nurse. [applause] i propose minimum tax for billionaires at 25%, just 25%, you know what that would raise? that would raise $500 billion over the next ten years. and imagine what that could do for america. imagine a future with affordable child care, millions of families could get and need to go to work to help grow the economy. imagine a future with paid leave, because no one should have to choose between working and taking care of a sick family member. imagine a future of health care and other care, and peoples living with disabilities so that they can stay in their homes and family caregivers can finally get the pay they deserve. tonight, let's all agree once again to stand up for seniors. many of my friends on the other

side of the aisle want to put social security on the chopping block. if anyone here tries to cut social security, medicare, or raise the retirement age, i will stop you. for working people, working people who built this country pay more into social security then millionaires and billionaires do. it's not fair. we have two ways to go. republicans can cut social security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy -- that's the proposal. oh, no? you guys know one another $2 trillion tax cut? i kind of thought that's what your plan was. well, that's good to hear. you're not going to cut a $2 trillion, that's good to he hear. while protecting straight and social security to make the wealthy pay their fair share.

look, too many corporations raise prices to pad their profits, charging more and more for less and less, that's cracking down on corporations engaged in price gouging and deceptive pricing from food to health care to housing. in fact, the snack company's think, you all know this, if they change the size of the bag and put hell of a lot fewer -- same size bag, put fewer chips in it. i'm not callin joking, pass bobby-casey's bill and stop this. i really mean it. you probably all saw that

commercial on snickers bars -- you get the same amount and you have 10% fewer snickers and it. look, i am also getting rid of junk fees. those hidden fees at the end of the bill that are there without your knowledge. my administration announced we are cutting credit card late fees from $32 to $8. banks and credit card companies are allowed to charge what has caused them to instigate the collection. and that's more of a lot like $8 than 30 something dollars. they don't like it. credit card companies don't like it. but i am saving american families 20 billion at a year with all of the junk fees i am eliminating. folks at home, that's why the banks are so mad, is $20 billion

in profit, i'm not stopping there. my administration is going to approach rules to make cable, travel, online ticket sellers tell you the total price upfront so there are no surprises. it matters. it matters. and so does this, in november, my team began serious negotiations of the bipartisan group of senators, the result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security forms we have ever seen. oh, you don't think so? oh, you don't like that bill? that conservatives got together and said was a good bill? i'll be darned. that's amazing. that bipartisan bill hired 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges, i will tackle the back load of 2 million cases, 4,300

more asylum officers and new policies so they resolve cases in six months instead of six years now. [applause] 100 more high-tech drug detection machines to increase the ability to screen and stop vehicles smuggling fentanyl into america, that is killing thousands of children. this bill will save lives. it will also give me an any new president new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border if the border is overwhelming. the border patrol unit has endorsed this bill, the federal chamber of congress -- yeah, yeah, you are saying no. look at the facts. i know -- i know you know how to read.

i believe that given the opportunity for majority in the house and senate will endorse the bill as well. the majority right now. but unfortunately, politics has derailed this bill so far. i'm told my predecessor called members of congress and the senate to demand they block the bill. he feels political wind -- would be a political win for me and a political loss for him. it's not about him, it's not about me. i would be a winner -- not really -- lincoln riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, that's right, but how many of thousands of people are

being killed -- to her parents, having lost children myself, i understand. but look, if we change the dynamic at the border, people pay people, people paid the smugglers a thousand bucks to get across the border because they know if they get by, if they get by and lead into the country at 6-8 years before they have a hearing. and it's worth taking a chance at the 8,000. but if it's only six months, six weeks, the idea is it is highly unlikely that people will pay that money and go all that way knowing that they will be able to be kicked out quickly. folks, i would respectfully say and suggest to my republican friends and to the american people, get this bill done. we need to act now.

[applause] and if my predecessor is watching, instead of playing politics, the members that block the bill join me, we can do it together -- apparently what he will not do, i will not demonize immigrants saying they are poison and the blood of our country. [applause] i will not separate families. i will not ban people because of their faith, unlike my predecessor on my first day in office, using a comprehensive bill to take a look at it as all of these and more. secure the border, provide a pathway to citizenship for dreamers and so much more. but unlike my predecessor, i know who we are as americans. we are the only nation in the

world with the heart and soul that draws from old and new, home to native americans and ancestors that have been here for thousands of years. home to people of every place on earth that came freely, some came in chains, some came when famine struck like my ancestral family in ireland, some fled prosecution to chase dreams that are available in america. that's america. and we all came from somewhere, but we are all american. [applause] look, folks. it's a simple choice. we can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it. i am ready to fix it. send me the border bill now.

have been 58, 59 today and selma, alabama, hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the bridge, named for the grand dragon of the ku klux klan to drive further fundamental right to vote. they were beaten, bloodied, and left for dead. our former colleague and friend john lewis was on that march. we miss him. [applause] joining us tonight, others from the gallery and on the floor including betty may fights known as the voice of selma. the daughter of gospel singers

and preachers, she sang songs of prayer and protest on that bloody sunday to help shake the nation's conscience. five months later, the voting rights act passed in the signing of law. [applause] thank you, thank you, thank you. but 59 years later, the force has taken us back in time. voter suppression, election subversion, unlimited dark money, extreme gerrymandering, john lewis was a great friend too many of us here, but if you truly want to honor him and all the heroes that marched with him, then it's time to do more than talk.

pass their freedom to vote act. the john lewis voting act. and stop stop denying another core value of america. oudiversity across america life. banning books is wrong. instead of erasing history, make history. i want to protect fundamental rights, past the equality act, and my message to transgender americans, i have your back. pass the pro act, the workers rights. raise the federal minimum wage, because every worker has a right to it descends living more than seven bucks an hour.

we are also making history by confronting the climate crisis, not denying it. i don't think any of you think there is no longer a climate crisis. at least i hope you don't. i'm taking the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world. i'm cutting our carbon emissions in half by 2030, creating tens of thousands of clean energy jobs like the ibew workers installing 500,000 electric vehicle travel stations. [applause] conserving 30% of america's land and water by 2030, and taking action on environmental justice, fence line community smothered of a legacy of pollution, and pattern after the peace corps and america core, i launched the climate court to put 20,000 young people to work in the forefront of our clean energy future, i will triple that

number in a decade. to state the obvious, all americans deserve the freedom to be safe and america safer today today than when i took office. before he took office, murder rates went up 30% they went up. the biggest increase in history. it was then through my american rescue plan, which every american voted against, i might add, we made the largest investment in the public safety ever. last year the murder rates had the biggest decrease in history. violent crime fell to more than 50 years. but we have more to do. that is help cities invest in more police officers, more

mental health workers. more community violence negati negation. breakdown on gun crime, retail crime, and carjacking. keep building trust by taking american action. police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land. directing my cabinet to the federal classification of expending for the mere possession, because no one should be jailed for simply using or having it on the reco record. [applause] take on crimes of domestic violence, i am ramping up the federal enforcement that i probably wrote when i was a senator. so we can finally, finally and discourage against women in america. through other kinds of violence i want to stop, with us tonight

is jazmine who's 9-year-old sister jacqui was murdered at the elementary school and you baldy, texas, very soon after that happened, jill and i went there for a couple of days. we spent hours and hours with each of the families. we heard their message so that everyone in this room in this chamber could hear the same message. the constant refrain and i was there for hours meeting every family. they said, do something. do something and i did something by establishing the gun violence prevention and the white house, thank you for doing that. meanwhile, -- [cheers and applause] meanwhile, my predecessor told the nra he is proud he did nothing on guns when he was

president. after another shooting in iowa recently he said when asked what to do about it, he said just get over it. that is his quote. just get over it. i say stop it. stop it, stop it, stop it. i am proud we beat the nra when i signed the most significant gun safety law nearly 30 years because of this congress. we now must be to the nra again, i am demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. [applause] pass universal projects. none of this, none of this. i taught the second amendment for 12 years, none of this violates the second amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.

you know, as we manage challenges, we are also managing challenges abroad in the middle east. i know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people with israeli people for the palestinian people, and so many here in america. this crisis began on october 7th with the massacre by a terrorist group called hamas as you all know. 1,200 innocent people, women and girls, men and boys, slaughtered after enduring sexual violence. the deadliest day for the jewish people since the holocaust, and 250 hostages taken. here in this chamber tonight, our families whose loved ones are still being held by hamas. i pledge to all of the families that will not rest until we bring every one of your loved ones home. [applause]

we will also work around the clock to bring home all americans being unjustly detained by the russians. and others around the world. israel has a right to -- hamas entered this conflict by unleashing weapons, by releasing hostages, surrendering arms, and showing those responsible. but israel has an added burden as hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards under hospitals, day care centers, and all the likes. israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians and gaza. this war --

[applause] this war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in gaza combined. more than 30,000 palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not hamas. thousands and thousands of innocents, women, children, girls, and boys, also orphans. nearly 2 million were palestinians under bombardment or displacement. homes in rubble, cities and ruin, without food and medicine. it's heartbreaking. i've been working nonstop to establish an immediate cease-fire that will last for six weeks to get all of the prisoners released, all of the hostages released, to get the hostages home, and ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward an enduring, something more and wearing. the united states and the leading international humanitarian assistance of gaza. tonight i am directing the u.s.

military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the mediterranean on the coast of gaza that can receive large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, temporary shelter. no u.s. boots will be on the ground, the temporary pier will enable a massive increase to the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into gaza every day. [applause] and israel must do its part. israel must allow more aid into gaza, and make sure humanitarian workers are not caught in the cross fire. they will have a crossing in gaza. the leadership to israel, i say this, humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. protecting and saving innocent lives has to be priority, as we look to the future, the only

real solution to the situation is a two state solution over time. [applause] and i say this, as a lifelong supporter of israel, my entire career, no one has a stronger record than i do, i challenge any of you here. i'm the only american president to visit israel and more time, but there is no other path that guarantees the security and democracy. there is no other path that guarantees that palestine can live in peace and dignity. there is no other pass that guarantees peace between israel and all of its neighbors including saudi arabia, with whom i am talking. creating stability in the middle east also means containing the threat posed by iran. that's why i built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping, freedom of navigation

in the red sea. i've ordered strikes to degrade houthi capability and build u.s. forces in the region. i will not hesitate to protect our people and our military personnel. [applause] for years i have heard many of my republic and democratic friends say that china is on the rise, and america is falling behind. they've got it backwards. i've been saying it for over four years, even though i was not president. america is rising. we have the best economy in the world, and since i have come to office, rg tb is up, that the chinese deficit is down lower and a decade, and standing up to china's unfair economic practices and standing up for peace and stability across the taiwan straits. i've revitalized our partnership

and alliance in the pacific, india, australia, japan, south korea, pacific islands. i have made sure that the most advanced american technologies can't be used in china, and not allowing them to trade there. frankly all this tough talk on china, it never occurred to my predecessor to do any of that. i want competition with china, not conflict. we are in a stronger position to end the conflict of the 21st century against china than anyone else for that matter, then any time as well. here at home, i've signed over 400 bipartisan bills. there is more to pass my unity agenda. strengths and penalties on fentanyl trafficking, you don't want to do that? pass bipartisan profits to protect our children online. harness --

[applause] harness the progress of ai to protect us from peril. ban voice impersonations and more, and keep our truly sacred obligation to train and equipped those we send in harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't. [applause] that's why with strong support and help with dennis and the va, i signed the pact act, one of the most significant laws ever helping millions of veterans exposed to toxins who now are battling more than 100 different cancers. many of them don't come home, but we owe them and their families support. we owe it to ourselves to keep supporting our new health research agency.

and remind us, remind us that we can do big things like and cancer as we know it. and we will. [applause] let me close with this -- yay. i know you don't want to hear anymore, lindsay, but i have to say a few more things. i know it may not look like it, but when you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever. i know the american story, again and again i've seen the contest between competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. between those who want to pull america back to the past and those who want to move america

to the future, my lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. a future based on core values that have a defined america, honesty, decency, dignity, and equality. to respect everyone, to give everyone a fair shot. to give hate no safe harbor. while other people my age see it differently. the american story, of resentment, of retribution, that's not me. i was born amid world war ii when america stood for the freedom of the world. i grew up in scranton, pennsylvania, claymont, delaware, among working-class people who built this country. i watched in horror as two of my heroes like many of you did, dr. king and bobby cunningham were assassinated in their legacies inspired me to pursue a career of service. i left a law firm and became a public defender because my city of wilmington was the only