host: good morning. this evening, president biden

will deliver the state of the union address. it will be his first speech to a joint session of congress since republicans took the control of the house. the president will speak at 9:00 p.m. eastern. c-span coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. we will discuss the significance of what was once known the annual message. if you think the state of the union address matters today, phone lines are split by parties. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. you can send us a text at (202) 748-8003. please include your name and where you are from. catch up with us on social media, on twitter, on facebook. a very good tuesday morning.

start calling in now. the formal basis of the address comes from the united states constitution outlining the of e president in article two, secti tee, clause one. "he shall fromimto time give the congress information on the state of the union and recommend such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." we are expecting president biden to recommend several measures to congress tonight, discuss the state of the country. we want to know as you watch this state of the union address, does the address still matter today? the phone lines are split by political parties. republicans, democrats, independents as usual. one view of capitol hill -- of what the capitol looks like. punch bowl news. there picture from the capital. a now familiar scene.

the fence back up around the capitol. extra security is everywhere around the permit or today. always tight for the state of the union. the sun rises this morning and you can see what it looks like this morning, the day of the state of the union address. phone lines if you want to call and talk about the state of the union address, if it still matters. (202) 748-8001 is the phone line for republicans. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. usa today headline on the state of the union address. biden faces a torn political landscape. the divided congress and expected upcoming reelection announcement are the twin forces

that will shape president biden 's address this evening. there will be a full house tonight. the covid-19 restrictions that limited attendance in the past have gone. lawmakers are allowed to bring their own guests to the state of the union address. the story noting this year president biden and his cabinet will travel far and wide after the state of the union. at least 20 states will be visited after the address to talk about the administration's economic agenda. the president will be in wisconsin on wednesday and will be in florida on thursday. he will be in the house chamber tonight for the state of the union. a bit of a scene behind the president. speaker mccarthy will join the vice president harris. we want to know if you think the state of the union address still matters.

tim, independent. thank you for calling in. caller: hi. can you hear me? host: does it still matter? caller: yes. i think it still matters. i don't think we are going to hear anything honest. most of what we hear from the left and the right seems to be very contrived to both. we have one extreme on the side, one extreme on that side. they will try to destroy things from the constitution. it is important we remember why this country was founded for and we remember our freedom and liberty and values that matter most to us. the left and the right, they are playing games with us. host: thanks, tim.

sandy from silver spring, maryland. does the state of the union still matter? caller: yes, the matter. tonight kevin mccarthy should not be allowed in that capitol. he is a disgrace. the most incompetent, disingenuous liar like he has always been. tell him to stay the hell out of there and get the hell out of washington. host: we are focusing on the president's address. caller: it's very important. there is a person, president biden. kevin mccarthy is a maggot. he is a disgrace. host: that is sandy in silver spring maryland. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. a story from the hill newspaper on the two dozen special guests

at the state of the union at the invitation the white house, including veterans as first responders, cancer survivors, mental health advocates, and the parents of tyre nichols. in the first lady's box, the list was unveiled yesterday by the white house. several individuals who highlight priorities on reproductive rights, access to safe drinking water, immigration, the economy and gun violence. among the most high-profile guests to attend the address our bo -- are bono, paul pelosi, husband of nancy pelosi who is recovering from that october attack at his home, and the parents of nichols, the man who died last month after being beaten by memphis police in an incident captured on video. president biden addressing the joint session at 9:00 p.m. eastern. our coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. we are talking about the state

of the union, asking if they still matter. go ahead. independent from massachusetts. caller: hello? i do think they matter. we have one of these. i know mr. biden will stretch the truth a little bit but hopefully our country comes together. also, the lady that just called about the new speaker, at least i don't think he will tear up the speech tonight. have a great day at hopefully our country gets together. host: that is dennis from massachusetts. gallup recently with some polling on that the state of the nation but the mood of the nation. joining us this morning to talk but that is muhammad yunus, editor in chief of gallup.

what have we learned about the mood of the nation? guest: with the exception of democrats on some issues the mood is generally dissatisfied. we have been asking about a series of policy issues and the general aspects of how things are going on in the country for decades, for over 20 years. we hit some record highs and lows. most of them are not going to be a surprise. the number one thing americans are dissatisfied with really is dealing with poverty and homelessness. 83% of americans are dissatisfied with that. 65% are dissatisfied with the level of integration -- immigration coming into the country. it really runs the gamut. the most impactful for all of us is the economy. most americans are dissatisfied

with the economy and have a pretty gloomy perspective on what will happen in the next six months. there are a lot of partisan differences on that. host: the headline on the poll, americans glum in most areas. how does that compare to other presidents as they prepared to talk to the nation about the state of the union? where does this rank historically? guest: it is a continuous story of slow decline. this is not something unique to biden's presidency. these negative perceptions we have seen track for the last three presidents. biden, trump and obama. the sense of americans about national government has been on a quick decline. it is interesting to note partisanship is always talked about and we see it in the data. that's a sign of this gradual

deterioration of what your previous callers talked about, the country coming together. it is a continuation of this slow decline, consistent decline with americans' level of satisfaction with many facets of life. that's a bipartisan sentiment, with some exceptions. host: let's dig into those differences you alluded to a minute ago. two that jump out from polling is americans' satisfaction with the influence of organized religion among republicans 60% very or somewhat satisfied with the influence of organized religion. just 34% of democrats. you skip to the bottom of what you are seeing on your screen. the size and power of the federal government. 14% of republicans saying they are satisfied with the size and power of the u.s. government. 52% of democrats saying they are

very or somewhat satisfied with the size and power of the federal government. those differences? guest: the most important problem consistently mentioned has been poor government and poor leadership. it is not just republicans. democrats are pretty frustrated with national government. in terms of the world of public life it is not surprising republicans would have a different demographic. the most important thing over time has been the degree to which the level of dissatisfaction has decreased. we used to see six d 5% -- 65% to 70% of the role of religion. that has waned quite a bit, coinciding with the rise of people who identify as none's who do not have a religious affiliation. the important differences are

among gun policy, attitudes about the quality of the environment. 62% of republicans are satisfied, 23% of democrats. i will point out when you look at the partisan differences, it's important to keep in mind this year republicans look a lot more like independents on many of these questions. it is democrats who stand out on some metrics. that is not surprising given the partisan swing. democrats with their president in office are more positive on a lot of metrics. look at independents. they are more similar to republicans on some of the metrics. one really important topic that is not get a lot of focus but consistently come up is concerns about immigration. over six in 10 americans are dissatisfied with the level of immigration into the country.

when we asked among the dissatisfied, 64% want less immigration into the u.s. it is not necessarily something democrats are overwhelmingly opposite on or happy about, the state of immigration policy. immigration continues to come up, both in terms of the most important problem and this satisfaction metric. the huge one is abortion. 72% of americans who are republicans say they are satisfied with the status of women in society. only 46% of democrats share that view. 30 never percent of democrats are satisfied with the nation's abortion laws. 13% share that view. the decision has triggered a big focus on women's rights and abortion as a topic in our

times. host: before you go, whether the state of the union address still matters. do you expect the change in the metrics after tonight's speech? have you seen that previous speeches can move some of these numbers? guest: not the speeches themselves. certainly big policy announcements can later on impact. we have not seen a huge change in the state speech in terms of americans being swayed. we are living in a very partisan time in our country. i cannot stress enough that 40% of americans identify as independents. it is a relative type. younger americans are identifying as independent longer than previous generations of young americans. not all is partisan but a lot of room for improvement. host: muhammad yunus, editor in chief at gallup. you can see the latest poll at

their website. we always appreciate you joining us to talk about some of the polling numbers here on washington journal. back to your phone calls this morning asking on this morning as the sun rises on capitol hill, president biden will speak after the sun sets tonight. he will speak at 9:00 p.m. eastern,ffing his state of the union addss does the state of the union address matter today? (202) 748-8000 five republicans --02) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 free democrats. -- for democrats. (202) 748-8002 for independents. guest: i will listen tonight. the democrats are in power and it will be promoting the things they believe they have done, which is fine. republicans do the same thing. the only thing i have to say, and this has irked me for years,

i hope mccarthy shows a little class tonight and does not resort to what nancy pelosi did a few years ago in tearing up the state of the union. the retribution has got to stop. i have faith you will not do that, not lower himself to that level. i will be interested to see with the president has to said. host: you are the second person to bring up that moment. why was that moment something that stuck with you so much when she tore up the speech she had that donald trump had just given? caller: it was not professional. i was not appalled by it. i just think it was uncalled for. whether you hate trump or hate biden for whatever, i don't think that was called for. the presidency is a position of the government that should have

respect. that is my opinion. i just think that was uncalled for. thank you. host: that was february 4, 2020. here is the final minute and a half of president trump's speech that year and the moments afterwards. [video]america is the >> place where anything can happen >> . america is the place where anyone can rise. and here on this land, on the soil, on this continent, the most incredible dreams come true. this nation is arkansas and this -- is our canvas and this nation is a masterpiece. we look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers waiting to be explored. our brightest discoveries are not yet known. our most thrilling stories are not yet told.

our grandest journeys are not yet made. the american age, the american epic, the american adventure has only just begun. our spirit is still young, the sun is still rising, god's grace is still shining, and the best is yet to come. thank you. god bless you and god bless america. thank you very much. [applause] host: february 4, 2020. president biden's state of the union address tonight.

coverage beginning at 8:00 p.m. eastern. let us know if you think the state of the union address still matters today. joe from maine. caller: of course it still matters but it is just to start t another election cycle. nothing has changed. they come out and one side says they have done anything. the difference between trump and biden, biden has things they claim and brag about his accomplishments. donald trump said every two weeks he would do infrastructure. he never did it. donald trump said he would repeal and replace obamacare. florida has the most people on obamacare right now today. today.

the state that donald trump lives in and he said he would repeal and replace. the whole republican party. they did nothing. they took care of the 1%, their donors. they don't want to be taxed. is kevin mccarthy going to say we shouldn't have to pay taxes? the 1%, the rich don't have to pay taxes? joe biden said he will in that. is kevin mccarthy going to say if you have a w2, the irs will show up in armored vehicles and drive for your front door and take all your money even though that is the biggest lie? it is not even in the policy. is kevin mccarthy going to get up and say we are protecting anyone who makes over $450,000? host: got your point, joe.

beverly hills, california. democrat. caller: hello? there is going to come a time in the future, maybe 100 years from now when they will get rid of this archaic system of republicans and democrats. you don't need parties. it should be the best man or woman that wins. the parties spend too much time arguing with each other. it is like it is two different countries. with the state of the union address, it is boring, it doesn't matter. it is with the person gets done. that is what matters. talk is cheap. unless it is some kind of an eloquent speaker like kennedy over obama, that is the only type you want to listen. they will get rid of the parties eventually because it is an archaic system. host: is there a memorable state

of the union address in your mind or moment you think did matter? caller: i don't know if it mattered but i enjoyed listening to an eloquent speaker like president obama. even when i was a kid, john f. kennedy, he was such a great speaker. if somebody is boring, you will turn the channel. unfortunately that is the mindset of the people in this country. they love entertainment. they love games. i myself have been an entertaining professor. that is what everybody loves me. you have to entertain people or keep their attention with a terrific speech. if not, it does not matter what you say. it goes to what you do. host: you mentioned former

president obama. back in january of 2010, this was his state of the union address in which he was responding to the supreme court's citizens united ruling. one of the justices sitting before him that night responding as well in his own way. [video] >> we have to recognize we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. we face a deficit of trust. deep and corrosive doubts about how washington works that have been growing for years. to close that credibility gap we have to take action on both ends of pennsylvania avenue. ban the outside work of lobbyists, to give her people the government they deserve. [applause]

now, that is what i came to washington to do. that is why for the first time in history my administration posts on our white house visitors online, we have excluded policies for policymaking jobs on boards and commissions, but we cannot stop there. it is time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my administration or with congress. it is time to put strict limits on the contributions of lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. with all due deference to separation of powers, last week the supreme court reversed the century of law that i believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations. to spend without limit in our elections. [applause]

i don't think american elections should be bankrolled by america's most powerful interests, or worse, foreign entities. they should be decided by the american people. i urge democrats and republicans to pass a bill that helps correct some of these problems. host: that was president obama back in 2010. this morning, on the morning of this year's state of the union address, asking if the state of the union address still matters. joe from pennsylvania, republican. caller: i think joe biden is the world's biggest liar. we didn't even know about this balloon until something looked up and seen it because the idea was let chinese steel are top-secret information on the

ballistic missile silos. get real. you know what is going on. you are trying to cover for joe biden's failed administration and all this failed stuff. they have eggs at six dollars a dozen. nice try to get up here tonight and tell everybody what a great -- host: we will go to alan. apologize for the language. hartwell, georgia. good morning. alan, you are with us this morning. caller: can you hear me? thank you for taking my call. i think it's important. it should not be televised. obviously since obama got

elected it has turned into a vaudeville show where politicians take every opportunity whenever cameras are on to show their smarts or whatever you want to call it. it should be a closed session and the president should address the full congress and be covered by news but not by live cameras. it brings out the worst in people. host: the first television broadcast of what was then called the annual message was 1947, president truman. you don't think the cameras were concerned back then? caller: we had more respectable people serving in office. today it is not a matter of who is qualified and who is respectable. it can -- it is who can draw the most money.

host: some other technological changes when it comes to the state of the union. 1923, the first radio broadcast of the message with president calvin coolidge. harry truman the firs t television evening delivery in the primetime television. lyndon johnson, 1965, the first live web cast on the internet. george w. bush in 2002. history.house.gov with a lot of historical footnotes. the longest state of the union was jimmy carter's 1981 address. a written address before going out of office. 33,000 words. the longest spoken address, bill clinton, 9190 words. the shortest, president george washington. just over 1000 words in his

annual message in 1790. the average length, 10,000 words in the 19th century. the 20 century, more like 5000 words. viola in garland, texas. does the state of the union still matter? caller: they you for taking my call. yes, the state of the union address still matters. i plan to listen to it. i think joe biden is a great president. he's done a lot of good things for the american people. as far as the second amendment, it's irrelevant today because of the type of guns we has in 1790 when the second amendment was initiated. those guns only shot once and then it took 30 seconds to get it reloaded. i guess i'm disappointed

sometimes the intellectual level of the people that call in because they curse and use profanity. i like my family members to listen but i don't like the profanity and the way some people talk. host: we don't like the profanity either. we like to keep the conversation respectful. that is what we try to do to give people a forum to call-in. we appreciate your thoughts. the last caller in this first segment of the washington journal. more to come this morning. democrat jim himes joins us, ranking member on the house intelligence committee. we will talk about the chinese spy balloon incursion and other congressional priorities for the intelligence committee. later, immigration policy with california republican tom mcclintock, who serves on the house judiciary committee. we will be right back. ♪

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balloon, the commander of norad saying this incident represents a domain awareness cap we have to figure out. -- what is a domain awareness gap? guest: that is one of those washington phrases that identifies you as an insider. we may not have been as good as we wanted to be at seeing it coming. in this particular instance the military was tracking the balloon for some period of time. as we look at the history of these balloons, in the past -- i don't know chapters verse but it appears in the past there were incursions that were chinese spy balloons possibly circling the globe. we need to go back and look to see if there were failures, if the administration handled this incident particularly well and see what we can learn from it. host: the wall street journal asked this question in their

editorial today. an $850 billion defense budget and we cannot detect the chinese airship? guest: it is my job to go back and see if it was detected in the past. that is a totally fair question. we spent an incredible amount of money on defense. the idea that you can float something the size of one of these balloons into this country and not have the military know about it is a very fair question. host: what can we learn as we sift through what is left of this and the recovery operation continues? guest: we are having an aggressive conversation about this colored by pre-existing partisan views. there is real value in the ability to recover this asset, as we have done, to look at the technology. there is real value having a conversation if the thing should have been shot down earlier, etc. there is value watching how it operates.

how maneuverable it is. what sort of electronic emissions is it emanating. we have learned about this and i look forward to understanding exactly what he was doing and its exact capabilities. host: did you think this is what you would talk about? guest: if you told me i would spend five days talking about a balloon, you would need to put something other than what is in the coffee cup. host: what are your priorities as you become the ranking member on this panel? guest: i'm excited to work with mike turner of ohio, chairman of the committee. we have worked to reestablish this committee as a -- what a traditionally was. a nonpartisan committee. when the committee investigated donald trump's behavior with respect to the ukrainian weapons it became very partisan. we have to get that back and i think we will. there are things we need to do that will bore most americans.

fisa needs to be reauthorized. one of the collection authorities our intelligence community has which saves lives every week and allows us to find bad guys needs to be reauthorized. that is something chairman turner and i are working on together. you pointed at this. is the intelligence community as sharp and capable as he wanted to be? our job is to be skeptical, to conduct oversight. we are looking for ways to make the intelligence community and the military and other elements of the national security operation as sharp as they can be. host: he talked about the committee become a partisan. what do you think about removing adam schiff and eric swalwell from the intelligence committee? guest: we all know what was happening. kevin mccarthy has a list of things he said he would do to

become speaker. this was on his list. there is a distinction. marjorie taylor greene and gos sar made violent threats against the colleagues. sschif -- that's an example, both adam schiff and eric swalwell were very experienced oversight members. now we don't have the benefit of experience. host: do you have congressman turner to blame for that? guest: no, he is not to blame for that. i think chairman turner -- i think of him as an old-school hawk. he wants to make sure the idea of peace through strength is there. the removal of adam schiff and eric swalwell was a leadership decision. host: congressman jim himes, ranking member of the select intelligence committee is with us for about 20 more minutes.

republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002. joining us at the beginning of a long day on capitol hill. the state of the union address at 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight. who are you bringing tonight? guest: they constituent who runs an organization called the childcare learning centers of stanford, one of the best early childhood childcare and child education centers in the country. why is it important? we are not supporting the youngest americans nearly as well as we should. too many five-year-old ceramic kindergarten not ready to learn. we just don't have enough support from families. it is not just about children. single-parent households, mom or dad, they don't have good options for their child. they are not in the workforce. if we can do better making sure

every american family had access to good, competent childcare we would be a stronger country. host: do you think president biden will talk about those issues? guest: i hope so. one of the challenges is we spent five days talking about a chinese balloon. we passed a trillion dollar infrastructure build on a bipartisan basis for the first time in a generation. we passed a gun safety bill. we passed a bill to make a huge investment in addressing climate change and with lower the price of prescription drugs. if you taking insulin, you are not paying more than $35. americans are worried about their economic well-being more than a balloon circling montana. host: we were in the green room.

the question to viewers, there a state of the -- does the state of the union still matter? guest: like so many things that happen in the capitol, it's a stage for the president for the members. one thing i noticed in the decade at been in congress is that we are less focused on working together to get things done and a lot more focused about moments you can put on instagram or facebook to get a little famous. i won't tell you i'm not guilty of that. what i hope we see tonight apart from a discussion of the economic wins the president has had is dignified behavior and attempt by members to calm the partisanship and find ways to agree on governing the american people. when i go back to my district, some people get pretty excited about the partisanship. an awful lot of people say stop it. you cannot spend 24/7 attacking

each other. i hope that is the feeling we get out of the speech tonight. host: taking you home to fairfield, connecticut. frank on the line from democrats -- for democrats. caller: good morning, mr. himes. i am pleased you are the ranking member on the intelligence committee. i believe once the democrats retake the house you should be aligned to be the chairperson of the committee. i want you to remember please do not forget the district as you serve in this high-ranking position. there are a lot of needs. what is improvement on interstate 95. traffic is once again building is your drive from bridgeport to stanford. the concert band of westport used funds from the american rescue plan to commission a piece of music. we will have a world premiere in greenwich in march.

the money was used from the wreck and rescue plan to commission a piece recognizing the effect of covid on the district. good luck with the new assignment. i wish you the very best. guest: thank you, frank and good morning, fairfield. even if i spend more time down here on national security issues, like every member of congress i have a wonderful district with terrific people to represent. i never forget my title is representative. i never forget my primary job is to do the best i can to represent 750,000 people in connecticut's 4th district. traffic on 95. a lot of people sitting in the traffic. when he asked me about biden's achievements, the first thing is infrastructure. trillion dollar investment in infrastructure on a bipartisan basis.

it is if you are around almost any big city in the u.s. california, miami, anywhere. we are trying to run a 21st century country with the 19th century infrastructure. if we don't have the same infrastructure the germans in the south koreans and the japanese and british have, we will not compete the way we want to. huge achievement finally getting in infrastructure build on. host: jennifer, line for republicans. you are on with representative himes. caller: i would like to remind the congressman went john wilson of south carolina yelled "you lied" at republicans, the republicans chastise him. nancy pelosi tore up the state of the union while trump was president sitting there before america and before the children of america. that was disrespectful also. people praised her for that. we keep going back and forth with this disrespect in front of

children. we wonder why children are growing up in a violent nation. our representatives are violent. we have to be able to call both sides out, cannot just sit back and say if the democrats did it, nancy was ok doing it. no, she was not. being disrespectful. call it. we are allowing representatives to be disrespectful in front of the american people. yes, the state of the union is important. i hope we will all act civil tonight and not get into our perspective -- respective corners of who we are as a party and start being disrespectful. the children watch this. when they reenacted we have children shooting each other here in virginia. shooting other kids in school. that is because we have got people -- these people are being

-- these children are disrespectful because they watch leadership being disrespectful. call on your colleagues and the republicans call on their colleagues to set a standard of respect tonight. guest: amen, jennifer from virginia. you are absolutely right. i alluded to this in the conversation we were having. the sad fact is that if you do something like tear up a speech or scream at the president or in some way bring attention to yourself, there's a minority of the population that loves you for it. you get on tiktok and instagram and you raise money. that's a whole other conversation about money and politics. i could not agree with more. we are anonymously privileged to have this job. it is a job we have temporarily and we have the obligation to treated with the dignity being a

representative of the greatest democracy in the world deserves. i'm not sure how often this happens but i cannot agree more with jennifer, republican from virginia. host: a bit of congressional trivia. that "you live moment -- lie moment," it was a joint address to talk about the health care plan. we have been talking about the state of the union addresses and if they still matter. we will continue that conversation today. congressman jim himes with us for the next 10 minutes. jeff is an independent out of birmingham, alabama. caller:. good morning during the trump administration similar balloons flew over the continental united states. i was wondering if those trajectories also happen to coincide with the spread of covid. i understand it may also have come from the northwest. taking a look at mass from these balloons, maybe matching that

with the maps of the covid spread. that should be the first priority. guest: we are in the process of understanding the history of these balloons. and air force general made a comment -- i have to get the exact words. during the previous of nutrition we had seen some of these balloons, including possibly over the united states. i want to step in on the covid question. there is no evidence whatsoever these balloons are in any way, shape or form involved in covid. the government is still working hard to understand the origins of the covid pandemic. it is made harder by the chinese unwillingness to share data statistics. ou expertsr -- our experts are confident it emerged in the city of wuhan. we don't know how or where it emerged.

i can tell you with certainty there is no evidence these balloons, as frightening as they may appear, are involved with the pandemic or any other weapon. host: the balloon question from bradenton, florida. why did canada shoot it down? -- didn't canada shoot it down? guest: it has become partisan that joe biden made the wrong decision. if donald trump had treated the balloon precisely the way joe biden did, my republican colleagues would be sending free baskets and bottles of champagne to the white house for his statesmanship. two things. we are learning a lot. the military advisers to the president advised him not to shoot it down over land because the risk that would represent. as someone who works in intelligence i will say it. there is immense value in

watching an asset like this up close. seeing how it moves, what it may be collecting. we can protect some of the things is looking at. if worried about it taking it exurban f-35 fighter jet, it can be moved into a hanger. we can mitigate the risk. they said there's a danger to bring in tons -- bringing tons of metal down and let's try to retrieve this thing as intact as possible. given his agreement mountaintop, you will be scraping its charred remains off a bunch of rocks. land to get or taking down overwater, hopefully it is in better shape. host: pasadena, california. edith on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. thanks are having me. i have three comments.

he talked about childcare. especially when there are single mothers. i'm hoping they would do something concerning that when these single mothers have to work and pay $1800 a month for rent and then over $100 a week for child care. how are they going to make it? i'm hoping they would get in. i believe they made a bad decision when they decided to take the young men and suspended license for child support. how are they going to get to a job? to me, that was backwards. they should find another way to let those men keep their drivers licenses. i am hoping they will go back and address that again and think

again how the damage these people that have to pay child support. guest: yeah. thank you for the comments. i'm not super current on what you are referring to with respect to drivers licenses and child support. i'm thinking that the state issue. i really appreciate the opportunity to highlight the challenges parents, particularly single parents have raising children. imagine you have a child and you get a crack at a new job that will pay you $30,000 a year. most of that money will go to paying for child care, what's the point? you have a single parent not in the labor force, a child not getting the same sort of education very early. i think this is something we can find bipartisan agreement on. the parties will have different views but senator romney had a

built in the last congress about doing better by providing every american with a good option for their kid. fingers crossed, i hope this is a focus. i spent the last congress as chairman of the economic disparity committee. in my district in southwestern connecticut i have some of the wealthiest people on the planet. i also have some cities where there is dire poverty. i see the spectrum. it was childcare and housing that really jumped off the page for me. if you just had two things to do. if you could make housing more available for people in communities where there is a lot of jobs, thinking about stanford, san francisco, boston, etc. if you can make housing more available and childcare more available, we would have a much more robust, rapidly growing economy. host: congressman jim himes,

ranking member of the select intelligence committee in the house. you are a member of the gang of eight. what does that mean? how does it change your day? guest: over the years this been a long negotiation between congress and the administration. this goes back to the 1960's and 1970's when the cia undertook activities that make congress nervous. now we have a world where there are these two committees on the house and senate side that get briefed on a most everything. the most closely held secrets are briefed to the senate select committee and the house select committee on intelligence. there are operational details that are so time sensitive or so sensitive generally, meaning if there was a disclosure people would die, critical sources would be hurt or terminated then just get briefed to the leadership of the two chambers in the leadership of the two committees known as the gang of eight. it is not used that often.

everybody wants for members to know. at the end of the day, in a democracy where we act on behalf of the people, if you have something that is secret, which is most of the operations of the intelligence world, that's uncomfortable. you want representatives of the people keeping an eye on that to make sure those secret activities are consistent with our laws and values. host: unclassified information, why declassified documents keep showing up in places they are not supposed to? guest: we have now seen the current president, the ex-president and the x vice president with classified information unprotected in the wild. that is bad. we obviously need to do a better job. i don't think it is a hard problem to solve. when you leave the white house,

someone with security clearance looks to the boxes. not a problem to solve. my republican friends were angry at the fbi's raid of mar-a-lago. as michael pence and joe biden have done, it is better to cooperate and abide by subpoenas and cooperate. that is what the fbi felt the need to go into mar-a-lago. we have a lot of work to do to make sure the classified information is secured. host: is it just the folks at the top are you concerned this is happening further down the line of who has access to these documents? guest: this is speculative on my part but i thing it's easy for this to happen in the white house and the vice presidential mansion. when i go in and get access to classified information, i go into a sensitive compartmented information facility. i have to take off my watch, put my iphone in a locker.

when i walk out i'm conscious of what i've got. if you work at the white house, the white house is a secure facility. you can take classified information and it gets spread around. when you have a presidential transition to have 24 hours to get packed up. the process is a lot sloppier in a transition then it is what people like me get regular access. host: this is tom in illinois, republican. caller: thank you for letting me speak on c-span. president biden was a senator when he took out a truckload of classified papers that were gone for almost eight years. representative falwell was going out with fang fang after his wife had a baby and then said

her back to china and it was swept under the rug. with mr. schiff, he lied to the fisa court and the whole russian collusion thing and nothing happened to him. 90 of the democrats hold people accountable. i was a democrat. we did not hold anybody accountable to what they do. you tried to sweep it under the rug -- host: congressman, the one to respond? guest: that's a lot of misinformation. the classified information president biden had was a result of his time as vice president, not as a senator. adam schiff never spoke to, testified, appeared in front of the pfizer court -- pfizer cour -- fisa court. eric swalwell, 20 was told a person might be -- when he was told this person might be

involved with chinese intelligence, he terminated that relationship. it's important we not be swayed by disinformation, facts that are just plain wrong. i appreciate tom's point. both sides need to be willing to say, as jennifer from virginia said, both sides need to be equally willing to call out problems on their side as they are on the others. tom put forward about six facts which were not true. we need to be careful about that. if we are that casual with the truth in our obligation as citizens, we will lose our democracy. host: judy in caller: i just have a couple of comments. first of all, schiff did light

to the country saying he had evidence against trump. secondly, we weren't talking about a balloon, we were talking about china spilling on our military facilities. as for the state of the union, i won't watch it, because i have an idea that byron -- biden is going to have a's beach with his this in the air. i was a democrat. host: want to be the final minute. guest: my hope is that the president sets a respectful tone. i think he will. that tone opens the door for

more cooperation. i can tell you how most of my constituents feel about how we operate which is, you have some people, and by the way, there is nothing wrong being a proud partisan, our government does work if we don't treat each other with respect and civility and if we don't understand the governing involves compromise to can't run the capitol unless you are willing to compromise. both parties will have a say. we will see. maybe 24 hours from now we will know. i hope the president is constructive and positive and sets the tone for us to work across the aisle more than we do today. host: i appreciate you coming on and appreciate having the calls. up next, more phone calls. later this morning, we will talk

about representative tom mcclintock. more phone cls and back to the question, does the state of the union dress matter today? the nuers are on your screen. start calling now eared weould -- start calling now. we will get to your calls after the break. ♪ >> the state of the unit is strong because you, the american people, are strong. >> president biden delivers the annual state of the union address, outlining his priorities. his first speech since republicans won control of the house. arkansas governor sarah huckabee sanders will give the republican response. watch tonight at 8:00 p.m.

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>> looking at the programs through c-span and c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker to washington journal daily, important congressional hearings throughout the day and weekdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern, catch washington today, for a past -- fast paced report of what is going on for the day. c-span, powered by cable. >> "washington journal" continues. host: back to the phone calls and the question we began with -- does the state of the union address matter? republicans (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, independents (202) 748-8002. the state of the union address tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. coverage begins at 8:00 p.m.

eastern. the republican response t state of the new address will begin five minutes -- state of the union address wl gin five minutes after it ends. it will be sarah huckabee sanders given the response -- giving the response. washington post headlines, sanders to give the response. we will air that after the state of the union address. it was yesterday morning at the white house that brian deese previewed some of the themes that president biden is expected to talk about tonight when he takes the floor of the house of representatives. this is some of what he had to say yesterday. [video clip] >> i think the president is hoping to do two things broadly when it comes to the economy in the state of the union. the first is to put the progress

we have made economically into the broader frame that really compelled him to run for president in the first place and the broader frame around what it actually means to pursue what he refers to as a bottom up, middle out economic strategy. and make a clear contrast to the trickle-down economic philosophy that has pervaded thinking for years and decades in the past. you will hear him talk about the progress we have made, but in that context that this has been an animating part of what the president has wanted to achieve as president and a real consistent vision that from the campaign to the early days, even as we have dealt with a variety of unexpected issues that we have had to work through, the president has had a vision of what it could actually mean to

grow the economy from the bottom-up. host: brian deese, the director of the white house economic council yesterday. you will hear from the president tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. does the state of the union address matter? joyce, oregon, independent, what do you think? caller: i don't think it does. i don't think the state of the union means anything to anybody, because the fact is we have the republican party who want trump back in office in they will do whatever they can to get him back in the office. right now, they are fighting over the debt ceiling and they don't care if the credit rating of the united states of america defaults. they don't care. they just want to down. why do we even have a president

if we have all this stuff going on. host: is there a state of the union address that you can recall in the past that matter to you? caller: a long time ago, there was the first irish president, he made the thing that it is not what your country can do for you, it's what you can do for your country. right now, we have the republican party taking control over everything and want to get rid of social security and medicaid and medicare. they want to get rid of everything. they want the states to take everything and they want everybody to go to church want to put laws in for this and that. i him tired of the united dates. no, it doesn't matter. they can speak all they want but

it doesn't make any sense. host: that is joyce in oregon on. this is the line for democrats. caller: i believe the state of the union address is important because if we didn't have it at the end of every cycle, then we wouldn't have the opportunity of seeing what our president has and hasn't done, what they promise to do and what they came through on. if we didn't have the state address, we wouldn't see how much trump is said that he was going to do and didn't. host: trevor in west virginia,

republican, good morning. caller: good morning here how are you? host: doing good go ahead. caller: in west virginia, they made medical cannabis legal finally. host: we are talking about the state of the union address. caller: i was wondering if the president was going to address the high cost of pharmaceuticals and the high cost of eggs, for example. to meet it seems like it coincides. they are pushing vaccinations on us and i think the country is going in the wrong direction with the pharmaceuticals. i wonder if the president will touch on any of those issues. host: that is trevor in west virginia. in the washington post today, the fact checker has a column looking at various fact checks that he does and offering up

various nokias for things that are not facts. -- various pinocchio's for things that are not facts. one has to do with medications. he said last year, let's cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it. he wrote, the inflation reduction act caps insulin at $35 but senate republicans used a parliamentary rule to strip that out of the bill. it provides a $35 monthly cap on insulin for those if the five and older who are on medicare. another aspect he took is extended the child tax credit which is what resident biden asked for so no one has to raise a family in poverty. congress failed to extend that provision and acted despite efforts to add it to the year

and spending bill. various parts of last year speech you can look at whether it did or did not happen after president biden called for it. this is mike in billings, montana, independent. good morning. caller: good morning, john, and what is left of america. i don't think the speech will matter much. i can't watch a state of the unit addresses, they are to cringe worthy and full of hype. i hope he answers the question of why -- living here in montana -- why he didn't bring the spy balloon down by shooting the airbag instead of seeking a sidewinder into the actual packet and shredding it over the ocean, or it will never be found. out here in montana, it might have scared some cows come but they could have brought it down safely.

we don't understand it here why he let that fly clear across the nation. host: on the state of the union, you say you don't enjoy listening to this president paired was there a president whose estate of the union address you did enjoy listening to? caller: we loved trump and his state of the unions. it was uplifting, reaganesque and full of hope and actual results that made sense. host: that is mike out in billings, montana. this is octavio out of las vegas, independent. caller: good morning, john. you know, john, when i see that building behind you and what it really means to me, being that i

am from another country, it really represents a lot for me, because it represents universal freedoms, and when i see how it is being used as a gas lighting, it really pains me. host: are you going to watch tonight? caller: yes, absolutely. i am going to watch it, because politics is really what we have

that is keeping us from killing each other, so i think it really matters, even though our real problems will not be solved -- they are going to be solved at the local level. i think it matters to watch it, but i really think that when nancy pelosi did that. host: that is octavio in las vegas on a president addressing a divided nation and divisions in the country. a couple of colors brought that up ahead of the state of the union address. c-span sat down with a clinical science professor to talk about various aspects in history of the state of the union address. one of the things she talked

about is how previous presidents have tailored their message in speeches to address a divided nation and government, which joe biden is now operating under in the united states with republicans in charge of the house and democrats in charge of the senate. [video clip] >> there are two ways you can go with this. you can try to identify bipartisan compliments and agreement. certainly biden is coming of a very tumultuous first few years in office but two years that feature bipartisan achievements and i think he will certainly want to highlight those. the other direction is to draw the distinction between yourself and the other party and try to say it here are some areas where our position on these issues are closer to the american people and closer to the founding values of the nation and try to hang the other party out to dry a little bit.

i don't have any speculation about how biden strike that balance. it was interesting to watch and i am sure biden has been watching maybe some old game tape of obama in the last couple state of the union addresses, where he actually went back on his comments at the 2004 democratic convention where he really articulated the strong sense of shared values across the two parties. he walked it back in one of his latest state of the union addresses and said, maybe we can't agree on some of these policies but perhaps we could agree on the very basic core values. he simultaneously tried to seek out bipartisanship but expressed disappointment in trying to lay blame at the feet of congressional republicans for the failure to achieve shared goals or establish shared values. how effective that is is not entirely clear. host: a political scientist

about the state of the union address. american history tv will feature the semester as part of our lectures in history series. you can see when she has appeared on c-span at our website, c-span.org. you heard about striking a balance and bipartisanship. here is another take on that from the pages of today's newspapers usa today, a column saying that president biden tonight should go wait woke in his state of the union address here is why he said that. right wing media land, we will say it over and over again, biden is in no particular order, and illegitimate most radical president america has ever had, dementia addled and incapable of completing a sentence, who has duped the people at every level of law enforcement.

week, tyrannical, inept and devious. he writes that president biden could stand before congress and an a plan to cut corporate taxes, mandate prayer in schools and name every airport in america after ronald reagan and it would do nothing to shape the conspiratorial constructs that every move he makes his demonic and nefarious. the question is, why bother? he said president biden should go away woke tonight's state of the union address. that in the usa today. this is from michigan, republican. caller: i just wanted to stay one former speaker pelosi tears it up, how does it mean anything? it should start at the top. as far as i am concerned, president biden does not sound like he is interested in his job. he is just there.

the things he has accomplished are so minute they are not mentioned. host: harry and salem massachusetts, good morning. caller: i am a joe biden fan and upset with this country because they say a lot of people in this country seem to want a dictator as long as they feel he is a dictator for them. everybody thinks joe biden is cringe worthy, i mean i can't believe trump still has a champ that he could be nominated for anything. yet here we are and joe biden has been very bipartisan and all he does is get attacked. i am very sad for the country.

i don't dislike trump as i am afraid of his supporters, because they obviously are willing to do it. god bless joe biden. i am unhappy that some democrats think he is not democratic enough. if it is not bernie, it is nobody, and is our other kind of republican side of the democratic party where they incidentally help the republicans by saying that democrats are not good enough. host: that is here in massachusetts. mike in santa cruz, california, republican, good morning. caller: the state of the union doesn't matter and it matters not just for people in the united states. there are a lot of things going on in the world that the president says does matter. what he does matters more.

the difference between the two is interesting. hopefully it becomes less and less overtime. host: you talk about over time as you watch the state of the union's what is a memorable one? caller: well, clinton, obama, reagan, bush, both of them. i think it speaks to the time. i think that is what the important part of the state of the union is and what it is today from the lens of the president and his speechwriters. but i would say, the last five or six have been, of those, probably obama's and reagan's were the most influential. host: you brought up bill

clinton as one of those you mentioned, taking viewers back to january 23, 1996. here is what president clinton had to say about the era of government coming to an end. [video clip] >> we have worked to give the american people a smaller bureaucratic government in washington, and we have to give the american people one that lives within its means. [applause] the era of big government is over. [applause] but we cannot go back to the time when our citizens were left to fend for themselves. [applause] host: president bill clinton

back in 1996. fast forward six years to 2002, it was george w. bush and his state of the union when he coined the term "axis of evil." [video clip] >> our second goal is to prevent regimes threatening america or our allies with weapons of mass destruction. some of these regimes have been pretty quiet since september 11, but we know their true nature. north korea has a resume arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction while starting its citizens. iran aggressively pursues weapons and exports terror while an unelected few repress the ring and people's hope for freedom. iraq continues to flaunt its hostility to america and support terror. the iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax and nerve gas

and nuclear weapons for over a decade. this is a resume that has already used poisoned gas to murder thousands of its own citizens, leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. this is a resume that agreed to international inspections then kicked out the inspectors. this is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world, states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world by seeking weapons of mass destruction. these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. they could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. they could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the united states. in any of these cases, the price

of indifference would be catastrophic. we will work closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and state sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver it weapons of mass destruction. host: president george w. bush back in 2002. we are asking you this morning, in 2020 three, does the state of the union address still matter? we will hear want tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern. coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. a couple of your responses from facebook to this question. al saying come of course a state of the union address matters. it is required by law and it is the report by one running the country on the state of the country. lawrence saying, most people here agree that yes, it is important and part of the way government works and shows

country and our world the way it actually works i the electoral college. most of the time it is just a victory from the president but it still is adjusting to watch. just a few of your comments. one more, it is required by the constitution, says gary, so it matters that way but otherwise not really. required when the cstution lays out the duty of the executive branch, article two seio threethconstitution states that the president al from time to time give to the core information on the state of the union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. we heard some of the preview of the measures that president biden will be proposing tonight here is another from the pages of the wall street journal today. president biden plans to propose dribbling the 1% tax on stock buybacks that took effect in january. white house said it would

encourage companies to invest in growth instead of listing shareholders. mr. biden will discuss those proposed changes during the state of the union address and tout economic progress since the early days of the covid-19 pandemic. that previewed in today's wall street journal. this is mike, santa cruz california, republican, does the state of the union address matter? caller: it sure does and we will find out why. it is more a matter of what do we do here? and the president speaks to not just the american people, he speaks to the world, to the people that work in the government and to the people who work against the government. it is very important for him to set the right tone and this should be interesting to see. i am looking forward to watching it. host: susan in new york, independent.

go ahead. caller: i leave it is very important. we need to hear what he has to say. any president, it is important. unfortunately at the time we are in right now, it is very difficult to get anything across. is constantly fighting each other. the most important job really is the house and senate. they make the rules and regulations and they vote on them. unfortunately, always seem to do is fight anymore about it. i think we should do for the whole country. we are having a hard time not only in our society, but the job market is great and the kids are earning more than ever. but somebody has to pay for kids working in the lower jobs for 15 dollars an hour. our economy is doing all right.

it is just that nobody ever seems to be satisfied. also, we are having so many drug problems in our country. also, we have to realize that the baby boomers have retired. they are not working anymore. we had a 74 million from 1945 to 1956. right now between 2020 and 2012, you only had 20,000. how are we going to make up for that? host: susan in new york this morning. it is just after 8:30 on the east coast and we are asking you about the state of the union address -- do you think it still matters? (202) 748-8001 for republicans. (202) 748-8000 for democrats. (202) 748-8002 for independents.

a few minutes after president finishes his address, we will hear the republican sponsors. this year it is in even by the governor of arkansas, sarah huckabee sanders. she was just sworn in last month to that post and the local story on it from the arkansas democrat does that, arkansas governor will deliver the revoking response to the biden state of the address. alex thomas from the gazette is joining us. why was the governor chosen to give the response this year? guest: governor sanders was picked because as republican eaters put it, she is building a divide between the new generation of republicans and they leadership values they have seen in previous leaders. mike huckabee was mentioned when sarah huckabee sanders was her teen years old in july 1996, --

was 13 years old in july 1996. there are new ideas they want to see going forward. mitch mcconnell calls for the new wave of republican leaders and the generation that can put forward new values and ideas and put the country back on track. host: at 40 years old, the youngest governor in the nation. what has governor sanders said she is going to talk about tonight? guest: she really wants to put this new idea of optimism in comparison to the biden administration as well as democrats who have been in power the last two years. she has only been in office for two months but has taken on issues conservatives are happy she is addressing. she has banned the use of tiktok on state devices, she has

prevented the use and teaching of critical race theory, ideas very popular among conservatives and very interested to see what she can do over her continuation of her time in office. host: the opposition party responses to the state of the union often an afterthought. has there been any talk or have you learned anything about how governor sanders for republicans will try to make sure this doesn't get lost in the mix after the address? guest: one thing you have to keep in mind is this address does represent an opportunity for leaders to make a statement and enter the national spotlight. this is an opportunity for governor sanders and republicans to utilize this speech. you do have the house that is

republican and policy goals they want to address, even with the split congress. host: she was just inaugurated last month. what are the early approval ratings? guest: sarah huckabee sanders entered office, and the trump administration, won her race easily and people are feeling confident in what she can do in arkansas. but keep in mind we are months into her time in office and there is a lot of time left for what she can do in office or this will be an opportunity for her to reset the course and show the people of arkansas what she wants to do and help the people across the country understand what she is capable of doing and republicans are capable of doing, not just in the next two years but possibly in 2025 if an publican -- if an republican is

elected. host: she said who she will support? guest: she said she is focused more on arkansas. we are still a few months away from getting more candidates aired at the same time, she did win -- candidates. at the same time, she did win office. we need to look at this as a 2024 gets deeper and deeper. host: arkansas online.com for more. he is a correspondent for the arkansas democratic that appeared i appreciate your time. guest: -- arkansas democratic. i appreciate your time. guest: thank you for having me. host: jonathan, republican. caller: i do believe it matters. any sitting president that has

an opportunity to address the nation, it is important, especially those who still believe this country could be the greatest country on the planet if we all come together and understand each other's opinions and respect each other. i am a democrat but i do have some republican viewpoints. and from the state of texas, most of my friends are republican. we should stand for fairness, opportunity for all to look after each other. i think the current climate we are in politically is just not good for the country. many of my friends who are now ashamed of voting for trump, i just think a president like that, whether they be democrat, republican or independent is

terrible for the country. the january 6, the covid lies. 300,000 people died because they believed in a lie. we have a good diversity of friends and the lintel -- the millennial mentality has changed. i am a baby boomer on the younger and, but i think the lie about the covid was very dangerous to a lot of asians being attacked. i never have to worry about my wife going out with a mask after he weaponized that. a lot of people pick that up and thought that was the reason why the country had covid. there are too many things the former president did to damage this country. one last comment, i think when

presidents and historians look back on president trump's time in office, they will realize he was a terrible resident for this country for a myriad reasons. thank you for taking my call. host: fred, delray beach, florida, republican. caller: good morning. i believe the state message is important, because people in this country like to know which direction we are headed and liked to hear what is going on in the government. unfortunately, president biden has not been truthful with the american people in almost anything he has talked about. i think he really doesn't have much to say about his accomplishments, so i am interested he has to say. thank you very much for taking my call. host: is 9:00 p.m. eastern when president bin expected to start speaking. coverage begins a8: p.m. eastern.

c-span.org and our free de app is where you can go if you are on the go and not by your television to watch the state of the union address. glenn in illinois, democrat, go ahead. caller: good morning, john. host: what you think about the state of the union addresses? do they matter? caller: yes, it does. i watched i don't know how many and i am watching this one too. i have a few things i would like to mention. brazil, with the january 6 thing they've got going down there. you do not see any of them that was involved and it. i don't know if they swept it under the rug or what they did.

we still have 17 of them running around in the congress. we need definitely to do something with them. host: you said you watch a lot of state of the union addresses, what is the first one you remember? caller: well, kennedy. they cut him too short. as far as i'm concerned, he was one of the best. i was so upset when he was shot. i watched obama's, which were excellent. i watched biden's last one, and

bush's, i watched all theirs. host: we are talking about the state of the unit addresses from the past. it was the first television broadcast of a presidential message, harry truman, the first time the state of the union address was given in prime time was in 1965, and that was president lyndon johnson. let me take you to 1960 four from lyndon johnson's state of the union declaring a war on poverty in his state of the union address this year. that is what he had to say. [video clip] >> unfortunately, many americans have lost hope, some because of poverty and some because of their color, and all too many because of both.

we want to help replace their despair with opportunity and this administration today here and now declares unconditional war on poverty in america. [applause] host: lyndon johnson back in 1964. let me take you a decade later to 1974, president nixon in his state of the union address talking about the watergate scandal. [video clip] >> mr. speaker and mr. president and my distinguished colleagues and guests, i would like to add a personal word with regard to an issue that has been of great concern to all americans over the past year. i refer, of course, to the investigations of this ok'd watergate affair -- of the

so-called "watergate affair." a great deal of material i gave voluntarily. i believe i provided all the materials he needs to conclude his investigations and to proceed to prosecute the guilty and declare the innocent. i believe the time has come to bring an investigation and other investigations in this matter to an end. one year of watergate is enough. [applause] host: then president nixon 49 years ago. back to europe phone calls and we are asking you does the state of the union address matter today? caller: this is out of alabama, independent, good morning. caller: i was thinking about the

state of the union. i am an independent and sort of conservative and i liked donald trump and think he did a lot of great things. joe biden, his state of the union, i wonder if he will plagiarize this speech when he did when he was running for senator and everything else because he plagiarize his all the time -- plagiarizes all-time. i voted for tulsi gabbard. she was a democrat and had common sense and left the party. i wish we had more independents in the primaries. i am talking about conservative independence. not the ones who believe in drag queen shows and that. joe biden, i just don't trust him here he is an embarrassment. my sons and my dad served in the

military, and he is an embarrassment. people overseas, my son said i can't believe they have a man like that. i wondered his speech if he is going to address china. i know his son has had his problems, and i know drug addiction is a disease, but you don't send a kid getting all of this for an money from marie's mom -- from burisma. i wonder if you will address that in his speech. i pray for people like that. he does is in embarrassment. host: if he doesn't bring up hunter biden, republicans are set to bring up hunter biden tomorrow in the united states house, as the usa today story notes the curtain is set to go up on the house republican

investigation into president biden and his family. the oversight committee is holding a hearing tomorrow showcasing the republican investigation into the democratic president and hunter biden, set to be a key focus of that oversight and accountability committee during tomorrow on capitol hill. this is tom in illinois, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, the state of the union address, of course, always matters, because it sets the tone for what's to come in politics and our government will work with the -- government and what the agenda will be and what the goals are. this year matters because we have a new speaker of the house for a first time in a while from the opposite party, now that nancy pelosi is out of office. secondly, all the criticism of

joe biden is a joke to me. i just find it obscene that people are bashing him like they do. this man served in the senate for so many years honorably and as vice president under obama and now is president. he saw us through covid. he has only 3% unemployment. he has an economy that is ready to bloom again. he restored our nato alliance. he has the infrastructure bill and the covid relief that he gave americans. he is lowering prescription drug prices for seniors. i see him as a stabilizing force in this country, maybe not as charismatic or well spoken as obama or other presidents were, but it sort of reminds me of

when gerald ford was president after nixon and watergate and vietnam when this country really needed somebody just to stabilize the country again. so i wish joe biden luck and hope he does a good job tonight in the state of the union address. host: that is tom in illinois. he began by talking about speaker mccarthy which will be different behind president biden tonight. mccarthy taking the seat that has been from former speaker pelosi. here is the headline from market watch, mccarthy pushing the president on the debt ceiling every -- debt ceiling. here is speaker mccarthy from yesterday. [video clip] speaker mccarthy: 90 days ago,

americans chose to give republicans the lead because we are finding solutions to curb inflation at its source, wasteful washington spending. we are already changing the behavior of this government. the runaway spending of the last few years is over. now we must return washington to a basic truth, that matters. -- debt matters. it is one of the most important opportunities congress has to change course. how we respond will determine what happens to our children and to their children in coming years and decades. the choice is clear, we can have reckless spending or we can have responsibility. we cannot have both. we can leave our children a future with higher inflation, higher interest rates, and crushing debt or we can leave

them free to pursue happiness as god intended. what americans want and what republicans are fighting for is a responsible debt limit increase that puts us on a path towards a healthier economy. we will curb wasteful washington spending to reduce inflation and return our government fiscal sanity. we will preserve our ability to defend this nation against threats abroad, cuts to medicare and social security are off the table. defaulting on our debt is not an option, but neither is a feature of higher taxes, higher interest rates and an economy that doesn't work for working americans. host: speaker mccarthy yesterday ahead of the state of the union address. tonight the state of the union address at 9:00 p.m. eastern and coverage begins at 8:00 p.m.

eastern we are asking you -- does the date -- the state of the union address matter? this is from janet in florida saying i will be listening because i want to hear this president in case he demeans us republicans because he often does. it is an opportunity to present an optimistic view for our future by appealing to the better angel our nature. that aspect should be embraced in these difficult times. alan and ohio, i think the best in for republicans be to listen to the message and see what parts we can work on in an parts and way. the american people are tired of the division. let's move forward and work together as one. stephen in mission saying i feel the republican response to the state of the union will be used to bash the president. sarah huckabee sanders, the governor of arkansas, given the republican -- giving the republican in response a few minutes after president biden inis is his address and walks

out of the chamber. back to phone calls. this is will, atlanta, georgia, independent, good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. the thing about the state of the union speech is is be dashed from the state -- it is from the constitution requiring it. the constitution is framed by 18 forms of the word capital e, elect, which means chosen from god. america is the promised land and we are required to adhere to god's dictate as being the one holy, unique, perfect entity in the creation, our sovereign and savior. host: this is las vegas, good morning. caller: good morning, how are you? host: do you think the state of

the union still matters today? caller: i do. i don't really think so in the case of the biden administration or joe biden because i do not think he is honest but we will see what the says and there will probably be more lies because i feel like he is not transparent at all and feel like he has created a lot of racial divide in the country. i don't feel like we ever get the real story of what is going on. then everything with china, it is not transparent. the american people deserve answers and we don't get them. host: did you have something you want to add? we will go to al in georgia, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i think it is very important. i know the american people got sidetracked the last 30 years when rush limbaugh came on the

scene with his non-truths and people pick up on it and now we have talkshows all over the country. i am a talk -- truck driver and i used to listen to that all day and it got to the point where it didn't register in my mind. i wish we could get back to the truth like i think it used to be. host: when did this countries to be great? caller: it was great because we all had people who believed in the american dream. even a black person like me, the great-grandson grandson of a slave. host: when was that time period? caller: i will be 69 next week and when i went to school and i went to school with all white kids and they treated me fairly and nobody ever made me feel like i was inferior. in my mind, if your neighbor it makes you feel like you are

somebody, you feel like you are somebody. most people aren't strong enough in your own mind to feel like you are somebody we need each other to build each other up. host: this is brian in the buckeye state, republican, good morning. caller: i agree that the state of the delusional address will be important. i don't think the president -- i have two good seeing eyes and a wallet, and i will tell you what, people saying the economy is doing great and will say dobbs are up, i don't -- say jobs are up. i don't see it, my pocket doesn't see it in my bank account doesn't see it. i wish one time we could just say some truth about it all and get it out there and say, we are in a bad place. we all know we are in a bad

place and it is time to get out of that bad place. host: one thing the president is likely to do tonight is talk about the special guests the white house has invited to the state of the union, a tradition started by ronald reagan during his time in the white house. this year we note two dozen special guests will attend at the invitation of the white house. the most high-profile is bono of u2, paul pelosi, husband of nancy pelosi recovering from the attack, and the presence -- parents of tyre nichols, the man killed by police captured in the video. each member of congress can bring one guest to the state of the union. the washington times with a wrapup of a few.

congressman greg steube, the florida republican, remains on leave after falling off of a la dder is asking the man who called 911. that call provided him immediate attention after his fall. he called him a good samaritan. michael weinstock, a former ground zero volunteer firefighter will be the guest of congers been george santos of new york, the republican announced, a former assistant district attorney and special victims bureau volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician. mr. weinstock said he was a proud democrat but greatly appreciative of mr. santos' invite and mr. santos said he was grateful for his guest to accept that invitation. a couple notes and certainly

there will be more throughout the day. members usually announcing special guests leading up to the state of the union. this is charlotte in tuscaloosa, alabama, a democrat. does the state of the union address matter today? caller: it does. one thing i wanted to say, and this is all i have to say, they are going after president biden and his family but they never went after trump and some of his kids? i have one final statement i would like to make. how long are you going to live this life, this truth stands alone. the light started in 2016 when president trump came down the escalator and he has kept this

lie going on and you keep doing things and you complaining about what president biden is it doing, but what are you doing? be appreciative of somehost: sae segment of "washington journal", ohio, good morning. do they matter? caller: yes, good morning, it does matter. i think the republicans need to roll up their sleeves and work instead of blocking the debt ceiling limit because those are built already paid -- i mean that need to be paid so it does not include the economy right now. so they need to raise the debt ceiling and make things better for the united states of america. host: sarah in ohio. it's 9:00 a.m. eastern. , another member of congress,

tom mcclintock, member of the judiciary committee, to talk about the committee efforts on border control policy. stick around for that discussion. we will be right back. announcer: on wednesday, the house oversight committee will hold a hearing looking at twitter's handling of the hunter biden laptop story with testimony from three former twitter executives. watch the hearing live wednesday, beginning at 10 a clock in eastern on c-span3, on c-span now, the free mobile video lab, or specie -- or c-span.org. >> the name of america, which belongs to you in your

national capacity -- >> fourscore and seven years ago -- >> ask not what your country can do for you -- >> throughout american history, presidents have delivered pivotal speeches from inaugurations, kinds of challenge -- times of tragedy and challenges, and war. watch speeches that define a presidency on american history tv, hear from george washington through reenactment -- reenactments to john f. kennedy, lincoln, and barack obama. it will feature lincoln's 1863 gettysburg address given during the ceremony of gettysburg. it is reenacted by an actor. >> our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation , conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. announcer: watch our 10-part series, speeches that defined a

presidency, saturday at 930 -- 9:30 a.m. eastern. on c-span two. ♪ announcer: c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington live in keep up with the days biggest events with live streams and floor proceedings from u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics, all at your fingertips. also stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find scheduling information for c-span's tv network and c-span radio, plus a variety of podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play, download for free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime and anywhere. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: california republican tom mcclintock joins us now in the

hundred 18th congress, chairing the subcommittee on immigration, integrity, and enforcement. in the next two years as you leave the panel, how do you achieve those three things? immigration, integrity, security, enforcement. guest: similar book, we restore the policies of the trump administration that has secured the borders for the first time in a generation. the border wall was nearing completion, we were enforcing court ordered deportations, and the remaining mexico policy was phenomenally successful. on inauguration day, joe biden repeal those policies and since then we have seen 2.9 million illegal immigrants enter our country and stay here. that is 1.7 million deliberately admitted by this administration and another 1.2 million got away , who evaded border patrol as they were completely overwhelmed, changing diapers and taking names.

so that took 2.9 million, the entire population of the state of mississippi, since this of ministration took office. virtually all them impoverished and you tell me how we are -- how we improve our schools by packing our classrooms with non-english speaking students. how do we improve our hospital access by flooding emergency rooms with illegals demanding care? how we make our communities more secure by making it virtually impossible to deport criminal illegal aliens and inviting cartels into our neighborhoods. and the gangs that support them. how do we help working americans by flooding the labor market with cheap illegal labor and how do we strengthen our social safety net for americans, by adding 2.5 million impoverished people that have no legal right to be here. host: what is the role of the

judiciary committee in this process when you control one chamber of congress and democrats control the senate and white house? guest: we have to do two things, first sound the alarm, second remind people that the policies we had in place did work and, third, make adjustments in our immigration policies so this does not happen again. that starts with providing for a title 42 like authority for immigration, not public health, specifically for immigration. the bill we plan to bring up the next several weeks. >> title 42? guest: that's a public health measure that says in a public health emergency a president can order illegal immigrants turned away the border. that is the vast majority of the expulsion we have seen, under title 42. that was for covid, about to

expire and the first bill we are going to bring up is one to establish a new title 42-type mechanism, specifically linked to the availability of detention facilities. host: why will this expire if it is working and when i keep it in place? guest: because it's a public health measure, not immigration measure. host: the customs and border protection announced a drop in their border arrests, trimming it to new policies put in place by the biden administration. guest: new policies are to bypass the border and bring illegal aliens directly into the country, but with no adjudication of their asylum claims. instead of remaining in their own country and going through the asylum process, they are brought into the united states, released, and that is sibley bypassing the border at taxpayer expense i might add. it is not solve the problem, it makes it worse. down into yunus ector a few moments ago, the border patrol agents said don't send us more money because they will only

spend it to expedite admissions of people into this country. that is what they are doing, through a different mechanism. host: what to to send them? guest: they want the laws enforced. we are the congress, we write laws, we cannot enforce them. what new laws do you need us to write? unanimously they said we do not need new invigoration -- new immigration laws, we need to enforce the ones we have. if you stop and think about it, that is true. donald trump enforced those laws and brought yo -- brought illegal immigration to a trickle. those policies were reverse. those policies have gone unenforced and we have unprecedented migration, the magnitude of which i don't think any system has survived. without borders we have no country. host: congressman tom mcclintock , no stranger to washington journal viewers.

we have you told the bottom of the bottom of the 10:00 a.m. eastern, you can stay longer if you want. republicans, (202) 748-8001, democrats (202) 748-8000, independents (202) 748-8002. he will see a lot of him as the chairman of judiciary subcommittee on integrity, security, and enforcement. that's his role the hundred 18th congress and member of the budget committee i should note but staying on immigration issue, this administration has talked a lot about sorting out the root causes of migration and funding to address the root causes of migration in these countries where these folks are coming from. what are your thoughts on that? guest: we had known two years to do that. how is it working? host: how is it working? guest: while every month we reach new records in illegal immigration into this country. california, last year, -- gallup warns us there were 42 million people impoverished just in the

light american and caribbean that attend -- intend to come here. and now that they can, they are in record numbers to see this impact every community in america. when you had a population the size of the state of mississippi in 25 months something will give. i'm afraid what will ultimately happen is we will see one of two things, either a coordinated terrorist attack by elements that have come in through the poorest southern border and we intercepted around 100 of them in the last year or so, known terrorists, we do not know how many unknown are among the 1.2 million that have evaded interception. it'll either be that or the kind of cartel gunbattle we've got breaking out across mexico. ones that spills into this country a think a lot of innocent americans will be killed. at that point i think it will shock the conscience of the nation and there will be a swift response. until then, all we can do is

prepare the additional laws we believe will stop this from happening in the future. and pray for a president who will actually take care that the law must be faithfully executed. host: to your budget committee work and the debt ceiling, calls for spending reduction, how does this play out in the coming weeks and months? guest: i don't know. i can't tell fortunes so i cannot tell you what is ultimately going to happen. we do have to increase the debt limit. we have spent trillions of dollars of money we don't have. we maxed out credit card, that is what the debt limit really is, the credit limit on the nations credit account. but the reason why we have a debt limit is to pause -- what any family would do if they exceeded their credit limit and had to get an increase, they better also sit down around the kitchen table and have a serious

discussion about why they are spending more than they are taking in and what they can do to change that. that is where the -- that is what the debt limit is therefore, to prompt that discussion. it is disappointing when present biden said he would not negotiate this. what does he think that big building with the dome on top is all about? it is all about negotiating our differences. that is the way we resolve differences as americans, we talked them out. for the president to say he is not willing to even discuss it is appalling. ultimately we will have to have those discussions and there will have to be serious discussions. we've got to bring spending down. it vastly exceeds our resources and otherwise the markets will, at some point, step in and does their own credit limit and that will be a painful one, a sovereign debt crisis. that is what countries like venezuela have been going through. it is not a pretty picture so either we figure out how we get our finances under control or the market will simply demanded.

host: we have callers for you this morning. joe in mountain home. good morning. caller: how are you all doing? host: good. go ahead. caller: ok. as a retired army sergeant, i served more than 22 years defending this country. i served in korea, in vietnam, in other countries. they all have borders and secured their borders. you could not enter the country without a passport. now, what is happening to our country today is a mockery of the men who fought and served for this country to secure this country. we've got a president that does not care. it's the new world order. they are sending their people here. i understand them people want to come here. it is -- there is a right way to come here. i have two sons and they are worried about their jobs. they are worried some people are

going to come here and take their jobs and they are probably going to have to train them to take their jobs. this is a disgrace and we are laughing mockery of our great country. there is a right and wrong way. joe biden needs to be impeached. we keep talking and talking and talking. on your subject about -- host: let me take up the issues with your congressman. guest: i think you are absolutely right. first of all i do not think this is carelessness or recklessness on the part of the president. i think this is deliberate policy and that has been very clear. the people i found two are the angry us about illegal immigration are legal immigrants who obeyed all of our laws, who waited patiently in line, who did everything our country asked of them and are now watching millions of illegal immigrants cut in line in front of them.

it is an affront to the rule of law and direct threat to our countries of survival. history is clear in two subjects, number one, countries that either cannot or will not defend their borders are not around long and countries that bankrupt themselves are not a lot -- not around very long and we are doing both in real-time and it is on our generations watch, our generation's response ability to reverse this before it brings down what lincoln called the last best hope of mankind on this earth. host: would you tell the color he is right when he says press her biden needs to be impeached? guest: impeached is used for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. i think the appropriate thing to do is now we have a slim majority in the house to use the power of the purse to restrict policy, to adopt out of the house those laws that need to be changed and await the american people response and deliberate

-- deliver a senate and president that will enforce the laws. host: johnny, independent, you are on with congressman clint talk. -- mcclintock. caller: if we are that worried about people fleeing their countries and coming here, wouldn't we want to stop the plundering of their countries? wouldn't we just want to clean the debt and allow these people to have the sovereignty of their own country to set the prices for the natural resources that's fair to them so that way they can be able to have an economy to provide for their people? guest: there are billions of people on this planet who live in poverty and violence. if we were to admit all of them into this country, this country would no longer exist. that is why we have immigration law, not to keep people out but to assure as people come to america, they come with a sincere desire to become

americans, to raise their children as americans, to adopt common language, a common culture, and a common appreciation of american constitutional and founding principles. illegal immigration undermines that process of illegal immigration that makes our country possible in the first place. and it provides a hope for those who are actually targeted for oppression by their own governments. that is what it is for, not for people who want to come to the united states because it's a great country, it is there specifically for those people who have been targeted by their government and the moment they cross the first border as they leave the jurisdiction of that government, they have now separated themselves from that government and are only -- and they're only right to asylum is in that country, not to cross through five or six countries to come to the united states and not because they have been targeted by the government, civilly because they want a better future.

host: gus is a democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for having me on. i would like to ask your spokesman there, how would he like to be told where he belongs? we are supposed to be a free country, freedom and justice for all. if we do not have a border, we don't have a state. we don't have borders, we don't have states in this country. it should be the united states of north, central, and south america. i now mexico should be part of us and the rest of the latin countries. that is how you be china, not keeping people for not being free. we came over and slaughtered the indians, the mexicans aren't coming to slaughter the white people, there coming to work hard, put protists -- produce on our shelves and you are trying to keep them out. guest: that is certainly the dominant view of the democratic party today. i think you summed it up very

well. i just wholeheartedly disagree with it. a country without borders is no longer a country at all. ours is a shining beacon on a hill. our constitutional principles, our reliance on individual liberty and constitutionally limited government produced the happiest and most prosperous and successful civilization in human history. dissolve those borders and you destroy that which is unique about america but what you have summed up is exactly what i hear from the democrats in congress, i have to compliment you on putting it so simply but i would also add we are not only a nation of liberty and justice, we are a nation of laws and we insist those who come to our country will obey our laws and everyone who crosses the border without permission has committed a crime and an affront to the

laws of our country and sovereignty of our nation. host: congressman mcclintock with us. we are set to hear from the president at the united capitol, state of the union address, and we have been talking to viewers about the question. the state of the union address, does it still matter today? guest: i think so. again, i'm not likely to be doing much applauding plotting to the resident says. we will see what he says but i do not anticipate doing much but it is an important function within our constitutional framework. the president reports from time to time to the congress on this state of the union. that is part of the constitution dialogue that makes our country a free and gives us the fodder to resolve our differences.

you have to lay out where you stand. i am hoping the president will take a page from bill clinton's book when after he lost the house of representatives appeared before the congress and said these policies are not working, i get it. the era of big government and over was his exact words and he reached across the aisle and worked with republicans to reduce taxes, to restrain federal spending. reduce federal spinning by 3% of gdp in those years under bill clinton. and to end welfare as we know it, stop paying able-bodied people not to work or at least to look for work. that is what i hope he does and if he does it will be a phenomenally successful term and probably reelected as bill clinton lied. -- bill clinton was.

i'm afraid we will see doubling down on bad policies that have been to a point we are now three quarters of americans say the country is going in the wrong direction. host: plenty of collars still waiting to chat with you. robert in indiana, you are on with the congressman. caller: you are right on the money, we need change in our government. i don't think the democrats will work with you because biden does not know what he is doing. we've got a bunch of idiots out here. i hear the democrats call in and they make no sense whatsoever. you have got to have your birders -- borders correct and trump had it in order but they just keep riding him and he has been out of office in two years and look at our country. guest: i would differ on one point, i think the president

knows exactly what he is doing. i think these are deliberate policies, because they are strongly supported by the democrats in congress and, when people ask me, how could this be happening to our country? i have to tell them if you voted for biden and the democrats this is is ackley -- is exactly what you voted for. if that surprises you, you were not paying much attention. i think we as americans are going to have a great discussion among ourselves about the direction of our country and future of our country. we started having that in the last election cycle. i think we have a lot more talking to do among ourselves if we are going to change this government. host: a question via twitter from one of our viewers, if the congressman is so into people obeying laws, what is he doing to meaningfully prosecute organizations and other employers who hire undocumented immigrants?

guest: we have to do a lot more. that's an important question. one of the bills we promised the people through the commitment to america is an e-verify verification that anyone seeking opponent has to go through the system. you simply submit your name and social security number and the federal government will come back and verify you are either a citizen or legal resident or you are not. when you give a store clerk a credit card, that store clerk knows everything -- needs to know everything about your credit. why can't we do the same thing for employment? that is a bill congressman ken calvert has introduced repeatedly in the past sessions of congress. he introduced it again and it is one of the key reforms that we expect to pass out of the house this year and hope perhaps in the next session to see signed into law by a new president. host: this is john, line for

democrats. caller: good morning. i just had a few questions or comments. you said it was a crime to cross the border. i wondered if that was a misdemeanor or felony. guest: it is a misdemeanor. and by the way, one of the other bills in our package is to make these over stays the same misdemeanors. and that is a crime, punishable by i believe six months in prison. caller: congressman, if i may, the international law says if i seek to make a claim along anywhere along the border but if you say the cartels that are so scary, you don't want to let immigrants stay in mexico even if they came to say venezuela, you are ok with them staying with the scary cartels you are so scared of? guest: the other half of the law says if you cross the border and claim asylum, you must be

detained until your asylum claim is hard, not released into the country. in fact, 800,000 of the 1.7 million illegal immigrants this administration is the liberally admitted into the country, nearly half had been admitted into the country even without a legal notice to appear in court. host: lakeland, florida, good morning, your next. caller: praise c-span for letting us ask our congressmen questions. i heard a recent escutcheon that said the deficit is because of the republicans showing favor to -- favoritism to the superrich. reagan cut taxes, george bush son cut taxes, trumka taxes, so 31 chilean dollar result of republicans showing favoritism to rich people so they can have a second yacht instead of providing health care for poor and working-class people so what is your reaction to the idea the

deficit is because of favoritism to the rich cutting taxes? and what are republicans going to do to help working and poor people in this coming congress? what are your plans to help struggling people instead of showing more favoritism to the superrich? guest: first of all, i -- you have to look at the record. trump tax cuts and reagan tax cuts produce more revenue after we cut taxes than he had before. that was the positive impact they had on the economy. but cutting taxes without cutting spending is a fools errand. once you have spent a dollar, you have already decided to tax it. the question is what format -- form that tax takes. it's either tax now which reduces your current standard of living, borrowing, which reduces your future standard of living, or you print the money and you pay it back every day through higher prices at the gas

station, grocery store, and everywhere else you spend a dollar. so it is not taxcutting that is important, it is cutting the spending to borrow the old clintonian line, it is this spending, stupid. that's far as helping working americans, the policies of the trump administration did that. we saw the strongest, fastest wage growth in this country in 40 years under the trump policies. 40 years, and most of that was working-class americans. it was very much a working-class economic boom. we stopped illegal immigration, that brought down competition for working-class jobs. at the same time, we reduced taxes and saw this incredible expansion of the economy. a lot of those were corporate taxes, and people think i don't pay corporate taxes and of course you do. there are only three ways a

corporate taxes paid, he was a consumer through higher prices, you as an employee through lower wages, or an investor with our earnings, your 401(k). those policies worked and we need to restore them. it is not the party and it is not the individual politician, it is the policies produced by these politicians and parties and the policies of the last administration -- whatever you think of donald trump personally, they worked and worked well. for the first time in a generation, the wage cap was narrowing under these policies. that is what we can do for working people. host: on cutting spending, i want to ask you about this spending from roll call, lawmakers to the pentagon curtail defense spending in the picture that goes with that story is elizabeth warren, one of the signatures of that -- signatories of that letter. guest: i agree with ronald

reagan that defense is not a budget issue. you spend what you need to spend in order to defend the country. that does not excuse waste within the defense budget. basically the wish list are, once they have gotten their budget put together, then they have this wish list of other things they would like. host: do those usually a funded? guest: quite often. -- get funded? guest: quite often. they are high-priority items, a budgeting trick, you put your mid-level priorities in the budget and reall important ones outside the budget and then you get all of them. that is one of many tricks the pentagon has used. i can go through a long list of things where they are undermining national security by wasting immense dollars. host: one more call, ron has been waiting out of san clemente, republican, ron, you will be the last caller with the congressman, mcclintock. caller: our mentor and great

mentee for the years ahead and behind, we call in honor of gil ferguson, the great assemblyman. we call in honor of bill dan meyer and of course bob jordan but we have to remind you of something, sir. remember the hungarians -- hungarian revolution in 1956 when eisenhower brought in hungarians because of what the russians had done? we have about 15 million ukrainians that should also be coming to this country too. what are you going to be doing about them? host: congressman, i will give you the final minute or so. guest: i would like to ensure they are able to defend their own country, which is what i think they prefer to do. a number of ukrainian immigrants want to go back, so they are coming here because they have been attacked by a foreign

nation. i would rather see ukraine defend itself, retell that invasion, and sent a message to every rogue leader around the world of that is a pretty bad idea to attack a neighbor. i think if ukrainians are able to prevail or inflict unacceptable damage on russians, kim jong-un and jean paying -- xi jinping and others will have thoughts about their extraterritorial designs. host: tom mcclintock, the chairman of the judiciary subcommittee of security, integrity, and enforcement, appreciate the time. guest: thank you for having me. host: in our final 30 minutes, we will return to the question we begin with us morning, 12 hours from now we will watch the state of the union address. we are asking you, does the state of the union address matter today?

the numbers are on your screen, start calling in now and we will get your all's after the break. announcer: the name of america, which belongs to you in your national capacity -- >> fourscore score and seven years ago -- >> asked not what your country can do for you -- >> throughout american history, presidents have delivered pivotal speeches from inaugurations, times of tragedy and challenges, wars, and farewells. on saturday, watch the second of our 10 part series, speeches that defined a residency on american history tv. hear from george washington through reenactment, john f. kennedy, ronald reagan, george w. bush, and barack obama. this week will feature abraham lincoln's gettysburg address,

given during the official dedication ceremony for the national cemetery of gettysburg in pennsylvania. the speech is reenacted by an actor. >> our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation , conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. host: watch our -- announcer: watch our 10 part series, speeches that defined a presidency, saturday at 9:30 a.m. and p.m. eastern, on c-span two. announcer: preorder your copy of the congressional directory for the 118th congress, your access to the federal government with file and contact information for every house and senate member, important information on congressional committees, the president cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. scan the code at the right to preorder your copy for early spring delivery, 29 didn't he thought -- 29 dollars $.95 with

shipping and handling and every purchase supports our nonprofit organization at c-span.org. announcer: "washington journal" continues. host: 25 minutes from now the house will come in for the day for morning hour and we will take you for live gavel-to-gavel coverage when they do in about 11.5 hours from now. the state of the union address, resident biden is said to address the nation after 9:00 p.m. eastern. c-span coverage of the address begins at 80 clock p.m. eastern. one other programming notes, at 10:00 a.m. this morning, the house oversight committee holding a hearing on the issue of the border crisis. two ages from u.s. customs and border protection said to testify about security situation at the u.s. other border. you can watch that on c-span two, also on c-span.org and the free c-span now you at. now back to the question we have been asking you on the state of the union day, do you think a

state of the union address matters in this day and age? (202) 748-8000 for democrats to call in, republicans it is (202) 748-8001, independents, (202) 748-8002. jeannie in charles, city iowa -- charles city, iowa, what you think? caller: yes, i do feel it is important because we get an idea of what the president is thinking and what he wants to put in to legislation and changes he wants to make. but both republicans and democrats need to respect that, and the last couple years, seeing how they respond to them, the state of the union address,

i think is terrible and i really felt it was terrible what nancy pelosi set up there and tore up donald trump's state of the union address. i thought that was very disrespectful. host: nancy pelosi will not be behind the president tonight as she has been in most recent presidential addresses. she will be on the floor along with the rest of the members of congress. speaker mccarthy will be sitting behind the president tonight along with the vice president, kamala harris. a different view behind the president from recent years. in terms of the official republican response, it will be governor sarah huckabee sanders, the governor of arkansas, tasked to give the republican response. the youngest governor in the nation, inaugurated last month, her response is set to begin about five minutes or so after president biden ends his address

and walks off the floor of the house. perhaps around 10 p.m. eastern. this is sherry in north carolina, democrat, good morning. caller: yes, i think we should have it. i'm also disappointed when the republicans never stand up. it shows the world we are not altogether and gives a bad image , especially now with what china did. i went down to myrtle beach and saw the jets and felt so patriotic when i saw our jets surrounding the chinese balloon. tonight, when the president speaks, i hope the republicans and democrats and independents altogether -- all get together and let's all be one. host: were you disappointed during the year donald trump gave the state of the union address that democrats did not always cheer or stand up?

caller: yeah, i was disappointed too. i hate to be religious but jesus says we should love one another. host: that is sherry in the tar heels estate. staying in north carolina, wilmington, this is dave, independent. caller: good morning. i want to say one of the problems we are having in this country is majority of americans between new york and california are pretty moderate and neither party puts up moderates or the republicans never put a blue dog send democrats i don't even want to get in that. we need candidates that are more with -- i will not watch the state of the union address because i think it is slanted. a two-party system would work at both parties have to realize they're shooting themselves in the foot by putting up extremes

pandering the extreme left or right. host: who's an intelligent moderate of either party you would like to see run in 2024? caller: i kind of like to santos. trunk, i don't want to deal with that stupidity, and i'm just not thrilled with what biden has been doing in pulling out of afghanistan. the answer the question, it would probably be tulsi gabbard. i light may -- i like mayor pete buttigieg and to some degree like ron desantis. there are some things i don't agree with either but that's another story. host: dave in north carolina. this is nancy in the buckeye state, good morning. caller: good morning. good morning, everybody. i have been listening to everybody's comments and i have to say i'm really upset. why? the state of the union address was so important to me until nancy pelosi destroyed it when she tore up behind donald trump

those papers. so now here we go with biden. biden promised to unite the country. the only biden -- only thing biden has done is divide the country. he brought back racism, he brought back everything we put back decades ago and now it is here today. so no i'm not going to watch the state of the address this time. host: nancy in ohio, bringing up the moment at the end of former president trump's 2020 state of the union address in which nancy pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech. here is the final minute 30 seconds from february 4, 2020. pres. biden: america is the place -- [video clip] >> america is a place where anything can happen, where anyone can rise. here on this land, on this soil come on this continent, the most incredible dreams come true.

this nation is our canvas and this country is our masterpiece. we look at tomorrow and see unlimited frontiers waiting to be explored. our brightest discoveries are not yet known. our most thrilling stories are not yet told, our grandest journeys are not yet made. the american age, the american epic, the american adventure has only just begun. our spirit is still young, the sun is still rising, god's grace is still shining, and my fellow americans, the best is yet to come. [applause] god bless america. thank you very much. [applause]

host: tonight is another state of the union address that begins at nine a p.m. eastern. the coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. doug, do you think a state of the union address still matters today? caller: it showed. number one, i'm not a democrat, i'm a republican. republicans are calling in too much. nancy pelosi has embarrassed herself. host: got your point but we try to keep people who call in on the lines that best sooth them, otherwise it gets pretty out of order here as we try to rotate through the lines and give everybody a chance to give their thoughts so we ask you tried to stay to the lines that best identify with you. this is nancy in houston, independent. good morning. caller: good morning.

i won't be watching either. ever since nancy pelosi tore up the speech from trump, i have no desire to listen to biden lie. every time that man speaks it is a bunch of bull krapp. he never tells the truth. why listen? why am i going to spend two hours listening to that? i don't need to. thank you. bye-bye. host: car in california, republican, you are next. caller: good morning. i'm a small farmer and i guess i am speaking for a large number of small farmers in california. as many farmers that leased property from california edison, for 40 years, there are dairyman in california, arizona, and nevada. our land was taken from us and i am hoping the president looks into this because we lost 30 to 40 years of work and our

property was taken but it was their property and we leased it from them underneath the power lines and they took our inventory, and the land today is vacant. i would hope this would never happen to farmers again who spent one and two generations producing products for this country. host: that is charles in california. this is lupe in california as well, in canoga park. go ahead. host: thank you. there was -- caller: thank you. there was -- what they will be reading tonight, i'm a little nervous right now but i will watch it because i seem to hear -- are you still there? host: yes, ma'am. caller: ok. because your arm reaches over, i thought maybe i got cut off. host: go ahead.

caller: the retro fix that they are doing right now where i live, it is only a 27 union, apartment, and there are only two people here, myself and a jewish couple down below. the rest of them are all like swinging doors. the trash trucks going by are all coming from el salvador and it is not what it is. they are being taken to jobs and train for something else and that is unfair to people that had jobs. even the pool guy got replaced. the electricians come in in and guess people are doing, what you call it? work but they are not qualified here. host: how much do expect president biden to focus on the issue of immigration and border security tonight? a lot or a little? caller: you know, the way it is going now, i think he is lying to the people and just making himself look good because he has

been so quiet. but what are you doing by taking the people that have been here for years? i've been here 23 years in this one apartment building and i'm surrounded -- my street is [indiscernible] just different names because there is no real american living here on this street. host: lupe in california. staying in the golden state, this is cheryl, a line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i'm am a first time caller. host: go ahead. caller: yes, on the state of the union, i absolutely will watch the state of the union address. i think no matter which party is in office, it is important to watch the state of the union address because, if you don't watch, you are knocking to know what is going on. host: do you have a favorite

moment during a state of the union address whether a specific moment from one address or something that happened as circumstance every year? caller: i do have a favorite moment and it was when nancy pelosi tore off the state of the union address she had in front of her. my only criticism of her was she waited too long to tear it up. host: why was that your favorite moment? caller: i guess because i had watched the whole state of the union address and what that then-president had to say second me. it was all hogwash. host: that is cheryl in california. to the wolverine state, this is joe, good morning. caller: good morning. first time caller. host: go ahead, sir. caller: the lady on nancy there,

i think she's a little out there about nancy pelosi ripping that up. that was a disgrace to the american people. does not matter who is in president. they both lied. trump and biden lied. myself i am in america in and i'm tired of the lies. it is all congress does, lie to us, the senate lies to us, our president lies to us. they all live. it is our -- and all we are doing is getting washed out and the rich keep getting richer and corporations keep getting bigger and stronger , and all we are his slaves to the corporation. it is sad, sad, sad. with joe biden, they talked about trump lying all the time, i think joe biden has donald trump beat because he has not said nothing. about the border situation from the lady before, why don't they

help our own people out? how disabled vets, homeless vets, homeless people? why don't they take care of them people? why are they letting these illegal immigrants come in? because they think they will vote for democrats. host: that's joe in michigan. staying in michigan, mary, an independent, good morning. caller: yes, john, i'm not so much as to what biden says but i like the spectacle of the supreme court, his cabinet, being there. it shows the world we are a superpower. people go on and on about nancy pelosi but i vividly remember lower in boebert -- lauren boebert and marjorie taylor greene standing up during president trump's speech and heckling him when he was talking about the burn pits and veterans. host: you are talking about president biden, not president trump. caller: that was up on c-span.

so thank you very much. things are going great in michigan. come to michigan, lots of employment, lower cost of living than a lot of the united states. host: this is ruben in cleveland -- in columbus, democrat, good morning. caller: thank you for my call. i was just calling in because i've been seeing a lot of pictures of nancy pelosi ripping up donald trump's speech but don't see any clips of when the republicans -- to obama. host: that happened in 2010, it was during -- not actually in 2010, that i should happened in 2009 and was not during an actual state of the union, it was during a joint meeting of congress. president obama had come to congress to talk about his

health care plan but you asked for that moment. here is that moment, september 9, 2009. [video clip] >> there are also those who claim our members would ensure illegal immigrants. this too is false. the reform -- [crowd heckling] >> the reforms would not apply to those here illegally. not true. host: that's congressman joe wilson, republican congressman there. you heard the voice. it was not a state of the union address but a joint meeting of congress in which that happened but that is also one of the more famous moments of a joint meeting of congress in president stood before members of both parties. this is joan in cleveland, republican, good morning, you are next. caller: good morning. i called in, i am not so much sure i will be watching the

speech tonight because the last time he did one i was like i cannot handle him, i can't. i wish trump was in charge. i was so enthralled with his speech, i cannot tell you. on the other hand, biden had to take a loan for $2000. now if he cannot handle his money, how can he handle the usa? the other thing is we got all of our americans locked up in prison and jail. how many of these illegals are locked up? what are we doing with them? host: hector in port st. lucie, florida, independent, good morning. caller: good morning, sir. definitely i will be watching. i think biden is going to go down in history as being one of the greatest presidents we've had. because of what he has accomplished since he has been in. infrastructure was spoken about

by so many presidents but they never got it done. it was good to see him in mitch mcconnell looking at both replacing a bridge they spoke about for 50 years. biden, the greatest president we have had in many years. i will be definitely watching. host: spring, texas, this is john, your next. caller: yes, i want to say i will listen to the state of the union and republicans remember, in the midterm, wisconsin, georgia, wish again, arizona, and pennsylvania, they are going to lose for 24 also. -- 2024 also. these people, trump, they show himself, the widening of the deficit and i'm going to vote for biden again. because biden, when he come to

the office, he had a lot of deficit and problems with the pandemic. they were left from donald trump and the people ignored, the other people suffering -- ignore the other people suffering. that is why midterm election they lost almost eight states and take over by the democrats. host: what do you make of republicans taking back the house in this past election? caller: that is not that much. it is just for people majority -- four people majority. now mccarthy has 15 times take to be elected.

host: speaker mccarthy will be sitting behind president biden tonight to the vice president. will be the main shot you will see during the state of the union address. is 9:00 p.m. eastern, little after 9:00 iwh the president will likely get started. c-span covers giing at 8:00 p.m. eastern. in five minutes, the house of representatives come in for the day, morning hour at 10:00 a.m. this morning, and we will take you for live gavel-to-gavel coverage. when they do, until then, your phone calls. luke in sheboygan, michigan, independent, do you think a state of the union address still matters today? caller: hello? host: what do you think, luke? i think you're there but if you're not going to answer, we will go to kimberly in pennsylvania, republican, good morning. caller: good morning. i am calling to say that i will

be watching the state of the union address. however it is going to take all of my wherewithal to get through it because every single time i hear this president speak he is angry. he constantly divides country through race, this country i don't care is not racist. we all here, under the guise of our government, whether they know it or not, get along. all he does is demoralize us and criticize republicans and i find it very disheartening and very sad. i will -- i want to comment to the woman from california who said she was happy nancy pelosi tore up that address, i want to say i feel very sad for her. for someone to stand -- that president stood there and set

our country is great, our country can do anything, the horizons are there for us. all that president ever did was say how wonderful our country is , and for someone to not think that is a good thing is beyond my understanding. host: kimberly in pennsylvania. this is dennis out of miami, good morning, your next. caller: hello? yes, my name is dennis phillips, from miami, florida. i live in miami and donald trump took over the properties of the country club and donald trump kicked out all of the american workers and hired foreign, illegal workers there. host: bring me to tonight's state of the union address. caller: biden is going to give a

report card, like all americans going to their doctor and getting a physical, joe biden is owing to give a physical examination of whether country is. and i, from looking at what joe biden has done for this country since he took office, i think it is going to be a good report card. listen, the republican leaders think that their base is stupid. fox news thinks their base -- gives their base infinite -- ignorant information. host: