devin nunes who recused himself. >> if it is true. >> under lying classified information. >> and that is the argument for declassifying the information. >> and the president should. >> thank you all so very much. thanks for joining us. our special coverage continues now with "ac 360." and good evening welcome. i am anderson cooper with a special edition of "ac 360." two new bombshells in the russia investigation. arguing that robert mueller has not met the threshold needed to

interview trump in person. let's go to wolf blitzer and jake tapper who are standing by. >> the president we are told doesn't want to talk about russia tonight. won't even mention the investigation. but you never know if he veers off script. it has been blasted by the right and the left and we are told the president will announce that he is keeping the prison at gaun tan mobay. how do you see his basic message unfolding? >> he told, and he wants it unify the country.

in washington d.c. there is brittle tension. we expect the president will talk about taxes economy, trade, and infrastructure. we do not think he is going to mention the russia investigation and that is one of the reasons that investigation and his reaction to it that will make his goal of unfieing the country such a tall order. >> i want to go to our chief white house correspondent jim acosta. >> reporter: the president is not expected to address the russia investigation. he remains furious about the russia probe and he can still fire robert mueller.

a source told cnn anybody who knows trump best knows that this is a possibility. as for that memo from house intelligence committee devin nunes, the president's legal team are telling pam brown and gloria borger they don't believe the threshold has met. as you said, the president is expected to stick to the teleprompter, but trump being trump, all bets are off. this speech could go off the rails. >> we will see what happens. i want to go to dana bash up on capitol hill. you are speaking to lawmakers, democrats and republicans. what is the likely response that we are going to be hearing

tonight? >> incredible tension. the partisanship i should say is as thick and as dense as i remember it. the other part of the story we have to remember is about the people who aren't going to be here. more members of congress boycotting president trump's state of the union since we have seen since richard nixon gave his address here. and some of the democrats who are going to be attending will be making their displeasure known. the congressional black caucus, the chair has told his members that he is okay with them walking out during the speech. on the flip side, you have republicans who are in the majority here. in the house in particular, every one of them are on the ballot this year. they are looking for the president to give them some political cover. go home and campaign on.

the flip side of the boycott on the democratic side and the political statement, a lot of democrats are bringing dreamers. one of the congressmen on the republican side putting out a statement that he has asked the capitol police to look out for illegal immigrants in case they would have to arrest them. nobody has gotten that memo. >> tension clearly mounting up on capitol hill. anderson, let's go to you. >> let's go to our panel, gloria borger, is this the final position of president trump's lawyers? >> no it isn't. what they are trying to do by saying to the special counsel, you haven't met this threshold,

we think it is very high for a president to testify. i think what they are trying to do is put the special counsel to put his cards on the table and to say, yeah, we think we have met this threshold and this is why. they are making the case to the special counsel that a president cannot testify unless he is the only one who can give you certain information period. it has to be something that only he can do and they are saying if you can get this information from somebody else, get it from somebody else. i think they are trying to suss him out and see where he is. >> they are trying to establish what his state of mind was and who they can speak to other than him. they obviously have spoken -- >> i am not saying they are going to win this. >> if i were them, politically, it is incredibly difficult not

to testify and the country seems in large numbers believes he should. legally when is their responsibility, he puts himself in great jeopardy by doing it. >> robert mueller can subpoena him. >> in terms of him refusing or saying he does not want to testify, he seems to be getting coverage from a lot. there is some concern about this president's loose relationship with the truth. particularly if you are talking about testifying under on this in such an important investigation. we will see what he ended up doing. a pr move from this president. republicans are willing to give him cover. >> and you have a collision between, look, the president should listen to his lawyers, there is a political track he is on the record saying i want to do this, under oath, any time,

bring it on. so that is his decision to make. at the same time both from his perspective and from bob mueller's perspective, there is this campaign going to undermine bob mueller. if you are bob mueller and the president's lawyers say we don't want to talk to you. and only the president knows why he fired comey. >> let's go back to wolf blitzer. >> kate bennet is with us. it is also an important night for the president and also for the first lady. >> it certainly is. the first lady has driven separately from the president. she is actually already there. we got a statement as to why from her communication director saying mrs. trump is honoring her guest for the true heroes

they are. she is accompanying them to the capitol. an intimate meet and greet. this is a break from tradition. we often see the president and the first lady exit the south lawn doors head to the limo and head to the capitol. >> it does happen. the first lady was supposed to go to davos and she canceled that. and went to florida instead. there have been reports of tension between the couple ever since the story broke of the president and the porn actress. >> correct. since then we haven't heard anything on the record from the first lady about what is going on in the relationship. however, signs like that not going to davos, the tweets she

did on the inauguration anniversary didn't mention the president. no public address of their anniversary. again, she was with the guests. >> i want to go to our chief white house correspondent jim acosta. >> still on the white house. just to under lying what you were saying with kate. this is arguably one of the biggest nag biggest nights of the year for the president of the united states. it is worth noting as i think you were saying a few moments ago, that sort of the last minute she backed out of the

trip to davos. so it does appear at the moment they are traveling separately. >> i have been covering these state of the union addresses for many years, never seen the first lady not being in the same automobile as the president of the united states. this is an unusual situation. we are seeing a lot of unusual developments. we will take a quick break. more of our special coverage coming up. david.

what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪ what can a president [ do in thirty seconds? he can fire an fbi director who won't pledge his loyalty. he can order the deportation of a million immigrant children. he can threaten an unstable dictator armed with nuclear weapons. he can go into a rage and enter the nuclear launch codes. how bad does it have to get before congress does something?

...nausea, heartburn, when indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea! nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea! here's pepto bismol! ah. nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea. fast like stop staring atcaps help youthe clock fast,st, like stop worrying about your boss fast, like wow, you're already asleep fast. when life keeps you up... zzzquil helps you fall asleep in as little as 20 minutes.

special couns and you are looking at a live picture of pennsylvania avenue. back with our special coverage. waiting for the president to leigh the white house and travel down pennsylvania avenue to make his state of the union address. dana bash is at the capitol. >> reporter: i am here with senator cory booker. thank you for coming on with me. >> thanks for having me. >> cnn is reporting that president trump's lawyers will

tell the team. >> it contradicts what he said when he was not a president. if you have nothing to hide, you should give an interview. i am disappointed in that but hoping something will change his mind. >> reporter: why are you sure this is necessary? >> we know that the russians have attacked us and are attacking us. this is ongoing. now there is evidence that there were connections between russian agents and members of his inner circle. we know 20 white house officials have been interviewed. there is enough to show that the president of the united states is relevant to this investigation and should if we are trying to get to the truth of this should be giving his testimony. he is essential to this case.

>> reporter: let's talk about tonight. the chairman of the congressional black caucus told husba his members that it might be okay to walk out. what is your stance on that? >> we are a free america. creative protest has been seen. >> reporter: this is different. this is state of the union address. >> and for me, i am one that harshly criticized a republican congress person when they heckled barack obama. for me, i am going to be in my seat giving my respect to the presidency. i honor my colleagues. but the people of new jersey, my own values, i think it is important to be there. >> reporter: a big part of the evening is people bringing

guests. your guest is a dreamer who came here at age seven to new jersey. the republican congressman gozar saying he wants the capitol police to look for people like your guest and think about detaining them. >> this is not who we are. the one woman i brought here is from our home county. tech entrepreneur adding to our economy. most americans recognize that she like the hundreds that serve in the military, and hundreds that are first responders, these are people who are part of our country. we are not mean like that. we are decent people and that is just a menacing malevolent comment unbecoming.

>> reporter: the president is going to reportedly allow the republican memo in the house on the russia investigation to become public. what do you think about that? >> this whole chapter is shocking me to see what is going on and again, i am not in the house, looking at it from the senate side. here we have something that is so clearly partisan. the republicans allowing their memo to be released but not the democratic. the source documentation of the justice department saying we should not be releasing this. to me, it is outrageous insult in the intelligence community what is best for america. conspiracy theory being whipped up. >> thank you so much. back to you. >> thanks very much. the first lady is already at the

capitol. waiting for the president trump's departure from the white house. our special coverage continues after a quick break. we can't stay here! why? flat toilet paper! i'll never get clean! way ahead of you. charmin ultra strong. it cleans better. it's four times stronger and you can use less. enjoy the go with charmin. coaching means making tough choices. jim! you're in! but when you have high blood pressure and need cold medicine that works fast, the choice is simple. coricidin hbp is the #1 brand that gives powerful cold symptom relief without raising your blood pressure. coricidin hbp.

i ...prilosec otc 7 years ago,my doctor recommended... 5 years ago, last week. just 1 pill each morning, 24 hours and zero heartburn. it's been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10... ...straight years, and it's still recommended today. use as directed.

we are standing by for president trump to leave the white house and head towards the capitol. let's go to jim acosta. >> reporter: a statement why the first lady travel to the capitol separately. >> no reason other than she can greet the guest and the president can go straight in. that is a comment from sarah sanders on this unusual development that the first lady traveled to the capitol early. that is all the white house has said at this point. >> there is also reporting by "the washington post," about a

meeting on monday about basically them appealing accord to the post to john kelly for the white house not to release this memo. >> reporter: we did report yesterday that rosenstein and wray were meeting with the white house chief of staff and kelly. this was an interestingly timed meeting. but yes, the washington post is reporting this evening that rosenstein and wray were appealing to john kelly during this meeting that this gop meeting alleging abuses in the russia investigation should not be released. we have also heard from other sources in the white house that there are concerns about releasing this memo. interesting to note, anderson, earlier today our sources

telling us the president was inclined to release that memo. and later in the afternoon, press secretary gave my colleague, no time to release that memo. . my take is a bit of a debate inside the white house as to what to do about the memo. paul ryan telling reporters that memo should be released. so appears to be intense debate inside the republican party right now as to what to do about the memo. democrats are howling that it would be inappropriate to release the memo. jeopardize practices. >> looking at the picture of the south. going to take a quick break.

75 million of us suffer from the gritty and frustrating symptoms of dry eye. we need theratears®. theratears® is more than just eye drops. it's eye therapy. dry eye symptoms are caused by a salt imbalance. theratears® unique electrolyte formula, quickly restores the natural balance. so your eyes will thank you. more than eye drops, dry eye therapy. theratears®.

what's going on? oh hey! ♪ that's it? yeah. ♪ everybody two seconds! ♪ "dear sebastian, after careful consideration of your application, it is with great pleasure that we offer our congratulations on your acceptance..." through the tuition assistance program, every day mcdonald's helps more people go to college. it's part of our commitment to being america's best first job. ♪

renein the caribbean.onder for a limited time enjoy two free perks like complimentary wifi and drinks, plus savings up to $300 when you book now during the celebrity cruises sail beyond event.

renein the caribbean.onder for a limited time enjoy two free perks like complimentary wifi and drinks, plus savings up to $300 when you book now during the celebrity cruises sail beyond event. . and looking live picture where we expect the president to

be leaving at any moment. first lady melania has made her way to the capitol with her guests. special reception for the guests of the first lady and the vice president. a lot happening now. a lot swirling around. i want to go to our contributors. david as a supporter of the president, would you advise to testify to robert mueller? >> great stable very smart criminal lawyers. there is a legal case to be considered and a metcal capolit to be considered. i would listen to my lawyers. >> is it worth the danger of him being subpoenaed? >> i don't think there is a strong political case to do this. you answer questions, but you do it in writing.

the political case is donald trump should come clean. he can do that by responding in writing. >> the political case of the president of the united states given his proclivities to answer questions orally is a political disaster. legally, it is a disaster, politically, a disaster, don't do it. >> van? >> this is a shocking confession on your part that you don't trust the president of the united states -- >> i didn't say i didn't trust. >> you think the president of the united states is so erratic and unpredictable that he can't talk to a lawyer. he can't say i did nothing to the lawyer? >> i am a lawyer. i know lots of innocent people who say not so innocent things. >> talking to lawyers which the president says he is, is a good

way to stay out of jail unless you have something to hide. >> if i were his lawyer i would say don't testify because on the legal side, as we all know, he has lied since the beginning of this office. 2,141 times that is the fact checker of "the washington post." >> you never said one thing and something else the next day? >> let's watch tonight and we will count how many times he exaggerates or misleads. >> no politician has done that? >> come on, as he breathes he lies. >> exaggerated and that the is not someone you put in front of a lawyer. >> this is terrible. in some ways it is funny -- >> he signs it. >> bill clinton was accused of doing things that were awful.

things that he was ashamed of. and he showed up. >> he went to court. but he tried not to. he tried not to, van. >> i was in kindergarten, but all i am saying is he showed up and he did it. we weren't afraid that he was going to be so terrible and erratic. >> the best cory booker could come up with, is he is quote relevant to the investigation. that is not good enough. >> john? >> he is the core of the information. >> we don't know what bob mueller knows. the lawyers don't get briefed. but they know more than we do. bill clinton testified on video tape from the white house. bob mueller has asked for a sit down interview one-on-one.

bill clinton testified on video, it was embarrassing. he had to admit that he lied to the american people and officers of the court and he was impeached. again, back to the other witnesses including all the young people in the white house counsel's office, bill clinton was impeached. he gave up his law license. one of the water cooler conversations is if you get called to the special counsel's office, remember that. you know most of the deputies in the white house counsel have been interviewed. you know the senior staff has been interviewed. you know he has all this information. >> so the level of detail you are saying. >> the witnesses coming out saying essentially bob mueller knows what they had for breakfast. if you legitimately say i don't recall, they fill it in for you.

and then continue the conversation. if you are the president and prone to not being a detail person, i get the lawyers saying it is dangerous situation. if you are president trump and you think i only care about my 35%, then there is no political price. if the goal is reaching out to unify the country, refusing to testify -- >> bill clinton went to the supreme court over this in 1997 because he didn't want to testify in the civil case of paula jones. i don't know where the president's attorneys are. >> the big distinction is there was a legal case, a separate civil case. >> but what the president's lawyers point to is ronald reagan and iran contra. they say the president was allowed to do written answers to these questions. that is why they are trying to figure out what mueller has. what mueller has on their guy.

this is what this is all about. >> i think what john said earlier is important. i think there is a reason why there is this parallel campaign going on to impreach the impeac investigation, impeach the fbi. and lessen the political blow of not doing that. >> there is a parallel investigation because there is evidence of problems in the fbi. evidence of problems in the justice department. there is a legitimate reason that republicans are pursuing it. is it undermining their case? there are people who undermine this case. >> two people who exchanged text messages. >> you are impeaching this 30,000 body of people. >> one name, ted stevens. one of the most powerful influential members of the united states congress was

brought down by one bad actor. >> rich, did you vote for bob mueller? >> i think the point is that the testimonials for mueller. >> i think i voted for almost every clinton appointment. i give the president great latitude in picking the people surrounding him in the cabinet. >> it is worse than that. it is not just that you were on one side. if in fact the republicans are saying is true that there is malfeasance at the top then you have to proceed in the way that protects the institution. what is happening is a circus inside of a zoo next to a train wreck because you are trying to politicize this whole thing.

>> you are saying you don't believe they should release the memo. i do believe there are legitimate reasons for republicans to investigate. >> a responsible way. >> is it disingenuous for republicans to be saying, well, chris wray looked at the memo and didn't have factual changes. reporting from the washington post is chris wray and rod rosenstein were in the white house saying don't release this. that just seems like not factually correct. >> we thought when trump came in, we were concerned that he might use the fbi to weaponize or go after the opponents. >> organization was held --

>> that was mine. >> one memo can come out and suppress the democratic memo. >> the democratic memo is going to come out. give it a week for members to look at it. >> unless the republican memo doesn't come out. >> then you have the nunes memo, an inspector general support that is going to be very tough on the fbi and leaders there coming out and it will muddy -- >> that is the right way to do it. >> that is the right way to do it. but it does muddy the waterers for the white house to say look, you can't trust these people at the fbi. does that mean you can't trust bob mueller at all and his investigation at all because the white house is walking a fine line on that saying we are cooperating. and number two, if they release

the nunes memo, what does this do to the new head of the fbi? does he have to quit? he just told the president please don't do this. he is the new guy on-the-job. he is trying to defend the morale. >> the moment that requires grown-ups and they are in short supply. if the republicans believe they have evidence that there is corruption in the fbi -- just stop for a second. corruption at the highest level of american justice system. if they really believe that, then they have to get democrats even in this environment in a quiet room and kick the reporters out and sit in the damn room until you figure it out and then lead the country through the conversation. if this comes out after the year we went through on republican only letterhead, half the

country is fnot going to believ it and you will not accomplish the goal. >> i think that is -- that would be the best outcome. having both memos released at the same time. >> why do a democrat and republican memo? >> because it is dysfunctional. >> the committee themselves couldn't get together and that is a shame and issue a single memo. >> wait for the ig report. >> this is unprecedented territory the idea that you would have an intelligence committee flush something out there over the objectives of our intelligence committee. i am a liberal democrat defending the fbi. that is how crazy it is in the united states. >> republicans are frustrated that the media is continuing to focus. and this is a way to get it out there. >> let the ig report come out.

>> i understand their frustration. we spent 29 minutes before we talked about -- we haven't talked about the state of the union speech. this is what the media is talking about. and republicans are saying this is not the right narrative. >> it is interesting that from the reporting, it seems that the president's lawyers, i don't know how gloria and pam got this story, about you it seemed like it came from the president's side. releasing this information on the same day of the state of the union. >> i was stunned that they wanted this to be the story on the day of the state of the union. it is political malpractice. >> republicans control the congress. if they believe they have something, call a hearing. and don't leak amemo. call a hearing. if you have them, call them on the spot. >> we are about to see the

president leaving the white house before the speech. just in terms of the speech tonight. let's turn to what -- we have gotten excerpts, what do you think the president senatneeds . can he develop that message? >> given the boycotts by the democrats and the guests, can the president wave a magic wand and make this a bipartisan america of course not. if he wants the second year to be bipartisan, make this a first step and prove he means it. there is a lot of skeptics in the room. a lot of people don't believe donald trump means it. huge speech for him. he is at about 40% approval rating. republicans are worried about

losing the house. outside chance they can lose the senate. people are more optimistic about the future of the economy they have been in years. bill clinton survived impeachment because people were happy about the economy that they felt good about their president. can he somehow rip down that with a wil wall. >> if i were a strategist, i would say why is this delta and has to do with what rick santorum has been talking about. the tweets the jibes. this setting to look like what he hasn't been able to look like in so many other settings, presidential. >> i want to point out that president trump about to drive to capitol hill.

first lady melania already at capitol hill. she left earlier. >> there is a sense there is positive vibe about the economy at the top. but honestly, if he doesn't acknowledge that half of america doesn't invest a dime in the stock market, all of that euphoria doesn't affect them. half or 60% of america doesn't even have $500 in their bank account. there a lot of angst and anxious out there. when 83% of the tax dollars go to the top 10% and 5% of the earners, that is not what they are feeling. so one of the reasons why i think the president is not doing better is that perhaps people feel like he is riding a wave

that was handed to him by obama but has not come through at the promises. rick, you can laugh, you can smile. more outsourcing of these jobs than there was than the prior one. >> look -- >> let the senator respond. >> the tax cut has produced higher wages. >> it has not. >> sure it has. company after company. >> 2% of people doing buybacks. >> bonuses. they are doing all sorts -- no. all sorts of companies talking about reinvesting america. >> that is the talk. >> the regulatory breaks that donald trump has done to take -- to let this economy run has had huge impact on workingmen and women. >> i heard that and i was excited about it. and then i looked into it. and it turns out, yes, there are

anecdotes like that. but $90 billion of this tax stuff has gone into buybacks and the outshoring has gone out and the wage growth is flatter than it was. you are doing a very good job of picking anecdotes. my mom used to tell me, a half truth is a whole lie. we are not telling the whole story. >> 5 million americans are getting bonus checks. that is not an anecdote. money in their pocket. >> 80% are not. >> i will go in the van with you. >> you guys said we would get wage increase. one time bonuses that is not wage increase. >> we are seeing huge changes. >> let's focus -- >> let's focus on tonight and what you are going to hear. is it wise for democrats in this

environment to be boycotting there or walking out. >> let me tell you what i think. first of all, i am in an old school hip-hop frame of mind for some reason. there was a public enemy song that will be playing in the background of democrat's mind, can't trust it. no matter what this president says now, nobody on the democratic side can believe it. here is the problem you have right now. the democrats that are leaving is not going to be the problem. if the democrats sitting there is not going to stand up and clap. i think what we can get out of this speech as liberals and progress progressives, you can look at this speech and see how the factions are playing out inside the building.

the speech is going to be the result of the faction fights between the jared kushners and the steven millers. what winds up on the paper may let you know what winds up in policy. >> i disagree with you on this point. one of the things that disagreed me about the president is his blatant disregard for institutions and norms for the things that are so essential to our democracy, i don't think that you fight that by adopting sort of fundamental flouting i think you stand by institutions. the state of the union speech is an institution. that's the place where we gather to hear the president, whoever the president is. you don't have to agree with him. i don't want this to become the norm so that every succeeding president now deals with walkouts. >> listen, first of all, just to be clear, it was the republicans

the first time obama got out there that shouted out "you lie." >> i was there, van. i was on the floor. >> i heard this over and over. >> there's a huge difference between someone sitting there and getting an emotional reaction from something someone said, and then blurting out -- >> it was unprecedented in the history of our republic. >> than someone premeditated -- >> people make mistakes in the heat of the moment. >> it's very different -- >> that was a despicable moment. >> loudly and roundly condemned by everybody. >> the bottom line is this is a premeditated attack on an institution as opposed to somebody who lost their cool. >> not fair. listen, i am proud that the congressional black caucus has taken this seriously enough. the majority of them are going to be there. some of them are not. i think all of them are trying to send a signal that there is something desperately wrong with the way this president is handling this presidency. they are trying to be the moral

conscience for the country. >> don't you think republicans felt as much of a moral consequence as the way barack obama or bill clinton was handling -- >> and they were disrespectful in every -- >> they showed up, van. they showed up. >> here's what i will say about the way that president obama was treated. president obama was treated worse by republicans for wearing a tan suit than this president has been treated for disrespecting the fbi. i don't think that the cbc should be lectured by anybody about their -- >> i think to david's point, the constitution sets this event forth, right? this is a big moment in washington, and the united states. everybody at home, a great majority last year, you know, a large number of folks tune in. everybody kind of sits in at least for the first 15 minutes, right, and hears what the president said. i know as jaded as we all are here, when the sergeant at arms of the house says, mr. speaker, the president of the united states, everybody kinds of gets goose bumps.

that is not lost on this president. >> i was as angry, van, as anyone about that outburst in the house and some of the ways in which president obama was treated. but i don't think they did it, so we're going to do it is a very compelling answer. >> right. and, you know, according to manu raju from the hill, nancy pelosi has warned her troops to behave, not to walk out, you know, not to shout at the president. >> there's jared kushner, ivanka trump. >> to your point, just from a political standpoint, if you're pelosi, you don't want folks to go back to their districts and run ads. that's the ad you run, right? >> paul ryan has done the same to his folks. >> everyone will be well behaved this evening. >> isn't that ridiculous you have to warn your people, though? >> and why? it's because you have unfortunately a president of the united states -- listen -- let me finish. here's what i'll say. the last time this president walked out there, he started his speech out, and he said -- he

talked about black history month, and the fact that jewish community centers were being destroyed. and i was moved by that, and i was proud to see the president stick up. and within months you had nazis marching in the united states attacking black people and jewish people, and he couldn't defend it. so you have people who tried to give him a chance who don't know what to do. i don't think they should walk out. i'm proud of the ones who are going. i'm proud of the ones who aren't going. we don't know what to do in america anymore because we see this unprecedented level of dysfunction and chaos and people are trying to find a way forward. i don't think we should be tough on those people. we should be tough on the president. >> supreme court justices, i believe only four are in attendance tonight. the others said they had pre-existing commitments. >> the big question isn't -- yes, everyone will be well behaved tonight, i suspect, including the president. and he says in his speech he's offering an open hand. the question is whether tomorrow morning he offers the brass knuckle again, and that has been the problem is that there hasn't been a kind of sustained sense

of decorum on his part, and that causes people to be somewhat skeptical about the speech. >> everyone has to remember the backdrop. the government shutdown, a week away. we're a week away from another crisis. we have debt ceiling to raise. we have supplement -- emergency supplemental funding coming up, there's an incredible legislative calendar that nobody is talking about, right? and the president recognizes this, that he needs democrats in the spenate to accomplish that. otherwise -- >> i'm telling what i'm looking for that would be positive. number one, criminal justice reform. we know that jared kushner has been in there fighting for that. that is something that people could actually come together and get done. >> if van and the koch brothers agree on that -- >> van jones and newt gingrich, so listen. there's something that could happen that would be positive. on the infrastructure side, there's something that could be done a bad way, could be done a good way. that's a worthy conversation.

the need to have the jobs of tomorrow. the jobs of tomorrow with technology. you could bring people together. the problem is you keep mixing in the toxic stuff with the good stuff, and you can't eat it. >> they're going to come to the senate with a nice bill on daca. democrats are going to have to decide are they for keeping folks here, for a pathway to citizenship or against border security. >> the other question is, is there follow-through by the white house with whatever is spoken about tonight. we have seen plenty of times where there's an infrastructure week and the president seems to have another agenda on his twitter machine. >> that's the big question. what is the staying power of this speech? what is the staying power of the president we'll see tonight who is going to be very well behaved, very much on message? typically we see a president lay out an agenda, give a sense of what he wants to see over the next couple of months, then take that speech on the road and take it to different communities, different states. it looks like this president isn't going to do that. it looks like we'll have a state of the union that might be

overtaken by this house memo that we were just talking about. >> and jim acosta reported earlier today that perhaps the president will surprise us on north korea and on foreign policy. >> what could be more surprising than -- >> normally state of the unions, you get an embargoed copy someplace early. we get an embargoed copy. i would say there's going to be something. obviously they did it for a reason. there's going to be some big surprise here. >> that's the normal course. >> it's always a laundry list and people at tables like this afterwards say the president -- no matter who the president is, and we find out the american people like it. my biggest question going forward here, he's going to talk about a lot of things. will he talk about criminal justice reform? i don't know. infrastructure, democrats like that. a lot of conservative republicans don't if it involves federal money because they're worried about the deficit. this immigration deal, maybe they will get a nice bill in the senate. senator santorum went through

this on obamacare last year. how many things will the president ask tonight, and what will he follow through on, and are those the things that divide republicans in an election year? that's what they're nervous about on capitol hill. they're worried about the majorities and they're worried the president is going to keep pushing issues that divide his own party. >> the daca folks in the audience, i'd like to hear their perspective. ask them, would you urge your congressman who brought you here to vote for it? >> just on this issue of infrastructure, there's a wholly different view of how it should work. democrats believe there should be significant public investment. republicans believe there should be incentives for private investment in infrastructure. but i just want to go over these. "the wall street journal" had a poll in the last few days, and they rated qualities of the president. 19% -- >> okay. sorry. let's go back to wolf. wolf? >> first lady, there she is, melania trump walking down the stairs. kate, first of all, you've been

reporting she did come up separately from the president. >> she did drive up separately this evening from the white house to the capitol. she accompanied the guests that were invited to sit in the box today. we do hear they will be driving home together. the president and the first lady will share the ride home. but it is, again, bucking tradition that she drove up on her own. >> is there anything you want to tell us about her outfit? >> you know, she's wearing a cream-colored suit there, which i find interesting. remember last year the female democratic senators all wore white. a bunch of them to protest trump's policies against women. so there was even a hashtag, women wear white. it could be a total coincidence, but i find a lot of the stuff she does these days tor, to loo it twice. >> the assistant sergeant at arms announcing the president's cabinet, now walking in.

the secretary of defense, secretary of state, rex tillerson. secretary of the treasury, steve mnuchin. the cabinet walking in, this is another tradition that has unfolded. jake, this cabinet pretty much in place since over the past year. >> yeah. with a couple of exceptions obviously. dr. tom price resigned. he was replaced just yesterday officially. a swearing in ceremony of the new secretary of the department of health and human services. >> to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, we're awaiting the president's first state of the union address. we have live coverage on cnn. the president's cabinet has just been introduced. they're walking down. you see dr. ben carson there, the secretary of housing as well. >> of course obviously as is tradition for decades now, there is one member of the cabinet that does not attend the state of the union in case the absolute unthinkable happens. so somebody can carry out the leadership of the government. tonight that