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10:00 eastern. i'm ana cabrera with josé diaz-balart bringing you special coverage this morning. president biden hitting the road today after a fiery state of the union address. this morning it is being called one of the feistiest and most political presidential addresses to congress in recent memory. >> the president warning of threats to democracy and freedom clashing with republicans in the chamber and taking aim repeatedly at his 2024 rival without once uttering his name. >> now my predecessor, a former republican president tells putin, quote, do whatever the hell you want. that's a quote. it's dangerous and it's unacceptable. you guys don't want another $2 trillion tax cut? i kind of thought that's what your plan was. oh, you don't like that bill, huh? my predecessor and some of you here seek so bury the truth about january 6th. i will not do that. here's the simple truth.

you can't love your country only when you win. [ cheers and applause ] >> and joining us now from the white house, nbc's aaron gilchrist, also with us, jim messina, campaign manager for obama in 2012, former democratic congressman max rose of new york, and susan del percio a republican strategist. it's great to have all of you with us this morning. aaron, he was fiery. it was a highly political address as well. was last night's state of the union a preview of his 2024 message as he hits the road today for a campaign event in pennsylvania? >> 100% a preview of what we will see on the road for the president in the days, weeks, and months to come. i think anybody who looked at this speech and thought that it wasn't a campaign speech, you'd be hard pressed to find who could look at it with that perspective, especially at the beginning. we saw the president come out and talk about things in a way that you would expect to hear on the campaign trail. he was energetic by a lot of estimates, something that

surrogates and supporters of president biden have said they wanted to see from the president. as you noted, he talked a lot about former president trump without actually using his name, and he mixed it up with republicans in the room, going away from the speech text and addressing republicans in the room as some of them were shouting things toward the president. he talked a lot about abortion rights. he talked about the economy. he talked about threats to democracy in this speech. he also went after republicans on some of the issues where he thinks they have deficiencies, b obviously on immigration. we saw a bill not make it through the house after weeks and weeks of negotiations. tax policy, gun control. he went after former president trump his competitor in the general election as we see it for all intents and purposes now. he went after him without actually using his name. i want to play a little bit of some of those clips from the president's 68-minute speech. >> my predecessor came to office to determined to see roe v. wade overturned. my predecessor failed the most

basic presidential duty that he owes to american people. my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take the prescription drug away by repealing affordable care act. i'm not going to let that happen. and ana and jose, i would not be surprised to hear president biden use trump, call him out by name on the campaign trail. he will be at a campaign event in pennsylvania today, in georgia tomorrow. the vice president hitting the road as well, and they are having these campaign events over the next several days. there are going to be other members of the biden administration, secretaries and other high ranking officials who will be on the road as well, which is typical after the state of the union address talking ab the president's policies and successes over the last three years. ana, jose. >> aaron gilchrist in washington. thank you. the speech was a prominent platform and the president used it, i would argue very effectively. "politico" called it the president's tone, in your face. how effective was his tone do

you think? >> oh, i think it was a big, big moment, a very effective moment for the president. you know, we're going to look back at this week and think it was one of the weeks that really defined this election. trump officially becomes the nominee with nikki haley getting out and then the president lays last night a rationale for the candidacy, a rationale for how he's going to campaign against this guy. and more importantly, where he wants to take this country. if you're a democrat today, you were feeling much better than you were a week ago. >> you know, congressman rose, a big theme for the president was threats to the democracy, and he took the country back to january 6th, 2021. let's listen to that. >> in a literal sense, history is watching. history is watching. just like history watched three years ago on january 6th when insurrectionists stormed this capital and place add dagger to throw to american income. 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 bury the lies. here's the simple truth. you can't love your country only when you win. >> you've been to several state of the union addresses. your reaction to his messaging, his tone, and how he sort of framed what's at stake in november? >> sure, i mean, politically it was a home run, but more importantly than that, ethically each and every statement that we just laid out there is 100% spot on. i mean, the president is connecting january 6th to also the fight for freedom abroad. now, the theatrics associated with this were also fascinating because the speaker of the house gave a message to his caucus to, let's just say be less feisty than they're normally inclined to be. what occurred as a result of that is that they did not want to applaud anything. they didn't want to cheer for

the fact that president biden aid storming the capitol is wrong when you lose an election. they didn't want to cheer for the fact that president biden said giving tax cuts to the ultra wealthy is wrong, even when billionaires pay a lower tax rate than nurses and cops and teachers, and just that juxtaposition of them each and every step of the way putting their own politics ahead of what they know is right and what they know is right for the country tells you everything that you need to know about what these next seven months are going to look like and why it's so imperative that president biden wins re-election. >> susan, these next months are going to be very intense by all measures. what do you think about how the president handled trump, 2024 rival, without even mentioning him? >> oh, spot on. because he wasn't afraid to go back and say and make a comparison to his predecessor in donald trump. he didn't have to use his name. he just -- he created the stark difference between the two of

them, and what i appreciated about the speech was it was filled with patriotism, and it wasn't doom and gloom, but it also wasn't like everything is so happy and rainbows and unicorns either. that was also good. what stands out the most to me is this was the speech joe biden wanted to give. it was not something that was scripted based on poll numbers. if we go back three months ago to when he spoke at valley form forge on the three year anniversary of january 6th, that's how fired up he was then, that's where he was today. he said i am ready to go, this is what i want to say and folks around him gave him the perfect delivery with the speech, the speech they wrote for him. >> and there were opportunities that he took to do a little ad lib ing here and there, show more of his personal. there was this other striking moment where he's talking about reproductive rights and he basically called out the supreme

court justices who were right in front of him for overturning roe v. wade. let's watch. >> many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising a pass a national ban on reproductive freedom. my god, what freedom else would you take away? look, the decision to overturn the roe v. wade, the supreme court majority wrote the following and with all due respect justices, women are not without electoral power. excuse me, electoral or political power. you're about to realize just how much. [ cheers and applause ] clearly. >> so it's unusual, right, to see the president confront supreme court justices at a state of the union address. what do you think, susan, the political calculus was there? >> i think he wanted to take everyone on and show that that

was also the words leading up to that, it was donald trump's appointees on the supreme court. it was donald trump that made the abortion rights disappear for women around this country. so it was a little gutsy, but i think that's what joe biden wanted to do. again, i think it worked because it was his authentic self delivering it. i think if someone said, oh, president biden it would be very good if you took on the supreme court. the justices, it wouldn't have worked. i think this is something he's wanted to say for a while. >> it sounds like something he thinks really works with women, and we know the female vote, the suburban voters are really important in the election. >> my thoughts are on another moment when the president clashed with republicans over the issue of immigration. when challenged he held up a button of lincoln riley, killed allegedly by a recently arrived migrant. take a listen to this part.

>> mr. president. look over here. mr. president. >> good to see you, mr. president. >> that was when he was entering the congress, but we're going to find it. we do have it now? this is the spot when he talks about specifically about laken riley. >> i'm told my predecessor called members of congress in the senate to demand they block the bill. he feels political win -- it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. it's not about him. it's not about me. i'd be a winner -- not really -- >> laken riley -- >> lincoln riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an

illegal, that's right. but how many thousands of people are being killed by illegals to her parents i say my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. i understand. >> what do you think of that moment, max? >> so just a few minutes after that you saw all of the democrats rise and chant get it done. what they were referring to is not some progressive pillar legislation. they were referring to legislation in the senate led by one of the most conservative members of the senate, jim langford who had said -- who mouthed during that speech, it's true when the president said this will increase border patrol. this will increase judges. this will make the border more secure, and the democrats rise in unison and the republicans sit on their hands. i mean, it's astounding on two fronts. it's astounding in the way he has unified the democratic party around something that is centrist at best.

second, though, is the way in which the republicans have committed other malpractice and given away this issue of the border because of their refusal to ever put the country first. now, that was laid out right there in full form. now, the president was also ad libbing, and i think that you saw him really showing his political acumen and his political muscle. that's why what's trending right now on twitter is adderall, all the republicans are claiming that he's hopped up on something because of how energetic he was there last night. >> so you think specifically going back to that moment when he put up the pin that he got and he talked about laken riley, and he said that she was killed by an illegal and that how many illegals have killed -- that's a moment, you think, that politically is beneficial to the president? >> look, as speaker pelosi said in an interview, an unfortunate

use of the word, there is absolutely no doubt, but looking at the political effort writ large to go on the offense, we have got to learn from tom suozzi's win in the special election two weeks ago. we cannot sit back as democrats and say the border is just a weakness of ours and we're going to change the subject. you have to take the issue head on and go after the republican party for being intransient and never putting the country first and never supporting bipartisan compromise. >> but the word going into -- using the word an illegal, like that shows a generational difference between joe biden, his age, and a lot of other people in the room, and folks like all of us around the table, we jump up when we hear it because we know that's just biden's generation. so that's the stuff he has to watch because that's what makes him not relatable to younger voters and to people who are working, middle class or just

trying to get by. >> jen, did the president do what he needs to do and address questions about whether he's ready for four more years? >> he really did, ana, and none of us are talking about age this morning because of the fiery performance, because of how well he did, and i agree with max, he's now on the offense on issues like immigration. he's on the offense on his age and on his experience and he has the other side on defense this morning, and this is just a very big change. so i think you come out of this with the country -- look at the overnight poll numbers about the percentage of people who think he shares their values. he made real progress in things he has to do as we kick off this general election. >> jim messina, thank you so much for being here with us. congressman rose, susan del percio you guys will be back in just a minute. up next, how republicans tried to counter president

biden's state of the union address, was their message successful? what we can read from speaker johnson's range of reactions last night. it's getting a lot of attention. with new jobs numbers out this morning, how biden took on the state of a top issue for voters, the economy. and reaction from voters to his address. did he do enough to confront some of his political weaknesses. you're watching special coverage on msnbc, and we're back in just 60 seconds. on msnbc, and we're back in just 60 seconds with nurtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt.

welcome back. an intense response from the republican party, alabama senator katie britt delivering the official gop rebuttal from the state of the union from her kitchen table. >> she hit on the southern border, the fentanyl crisis, and making this pointed swipe at the president. >> our commander in chief is not in command. the free world deserves better

than a dithering and diminished leader. just ask yourself, are you better off now than you were three years ago? >> back with us, former democratic congressman from new york, max rose and republican strategist susan del percio. your reaction to the senator's remarks and the contrast that there was between her and the president? >> i mean, those total extremes, that was unbelievable, to shift from, you know, we're on the precipice of a cataclysmic end to human society and then to sit back and try to act as if she's your normal neighbor, it didn't work. it was one of the worst state of the union responses we've ever seen. bobby jindal and marco rubio are so happy today because everyone said those were the two worst responses ever. ultimately, look, the last time a democrat ran for re-election as president of the united states was 12 years ago, and it is strikingly similar what is

happening right now, which is the democrats do some bedwetting, they say oh, my god, we have to assert our own agenda, what's going on? what's going on, and then if we do it right, though, we re-claim the middle and we talk about the clear juxtaposition with the other side. the clear juxtaposition that the other side does not have any proactive plans for the future, and they are against bipartisan compromise, and that is really where the biden campaign staked their ground yesterday, and in the response you saw, when they do that, there's nothing to say except lies and weird appeals to emotion. >> i will say one of the most intense and perhaps most memorable parts of her address, susan, was when she talked about a trip down to the border where she says she spoke with a woman who had been sex trafficked by the cartel at the age of 12. here's part of that moment. >> she told me not just that she

was raped every day but how many times a day she was raped. the cartels put her on a mattress in a shoe box of a room and they sent men through that door over and over again. >> really tough to hear that raw, shocking, sadly true. we know of stories like that, true. how effective was that being part of her message? >> it would have been very effective if she didn't act it all out. talk about being scripted and being told what notes to hit. senator britt is someone who's been on the radar screen for some of us looking at who a vp pick could be. this was an audition last night. i don't think she helped herself. i think she looked very scripted. i think when she talked about that experience about the woman who she saw at the border, she

really could have made a difference, but you know what? here's the problem. she didn't vote for -- she was part of the negotiations on the border security bill with democrats, but she didn't vote for it. so she can't even point to what did you do about it when push comes to shove. nothing. i would just have to say, sorry, having a woman in the kitchen, on the day before women's international day, like really? the republicans talk about being tone deaf. in addition, i do think they should get rid of the response. it has never helped a democrat or a republican ever. >> it is remarkable to me that it took this for this issue to be brought up, and i agree with you that it is so politicized. every single thing that they talked about was politicized, but the reality of what happens to literally hundreds of

thousands of people who come to the united states with the dream of asking for asylum and what they have to go through through the jungles, through mexico, leaving their own country, it's something that i wish -- i wish people could look at from a humanitarian point of view and see that that reality that she described, i've seen it and heard it dozens, if not hundreds of times. >> sure. >> and it's then brought into politicization. >> well, beyond that what we don't often talk about nearly enough -- and this is democrats too -- is why they are going through such an arduous circumstance, risking their life each and every day in multiple ways to reach the greatest nation in the history of the world. >> yes, yes. >> where they rightfully know that they will have significant economic opportunity as well as to be part of a just system. you know, there's been all these

reports that have come out recently about how the united states of america will be an economic winner as a consequence of this increased migration. how we might even save social security and medicare as a consequence of not having an aging population. i appreciated last night the way in which president biden came back time and again to the fact that immigration is our greatest resource as a nation. it's what makes us americans, and it's critical that the democratic party ethically maintains that moral high ground. >> which is why republicans, for example, they don't want to talk about immigration, per se. they don't want to talk about that woman. they want to talk about border security. those are two separate issues that often get lumped together, and because democrats like to talk about immigration. republicans talk about border security. in the legislation that was brought up, the bipartisan legislation, it really attacked more of border security than

immigration issues, and yet, could have really helped so many people who are crossing the border. the fact that you know you're not going -- you could be processed within six months instead of six years. those are things that have real impacts on people's lives. >> i want to switch focus real quick to the house speaker, mike johnson because he was now the third house speaker to sit behind the president, president biden, during president biden's term, and you can see some of his facial expressions there, "the new york times" said he had one of the worst poker faces in american politics, and i'm quoting here, his eyebrows arched and fell, he pursed his lips. he couldn't decide whether he should stand up, smile, or frown. he smirked he corrected himself. he sort of rolled his eyes. he looked down, he sighed. he shook his head. he swallowed. he smiled again. he looked amused and patient when he clearly intended to look serious and not pleased at all. congressman, did he get his point across?

>> this guy he's the accidental speaker. you know, like when he became the speaker, a significant percentage of his own caucus had no idea who he was, and the only reason why he is still the speaker is because his own caucus knows how embarrassing it would be to have yet another transition in their leadership and how ineffectual it would make them all look. so each and every day he is held hostage to the radical ever-growing, you know, elements of his own party. so he's not just uncomfortable because he's on national tv and realizes that he can't for some reason stand up and applaud for reducing taxes for the middle class and the working class, but he also looked so uncomfortable because he has got to be the most extreme leader of a political party in the history of the united states because that's where his party is right now. >> former congressman max rose, thank you so much. susan, of course stay with us

for a little bit. next, a difficult moment in history with the war in ukraine and the war between israel and hamas in gaza. >> were president biden's words on those two conflicts not only meant for the u.s. but for the world too? you're watching special coverage on msnbc. don't go anywhere. on msnbc don't go anywhere.

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[ cheers and applause ] we will not bow down. i will not bow down. in the literal sense, history is watching. history is watching. >> president biden last night recommitting the u.s. to defending ukraine from russia's invasion. tieing the threats to democracy there to threats here at home. >> joining us now nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel from jerusalem and former senior adviser to the supreme allied commander in europe. the president covered so much when it comes to foreign policy. we'll talk about gaza and the israel-hamas war in just a moment. but this was the second time president biden has opened the state of the union address by highlighting russia's war in ukraine. what did you make of his message

there? you were just in ukraine a short time ago. >> reporter: so i was just in ukraine, this is all that people are talking about in ukraine. i met with president zelenskyy. it is front and center of his mind. they like what they hear from president biden, and they like these grand statements. they totally agree that this is a historic decision that the state of the free world is on the line, that the world has seen what happens when authoritarian leaders are appeased, that they continue to spread their aggression, but can he deliver, and that's what ukrainian officials are deeply concerned about. they watch the fights in congress. they see how congress has held up the aid package, and they've heard, frankly, these kind of lofty statements from president biden before. they want them to continue and they want them to be enacted, but they are definitely on the same page. the problem is they're looking at them, they're realistic about

the challenges they face, and i think it's also significant that they realize that they need to try and talk to the republicans, and they need to talk to those members of the house who are still holding up the aid, and zelenskyy did a series of interviews with journalists during this -- it was the two-year anniversary of the invasion. i did one of them, but the first interview he did was with brett bayer of fox news. i know that was not an accident. they are trying specifically to reach the people who aren't convinced by what president biden said last night in the state of the union. >> evelyn, the president also went after former president trump for his recent comments on nato. listen to this. >> now my predecessor, a former republican president tells putin, quote, do whatever the hell you want. that's a quote. a former president actually said

that bowing down to a russian leader. i think it's outrageous. it's dangerous, and it's unacceptable. >> this is such an important statement that the president made. how will you think that message will be received overseas, especially as the former president today is hosting hungarian leader who supported putin in many ways. >> i think it was really important that president biden said that very clearly, that, you know, we're at a point where what we do matters for the world, and frankly, you saw the house speaker behind him seeming to agree. he looked concerned, and he was not booing. he was not booing. he was not contradicting, i should say, the president. so i think that that was sort of a rare moment of unity on the dyess and obviously he's saying that we need to step up and that the other guy, the former president would pose a clear and present danger to the united states and the world because he

doesn't understand what's at stake here. vladimir putin will keep on going, and that he'll challenge nato. >> richard, the president also made big news on the war in gaza announing he's directing the u.s. military to appear to deliver aid. here's that moment. >> i'm 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, and temporary shelters. no u.s. boots will be on the ground. a temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into gaza every day. >> so how effective could this be, and i understand you have news out of gaza this morning? >> reporter: so -- all day we've been trying to figure out -- well, since the president first talked about this last night, we've been trying to figure out how this might work. is there going to be a pier established? who's going to build it?

the u.s. military is going to build it, but there will be no u.s. troops there in gaza involved. so there's several elements that are developing at the same time on this maritime corridor to try and get aid into gaza because right now, you can in theory drive trucks into gaza. the problem is there is such a massive israeli bureaucratic obstacle to getting aid into the country. the aid agencies complain it is effectively impossible to get supplies in because the requirements the israelis have put in place are unsurmountable. there was one fairly obscure report, parliamentary committee in the uk that outlined some of the concerns that the ngos have been raising, the nongovernmental organizations. one that struck me in particular was that aid shipments are being turned away if they're not on the right pallet size. so if they go onto the truck,

and they look -- the israelis inspect it, it's not the right pallet, according to this report, it's sent back and the pallets are not standard. there are many arbitrary or apparently arbitrary things that are being denied under the claim that they are -- could be used for dual use. they could be weaponized somehow by hamas. but effectively, aid is not getting in by truck into gaza right now. so out of desperation, certain countries are doing air drops. the united states among them. i was on one of these air drops yesterday over northern gaza. it was a jordanian plane, and i was watching the air crew securing the pallets, dropping them out of the back of the c-130, and it is a limited capacity because you can only fit so much aid onto a plane. it is very labor-intensive. it is very expensive. and today we learned it is also very dangerous because palestinians say that five people were killed today in

another air drop when desperate people were waiting for these heavy parachute held pallets to drop from the sky. they were positioning themselves under it so that they could be in the best place and not be pushed out of the way by other desperate people, and it crushed them, including a young boy and the images are just starting to emerge, the name, the pictures of the victims. so now they're talking about this maritime corridor, which would start with barges leaving from cypress, potentially this weekend, followed up by this larger pier that still needs to be constructed. >> richard engel, and evelyn farkas, thank you very much. up next, the case for re-election with the chance to command millions of eyeballs at his state of the union. >> how are voters reacting to the case he made for another four years? you're watching special coverage on msnbc. don't go anywhere. g special cove on msnbc don't go anywhere.

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the president is constitutionally mandated to give a state of the union address, but president biden also used the opportunity to make his case for re-election. >> and to set up a clear and repeated contrast from what to expect if voters return donald trump to the white house. joining us now nbc's monica alba from walling ford, pennsylvania, where the president will be

here. and back with us republican strategist susan del percio. so monica, how are people in pennsylvania reacting to the speech this morning? >> reporter: well, jose, we are here in the philadelphia suburbs in delaware county, a place that really will be critical to any potential re-election for president biden in this battleground state of pennsylvania, and in talking to folks this morning who tuned in to the president's speech, they said that one thing stood out to them, and we heard words like the president was vivacious, that his vitality was something that came through, clearly alluding to some of those concerns that voters do have about his age. so that was something that really was characterized to me by people who did watch, though antic young people said they didn't watch the speech actually and hadn't heard much about it. that shows you a little bit of the divide here. last night nbc news was with some supporters of the president

at a watch party who took in the speech and here's what they had to say in the moments right after. >> joe biden is the best option for us to be a strong country and keep our democracy in place. he said it over and over fen, again, and i think he's right. >> i would go as far as to say biden is wise. he has been really listening to the people in his party. he's got a little pep in his step, you know. the old school joking around biden was there, and it was good to see that he is ready for this election. >> reporter: and advisers that i've spoken with since the speech, jose and ana, they've really said that a little bit of that fiery nature you saw last night from the president, his feistiness on some of these issues, this is something that they want to be able to replicate when he goes on the campaign trail like he will be here later today. he will be in georgia today doing the same thing tomorrow, and they want to see him kind of take that energy on the road and

really have those kinds of interactions then in a more personal nature with voters in these smaller kinds of events. that's what you're going to be seeing here as he does this, and i'm told there's really going to be a travel blitz in the month of march in the coming weeks. >> monica, i understand according to the biden campaign, it was a huge fund-raising night for them. what do we know? >> record breaking, they say, according to a biden campaign official, the 9:00 hour, so when the speech began, was their best fund-raising hour since launching the re-election effort last year. that was then bested by the 10:00 p.m. hour and then again by the 11:00 p.m. hour. so we're talking about critical timing that was the most lucrative, they say, building on already some success in terms of fund-raising from earlier in the week following the super tuesday results. >> monica alba, thank you so very much. michael, biden took several months to quip about his age, and it's something that, you know, they've been talking about on all sides for a while. he was very direct and repeated

himself. just listen to some of what he had to say. >> i know it may not look like it, but i've been around a while. [ laughter ] when you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever. in my career i've been told i was too young. i've been told i am too old. whether young or old, i've always been known -- i've always known what endures. my fellow americans the issue facing our nation isn't how old we are, it's how old our ideas. >> a lot of people may say finally, he took it on in this way. how'd you think he did on that? >> he did well. he was in command. he was vigorous, and as we saw a happy warrior. he wasn't defensive. he had a smile. that's a lot of what people want to see in the president when they're giving this speech. often they're facingcrisis, a sn

reverse. here it was all the chatter about his age. i think he did a very good job about that. i think he also laid out election themes in a way that could last through the year. the defense of democracy whether from ukraine or voting rights, and a bunch of those other things that biden talks about, but you can sort of see it cohering and democrats rallying around it as a campaign theme. >> susan, how do you think president biden handled concerns of the age issue? >> oh, he hit it right, you know, head on. so he did what he could, but again, i always think people underestimate joe biden. when he has to perform, he does. look at the last state of the union when everyone was worried. as i mentioned earlier this hour, look at the valley forge speech. he delivered here, but he also -- one thing that i thought he did very well, is he brought in some of the smaller, more relatable issues for the average american. for example, he said i got rid of junk fees on credit cards or

rather on airlines. i want to do it for credit cards. it made people know, like they all know those junk fees. they know that $20makes a difference. then he said we made $35 insulin for seniors. i want everyone to have $35 insulin. if you're paying for your drug, like most americans are, that makes a difference. that's relatable. so what i thought was very good over the speech was, yes, he had a sense of humor, he addressed his age, but he went from big sweeping things to the smaller things that matter. >> and that's what people really can grab onto. and i think specifically the $8 fees for credit cards. i mean, these are issues that people can identify with, especially when you have so many, you know, people that are having to use their credit cards more and more. meanwhile, the former president was firing away on his social media in realtime, before, during, and after the speech. are these messages getting through? >> well, i think his social media crashed during the speech

from what i understand, truth social, but i think that the choice is now, you know, pretty clearly laid out. super tuesday of course was this week as well, and the biden people have always said, look, it's going to be a binary choice. sometimes these things are a referendum on the president. they will want to make it at least as much a referendum on trump, and you know, i think the republicans have some arguments this year that are strong around immigration, around other things. one of the big questions is the economic issue. will -- it's often the case that the public's understanding of what's going on in the economy lags behind the reality. this jobs number today was quite strong. will that catch up and how much does biden have to do to keep selling it? >> well, you just gave us a perfect segue, right? >> yep. >> that's exactly what we're going to talk about in our next segment. we've got the jobs numbers. thank you so much, michael walden, susan del percio. >> up next as ana said, the

economic state of our union. we have new job numbers that are just out this morning. >> the economy, we know, is a top issue on voters' minds. how do the cold, hard numbers contrast with how americans are actually feeling. you're watching special coverage only on msnbc. with nurtec odt, i can treat a migraine when it strikes and prevent migraine attacks, all in one. don't take if allergic to nurtec. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. ask about nurtec odt. ♪ students... students of any age, from anywhere. students in a new kind of classroom. ♪ using our technology to power different ways of learning. ♪ harnessing ai to plant new beginnings. ♪ so when minds grow, opportunities follow.

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all americans, all americans, to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one, no one behind. >> no one left behind. that is the message president biden gave last night on the state of the economy, and this morning we're getting new figures on the job outlook for america. >> as the numbers are really remarkable in the month of february, 275,000 jobs were added, that's nearly 80,000 more than what analysts were expecting with unemployment clocking in at 3.9%. let's bring in nbc news business and data correspondent brian cheung at the big board. these are extraordinary numbers. >> the president said yesterday the landing is and will be soft, referring to avoiding a recession. the jobs numbers we got this morning confirm that. 275,000 jobs added in the month of february. economists had only expected about 180,000. that's well above that estimate. and it is above the pace that we saw added in the month of january. both of these two months were revised down in this report as they usually do. the unemployment rate did tick

up to 3.9%. we saw black americans, asian americans, also women see the unemployment rate rise. the hispanic and latino unemployment rate stayed the same. we'll watch those threads in the months to come. whether we look at the sectors, check this out, bars and restaurants and healthcare adding a lot of jobs, tech, these two quarters here, slowing down a little bit. we'll have to watch those threads in the months to come as well. >> any update on inflation in these numbers? >> the big story as we heard also yesterday is that it is inflation, not necessarily jobs numbers that are weighing on americans. prices at the store going up by 3% on yearly basis. but, see, here is the thing. the jobs report that we got today showed that wages on a yearly basis went up by 4.3%. so, we talk about the lag effect of americans feeling the economic numbers. this trend of wages being above inflation, that only happened as of summer of last year. maybe it will take a year for americans to feel that, but broadly speaking, the biden administration and americans broadly hoping to see this story hold in the months to come as well. >> and we have just a little bit

of extra time here, brian, so, is this the trend that we think is going to keep on keeping on and will that impact what the feds do? >> well, look, if i had a crystal ball i would be at the government forecasting the numbers, right? we look at what we're looking at right now, the federal reserve is saying we have been holding interest rates steady. that's the reason why credit card rates, mortgage rates have been so high. but they're saying that, look, as of right now, it is not impacting wages to where it is below inflation. hopefully this can hold in the months to come. >> brian cheung as always, thank you very much for bringing us that important information. coming up in the next hour, we'll talk to a presidential historian about how this state of the union compared to past addresses. and congressman gregory meeks will be here to talk about the president's view of the challenges facing us around the world. you're watching special coverage on msnbc. don't go anywhere. ching speciale on msnbc don't go anywhere. watch your step! that's why visionworks makes it simple to schedule an eye exam that works for you.

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