[gavel smashing] >> the house will be in order! [gavel smashing] >> and representative virginia foxx of north carolina is gaveling the house out of session as the president has left the house chamber. the democrats en masse walked out ahead of him. and the people he was greeting on the way outward the republican members over there, they are in the majority, 218 republicans, 215 democrats. two empty seats, both republican held seats from florida because of appointments to the white house and matt gaetz's seat is

the other one still open to special elections to bring the house up to 435. you heard the president speak for about almost two hours come about one hour, an hour 45 minutes that he spoke. and we are going to be getting your reactions mourn. 202-748-8920 if you're a democrat. independents, 748-8922. if you would like to send a text message, please include your first name and city. that number is reserved for text messages only. we will begin taking those calls right after the democratic response. senator others to slacken -- senator slotkin, freshman democrat from michigan, is going to be giving the response. we will go live to it, and after that, we will be hearing your voices. let's get to some reaction from

the president's speech. greta: let's start with some early headlines, starting with the l.a. times. their headline on their website, "trump takes credit for swift and unrelenting action on immigration, economy, and security." and this from the washington examiner, the conservative outlet in washington, "just getting started: trump declares america's back." this headline from the wall street journal, trump tells early action, says he's just getting started. and in his speech, the president stood behind his tariffs and chaired musk's doge moves. from the washington post, trump doubles down on sweeping deportation efforts. politico headline this morning, trump exit a culture work speech. speaker mike johnson ordering representative al green removed from the chamber after the texas democrat shouted that trump had

no mandate. al green catching up with reporters after he was removed from the chamber, sing i will accept the punishment if there is one. it's worth it to let people know that there are some of us who are going to stand up against this president's desire to cut medicare, medicaid, and social security. other protests taking place by the democrats, manu raju noting that house and senate democratic leaders do not leave to join the escort committee despite being called to do so. that's the committee of republicans and democratic leaders that follow the president into the chamber. a spokesperson for hakeem jeffries told me it speaks for itself. we will show you other moments throughout the speech tonight by the president. how democrats were reacting in the chamber. and of course, getting our viewers' reaction as well. peter: in about a minute, alyssa slacken, freshman stash senator

slotkin from michigan will be -- senator slotkin from michigan will be giving the democratic response. she was elected this past election cycle in 24, served in the house from 2019 to 2025. former acting assistant defense secretary in the obama administration and a forme cia analyst. a going to put the numbers back up on the screen. dial in. we will take those calls after senator slotkin speaks. 202 is the area code for all of our numbers and here is senator slotkin. sen. slotkin: hi, everyone. i am honored to have the opportunity to speak tonight. it is late so i promised to be a lot shorter than what you just watched. i won't take it personally if you never heard of me. i am the new senator from the great state of michigan, where i grew up. i have been in public service my entire life because i happened to be in new york city on 9/11

when the twin towers come down. before the smoke cleared, i knew i wanted to make a life and national security. i was recruited by the cia and did three tours in iraq alongside the military. i worked at the white house under president bush and president obama, two very different leaders who both believed that america is exceptional. you can find that same sense of patriotism here in michigan where i'm speaking from tonight. it is a working-class town just south of detroit. president trump and i both won here in november. it might not seem like it but ol exist across the united states. places where people believe that if you work hard, play by the rules, you should do well and your kids should do better. it reminds me of how i grew up. my dad was a lifelong republican, my mom a lifelong democrat, but it was never a big deal because we had shared values that were bigger than any one party. we just went through another fraught election season.

americans made it clear that prices are too high and that the government needs to be more responsive to their needs. america wants change. but there is a responsible way to make change and a recklessly. and we can make that -- reckless way. and we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy so that's what i'm going to lay out tonight. because whether you are from wyandotte or wichita, most americans share three core beliefs. that the middle-class class is the engine of our country. that strong national security protects us from harm. and that our democracy, no matter how messy, is unparalleled and worth fighting for. let's start with the economy. michigan literally invented the middle class. the revolutionary idea that you could work at an auto plant and afford the car you were building. that's the american dream. and in order to expand and protect the middle class, we have to do a few basic things. we need to bring down the price of things we spend the most money on, groceries,, housing

health care we need to make more things in america with good paying union jobs and bring our supply chains back from places like china. we need to give american businesses the certainty they need to invest and create the jobs of the future. and we need a tax system that's fair for people who don't happen to make a billion dollars. the president talked a big game on the economy but it's always important to redefine print. so do his plans -- read the fine print. so do his plans actually help americans get ahead? not even close. president trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. he's on the hunt to find try as of dollars to pass along to the wealthiest in america. and to do that, he's going to make you pay in every part of your life. grocery and home prices are going up, not down, and he has not laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those. his tariffs on allies like canada will raise prices on energy, lumber, and cars, and

start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and firms your premiums and prescriptions will cost more because the math on his proposals does not work without going after your health care. meanwhile, for those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down. and if he's not careful, he could walk us right into a recession. and one more thing, in order to pay for his plan, he could very welcome after your retirement. the social security, medicare, and v.a. benefits you worked your whole life to earn. the president claims he won't, but elon musk just called social security to biggest ponzi scheme of all time -- the biggest ponzi scheme of all time. while we are on the subject of elon musk, is there anyone in america who's comfortable with him and his gang of 20 euros using his own computer servers to poke to your tax returns your health information, your bank accounts? no oversight, no protection against cyberattack. no guard rails and what they do

with your private data. we need a more efficient government. you want to cut waste? i will help you do it. but change does not need to be chaotic or make us less safe. the mindless firing of people who work to attacked our nuclear weapons, keep our planes from crashing and conduct the research that finds the cure for cancer only to rehire them two days later, no cl in america could do that without being summarily fired -- ceo in america could do that without being summarily fired. how about national security? let's start with the water. as someone who spent my whole -- with the border. as someone who spent my whole career protecting moment, every country deserves to know who is coming across its border, period. but securing the border without fixing our broken immigration system is dealing with symptom and not the disease. america is a nation of immigrants. we need a functional system that allows vetted to people -- key

to the needs of our economy that allows vetted people to come here and work illegally. here's the thing that here legally. here's the thing -- here legally. here's the thing, today's world is interconnected. one nation cannot face these issues alone. we need friends in all corners enter safety depends on it. -- and our safety depends on. president trump loves to say peace through strength. that's actually a line he stole from ronald reagan. after the spectacle that just took place in the oval office last, reagan must be rolling in his grave. we all want and enter the war in ukraine. but reagan understood the true strength -- that scene in the oval office was not just a bad episode of reality tv, is summed up trump's whole approach to the world. he believes enclosing closing up to dictators like vladimir putin and kicking our friends like the

canadians in the teeth. he sees american leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions. as a cold war kid, i am thankful it was reagan and not trump in office in the 1980's. trump would have lost us the cold war. donald trump sections -- actions suggest that in his heart he doesn't believe we are an exceptional nation. he clearly does not think we should leave the world. look, america is not perfect but i stand with the majority of americans who believe we are still exceptional, unparalleled. and i would rather have american leadership over chinese or russian leadership any day of the week. because for generations, america has offered something better. our security and our prosperity, yes, but are democracy, our very system of government has been the aspiration of the world. and right now, it's at risk. it's at risk when the president decides you can pick and choose what rules you want to follow. when he is nora's court orders and the constitution itself --

ignores court orders and the constitution itself. elected leaders just stand. . by and let it happen but it's also at risk when the president pits americans against each other, when he demonizes those who are different and tells certain people they should not be included. because america is not just a patch of land between two oceans. we are more than that. generations have fought and died to secure the fundamental rights that define us. those rights and the fight for them make us who we are. we are a nation of strivers, risktakers, innovators, and we are never satisfied. that is america's superpower. and with, i've lived and worked in -- look, i have lived and worked in many countries. i've seen democracies flicker up. i've seen what it's like when a government is rigged. you cannot own a business without paying off a corrupt official. cannot criticize the guys in charge without getting a knock at the door in the middle of the night.

so as much as we need to make the government more responsive to our lives today, don't for one moment fool yourself that democracy is not precious and worth saving. how do we actually do that? a lot of you have been asked that question -- asking that question. don't tune out. it's easy to be exhausted but america needs you now more than ever. if previous generations had not fought for this democracy, where would we be today? second hold your elected officials, including me, accountable. watch how they are voting. go to town house and demand they take action. that's as american as apple pie. organize. pictures 20 sure you are passionate about and engage. and doom scrolling is not count. join a group -- does not count. join a group that cares about your issue and act. and if you can't find one, start one. in closing, we all know that our country is going through something right now. we are not sure what the next

day is going to hold, let alone the next decade. but this isn't the first time we have experienced a significant and tumultuous change as a country. i am a student of history. and we have gunther -- we have gone through periods of political instability before and ultimately, were chosen to change this country for the better. but every single time, we've only got into those moments because two things, engaged citizens and principled leaders. engaged citizens who do other bit more than they are used to doing to fight for the things that they care about and principled leaders who are ready to receive the ball and do something about. so thank you tonight for caring about your country. just by watching, you qualify as engaged citizens. my promise that i and my fellow democrats would do everything in our power to be the principled leaders that you deserve. good night, everyone. peter: that was elissa slotkin,

about 11 minutes from wyandotte, michigan with a democrat response. she is a former assistant secretary of defense, former cia analyst, former representative. we are going to get to your calls after we check in one more time with greta. host: slotkin promising to be brief tonight as she was, especially in comparison to president trump. he set a record tonight in this speech. take a look at what c-span has put out on x tonight. we are tracking the length of the speech, as we usually do here on c-span, and president trump clocking in at just under 100 minutes, 99 minutes and change there, the longest address to congress in u.s. history. look how it compares to previous presidents in their state of the union addresses. biden back in 2021 going almost 65 minutes. he held the record.

and president trump tonight with one hour, 39 minutes and 38 seconds. peter? peter: now to your phone calls and your voices. we want to get your reaction to a president trump had to say or the democratic response. phil is in queens, new york, a democrat. your first this evening. caller: thanks for taking my call. and thanks for c-span, always great coverage. when you watch c-span, you are really there. all the other networks have talking heads most of the time. i am not a trump democrat. i started as a humphrey, mcgovern, even carter democrat. and i have seen a change on both sides. and i have seen the democrats ago to special interests -- go. . to special interests and i have seen the republicans become the populists. and i liked reagan, but i worked for clinton, just to drop the

background. anyway, i think that was a great speech. i cannot believe it was that long. it seemed to zip by. i think the democrats did themselves and the country a disservice by being so rude and sitting on their hands. as ms. slotkin, who steams to be like a jackson democrat, you have to have a country where there is compromise, where there is discussion. and i am very hopeful. and you know, obviously, i am old, i have seen a lot. peter: what's the issue? is there a particular issue that made you what you call a trump democrat? caller: i think the most important issue was immigration. because trump proved the lie of the democrats and he mentioned it briefly. you know, the immigration system did not need a law, didn't need,

it just needed to be implicated. we have 40, we have 100 years of loss. we immediately -- laws. we immediately close to the border. america takes in, i believe these are correct statistics, about a million illegal immigrants every year, which is about the total of the rest of the world. and we love immigrants. i live in queens, new york, the most diverse place in the world. but it has to be lawful. and even if it's just the 500,000 known criminals, you know, the 13,000 murders, 18,000 rapists, why would you let these people in? and here in new york, you know, here in new york, you have seen the city deteriorate and spend billions of dollars on people who shouldn't be here in the beginning. we have a system. trump reimplemented it. peter: all right, final question

quickly. for those who are not students of history, why did you compare slotkin to henry scoop jackson, a former democrat from washington state? caller: i was impressed with her. she seems like a reasonable, common sense person. i always respect, i worked for a long time onhe world trade center matter, by the way. in whatapacity -- peter: in what capacity? caller: i respect people in law enforcement. there's a real, you get to th nitty-gritty when you're at the show, or in combat. peter: how did you work on the world trade center? what was your, in what capacity? caller: i am one of many attorneys who worked on various legal and criminal elements of the matter. i cannot go into it. peter: thank you for calling in. let's hear from jacob, a

republican in morganton, north carolina. hi, jacob. caller: thanks for taking my call. thanks to c-span for continuing to provide the coverage we have come to expect from them. peter: what's your reaction to the president or what elissa slotkin had to say? caller: it's what we've come to expect from trump, at least what i've come to expect. it was a lot of good things in speech and then there was there a lot of nonsense. i think he failed to do what you should be doing in this first address to congress, which is laying out your policy plans for the next several years. i think you failed to do that -- he failed to do that. i think he had some. bright moments i think he had a specific message, though not as specific as it could have been. to slotkin response, i think she made several good points. she was speaking from an area of common ground that a lot of americans hold. but at the same time, i think she could have been stronger in some of the arguments she was making against trump.

as someone who is not such a huge fan of his, i agree with some of the points you made. but there were others were at think she was just not been correct on what she was saying. peter: you called on the republican line. did you vote for president trump in 2024 or harris? caller: in the primaries, i campaigned against him, i voted for haley, i did not think he was the starkest candidate. come 2024 when it came down to it, i typically say i voted last for trump and less against harris. peter: ian and indiana. independent -- in indiana. independently. what did you think tonight -- independent line. what did you think tonight? caller: i think it was one of the best trump speeches i have seen in the last eight years and he sure has had a lot of them. i think my big take away is just a failure of the democrats to look in the mirror and realize that they've got themselves into

this mess. and instead of trying to unify and backup some policies that i think most americans support. peter: can you explain what you mean by that? caller: i think obviously they lost all of the messaging with securing the border, trying to actually admit that the economy is headed in the wrong direction, and just passing the blame to trump. when in reality, it was the past administration. and trying to vilify trump as causing all of the things when it is not the case. obviously, americans saw through that in the last election, which is why he got voted back in. peter: let's hear anthony in glendora, california, independent line. good evening to you. >> this is actually his wife, natalia. i thought the speech, we thought it was really, really good. the democrats are acting as if trump was never president before

and we don't remember how the economy was under him, how everything was under him. and we do remember and we remember the last four years and they were really bad. democrats have been screaming about egg prices in the last month and they never said anything for four years. and slotkin, she said that reagan must be rolling in his grave. well, reagan, he actually walked out on gorbachev. i don't think so. we just thought the speech was really, really great. and we hope that he is successful. and the democrats, they are just, i don't know. they have lost, they have lost us. peter: that's natalia in glendora, california. greta is here at c-span. greta: i will pick up on what that caller was talking about on democrats and how they responded

to tonight's speech. let me show our viewers a video captured by the cameras in the chamber when the president was entering the chamber, walking down the aisle. eagle eyed viewers might have noticed that sign, "this is not normal," being held by emily stansbury, democrat from new mexico. let me play the video and watch what happens as she holds the sign and the president walks by. [applause] >> terrible. terrible. [applause] >> oh! greta: that is lance gooden, a texas republican, who grabs the sign out of her hand and throws the sign into the air. political reporters saying emily stansbury is fundraising off of her moment, posting that picture

of her holding up that sign tonight. we will show you other moments from democrats captured by the cameras in the chamber throughout tonight's speech by president trump. peter? peter: next call from franklin park, new jersey on our democrats line. did i say your first name correctly? caller: you said it pretty close to enough. if a hard name to pronounce but you did a great job. peter: pronounce it for us please. caller: akarsh. peter: what did you think of the speech tonight? democratic response, etc.? caller: i am a senior in high school. i was studying for my ap government class, getting some of that campaign-finance in, turned on c-span. you know, why not? the first thing i caught was some of his foreign-policy. originally, i thought the greenland was a little bit of a joke when i first read it on the x and the truth social.

i never considered the greenland plan that realistic. when he mentioned it at this stage of the union-esque speech, i was a little like, oh, he is serious about it. i am a young democrat. i am not exactly aligned with every civil policy they have. i think that agreement -- that greenland, i think him emphasizing self-determination was interesting. that was something i noticed. i was pretty disappointed with how the democrats did not clap for the cancer patient or the terrorist capturer or the west point, the kid who got into west point. and i mean, people were saying it before, some of the older callers, they were saying the democrats, i am a democrat, i am a young democrat, and i do think they are a little out of touch. you cannot just blindly hate trump like this that you're not standing up for a cancer patient.

i was just a little disappointed. they looked disjointed. i would say i supported al green. just like marjorie taylor greene did last year i think with biden's state of the union, you know, you've got to get a little bit of resistance. that's martin politics. i think the al green -- modern politics. i think the al green thing was the only former resistance i supported. peter: name your teacher in your school. caller:caller: ms. hogarth at the petty school in hightstown, new jersey, the peddie school. peter: you are taking ap government. would you said they are both d's and r's in your class, democrats and republicans? caller: i attend a boarding school in central jersey. i would say in our mock election this year, it was around 75% towards harris. it is a pretty democratic

school. but it is not a very overtly political school. that is something i like. we do have d.e.i. days, which i am a fan of, a lot of talk about acceptance. it is a very diverse school. they give a lot of financial aid, which is something i love, people from all walks of life. but there's never a moment you're demonizing people because of their political bullies. there's republicans in my class -- political beliefs. there's republicans and mike ross. . there a little quieter -- republicans in my class. there a little quieter. i am friends with conservatives, i am friends with democrats. we don't try to get to political. i do think we did when we talked about the debate in the fall, we do get a little political when we talk about elections. but right now we are talking actually about the executive bureaucracy, ironically, and we do talk about doge a little bit. there are some mixes of

political talk. but there are d's and r's in my class but everybody is still developing their political beliefs. peter: what are you going to do when you graduate school? where do you want to go to college? caller: i've got to say georgetown, honestly. i want to study political science. at georgetown, it's called government. i want to study there. i applied their, regular decision, still waiting for that, crossing my fingers. i applied to virginia. big fan of professor larry sab ado there, election analysis. i got deferred from virginia so i am still waiting for my result. i got differed from duke so i am still awaiting a result from them. i got into university of maryland, which is only 30 units outside of d.c. peter: it's closer than that.

it's right up the street. >> i am a big fan of umd, got accepted into their constitutional scholars program as a freshman. i am a big fan of the program. peter: we have an intern programs at c-span so if you make it down to washington, you make sure to at least apply and see if we can get you in here. thank you very much for your time. we thank ms. hogarth at peddie school as well for encouraging political discussion in your class and i think we are going to adopt your tagline, which is, i turned on c-span, why not? let's talk to ian in grosse pointe michigan. >> i want to say thank you for your coverage and taking the time to speak to viewers. i appreciate you guys giving

everyone a point of view. i think akarsh is right that a lot of young conservatives are scared about expressing their opinion but a lot of that has to do with the platform of calling murders -- immigrants murderers, rapists, things that that. many of these people are ironically leaving dictatorships that started out with similar policies cutting education, health care. and i am not for higher taxes. i don't want my taxes to go up. but there is so much corporate welfare in the united states, you know, and i think we are seeing a lot of that increase, you know. i think so much of the polarization, people getting into echo chambers, is what caught ways to get you on their

side. -- is what a lot of people get caught in. i am from grosse pointe, michigan. elissa slotkin is actually my representative. or my senator, excuse me. sorry, first time calling. peter: i just want to point out to our viewers that speaker johnson is making his way through statuary hall. this is live coverage, just off the house chamber there. you have talked about several issues. for whom did you vote in 2024 on the senate side and on the presidential side? >> i appreciate slotkin's appeals to conservatives and democrats. i voted for her. i voted for kamala harris.

peter: and you are calling on the republican line. do you consider yourself a republican? caller: yes. peter: grosse pointe is a pretty affluent suburb, isn't it? caller: i don't think having decency falls along the lines of affluency. to elissa slotkin, the phrase to the river to the sea is not a terrorist slogan. you need to defend free speech on college campuses and throughout the country, as it's clearly under attack from this administration. peter: that is ian in grosse pointe, michigan calling on the republican line. this is david, philadelphia, on the democrats line. good evening to you. >> thank you to c-span. you do an amazing job. it's not easy. you make it look easy. thank you.

peter: what is your response to the speeches you heard tonight and the festivities? >> the festivities were quite amazing. it is a shame that representative green was asked to leave. but i understood his point. you saw him standing up for what he believed. but you shouldn't be that intrusive, the president is speaking. i was actually kind of ashamed of the democrats. because they would not stand for the child who survived cancer. they would not stand for a man who was preparing to go to west point. it was just very odd. the rest, you got to obviously toe the line. the whole air to me was just the democrats being rude in a very intrusive and kind of insultingly. -- insulting way. it was very odd to me. it bothered me. i want to see the d's stand up

and cheer for what we believe in, children rising up, and they are not supporting that. peter: you're a democrat? caller: yes. peter: and you are not pleased with your party's performance today necessarily? caller: it was those things. peter: what did you think of slotkin's rebuttal? caller: i thought she made a a lot of really valid points. she is kind of middle-of-the-road. that's what i found her to be. she still stood up for what she believed and i admire that a lot. i wish more representatives, both d's and r's, would take her stance. which is, what can i learn? what's a good policy i can get behind and my constituents can get behind? that's what i want to see my democrats. peter: as you well know,

pennsylvania was quite lively this past election season. did you have friends who changed their mind from trump 2016 or 2020 to 2024, either way, you know? caller: i actually did. it really came down to the democrat leadership in the last administration. it was so poor. philly, we are a very big democrat town, we are incredibly democrat, philadelphia particular. it got me how many dems, they didn't say it out loud, when they got in the voting booth, they voted for trump. and that speaks volumes. because they were so frustrated with the leadership that they had. peter: thanks for calling in. i want to show a live picture of statuary hall, which is just off the house chamber, just to show

you what's going on there. this is where the members of congress and the press meet and they do interviews and they talk about what they heard and saw, etc. you can see it is quite a scrum down there. if you go over to c-span2, paul is interviewing members of congress, the administration right now. that is all live on c-span2. it is a little bit of an assembly line. but we get to talk to a lot of members. you can see that as a democratic member there in the pink. and you can watch that on c-span2 if you're interested. just wanted to point that out for y'all. greta is always with us this evening. greta: more from the democrats in the chamber during the president's speech tonight. let's begin with this moment caught by jennifer, she posted it on x from c-span's cover spirit she's from huffington post.

the c-span cameras just briefly panned to a couple of people walking off the house floor with resist shirts on. those were democratic numbers who early on in the president's speech took their jackets off and walked out, first turned their backs to the president, and then walked out. you can see maxwell frost wears a shirt reading, "no kings live here" as he walks out of the house chamber while trump was delivering his speech. several democratic women members are now turning their backs to trump and it was melanie stansbury who led them out of the chamber. she was the same one on the center aisle holding onto that sign that said this is not normal. mychalel schnell says this. a number of house democrats

including jasmine crockett and maxwell frost just left the house chamber. the other two that left the chamber were crockett and andrea salinas and maxine dexter. those democratic members walking out early in the speech. several other democratic members of the house and senate walked out toward the tail end of president trump's speech. senator bernie sanders and others. during the speech, some democratic members were holding up signs in protest to what they heard from the president. this is from the hill. democrats could be seen holding up signs during president trump's speech as a way to rebut the president on his remarks. one of the signs read false while the other read :musk s teal." when the president said a joe biden, the worst president in american history, a number of democrats held up signs that say false. peter: let's talk to kyrsten.

good evening to you. what did you think about tonight? caller: good evening. i just had a really, some interesting perspective. i live in the urban core of kansas city. i am a black woman. and just kind of understanding the context of the conversation. one thing that i was glad that was brought up was around the crime that's happening in our cities. that is something that is a deep pain point for me. i was a former principal and teacher in the urban core. so many of my students have been gunned down in violence. i took my young daughters to symphony last week. and we had a round of gunfire in front of us. just really glad that someone brought this issue up. it's really impacting the american people. so many of the things he brought up, me and my husband and i work really hard to provide for our family.

and we just saw in the last administration that it was just so difficult to stay above water. we both work full-time jobs, we both have graduate degrees, and it was so difficult. this idea of economic prosperity, love that that was a focus. candidly, one thing that is difficult, being even -- has been an interesting line to walk, because i think there is this notion sometimes that people are monolithic. and all of one type of group have to vote one way or another. what i found in this election is that many of my friends who are also black, african-americans, have been thinking a little bit more outside the box in terms of not just going with the party line and the democratic party. that's been really empowering to kind of put that stake in the ground as independent so i can

be more discerning. what party allies with my values and what do i think is going to be best for my country and my family? peter: who did you vote for in 2024? caller: in 2024, i voted for trump in 24, which was a really difficult decision. because previously, i did not in the last elections. in fact, i was one of the, i remember being in tears in 20, i n the first round that trump was president. peter: 2016. caller: 2016. thank you. for me, it is astonishing. my husband and i are just like, our perspective on things has shifted so dramatically because things were so bad in the last administration. and we were feeling this sense of like despair. i felt like there was such a disintegration of so much around us.

and we were really looking to make a radical shift to kind of combat what we were seeing. peter: thank you for your time. let's hear from mickey in north carolina. republican in durham. caller: i am republican. i am also a black man. 22. i grew up in washington, d.c. in a very democratic environment. and the city itself, urban, heavily democratic, everyone voted democrat. i was told that. growing up, we were told that democrats were like our saviors, we were supposed to accept whatever the democrats would bring us into prosperity, would stop the attacks, portrayed the republicans as racists. as i got older, i really bought into the narrative. peter: whoop, we lost our

friend in durham. let's talk to kate in, three rivers michigan, republican line. caller: i am glad i watched this. i am a senior. i have been working since i was 13 years old. i have seen many different presidents go through. i've seen many different house and senate's go through. i think this was an embarrassment in regards to the democratic people that are voted. they are supposed to be representing our country. to belittle our president who is speaking, that was disrespectful. and i am a hard-working person that has worked their lives. ok. i am to retire. and my social security has been taxed and taxed and i am penalized for working if i am on social security.

i don't feel that the social security should be taxed, i really don't. as far as us in the americanize -- us and the american eyes are watching our president. he has done a lot in the very little time that he has been in office. let's give him some time. i mean, i just don't think that the media has even given him a fair shot. peter: what do you think about some of the issues that he brought up in his speech tonight? were you with it for the full hour, 39 minutes? caller: oh yeah. i watched it from beginning to end. it tugged at my heartstrings about that little boy that wanted, that became a cia. peter: the secret service agent.

jasmine: secret service -- caller: secret service, yeah. peter: what did you think about senator slotkin's response? caller: i did not vote for her. i'm sorry. and some of her points are valid, yes. we were in uncharted waters. we are finding so much fraud. and that's our hard-earned money going out the door. that's the americans' hard-earned money. you know. and people are quick to spend other people's money, ok, and throw it out to different countries and for various different programs. i'm sorry. i think the right -- they are right, drain the swamp. because there are a lot of people out there that have gotten rich off the backs of the american people. peter: what kind of work are you

from, are you retired from? caller: i am a government worker. i worked for saint joe county. peter: ok. all right. thank you for calling in. howard, mansfield, ohio, democrats line. howard, you are on c-span. what did you think of the president's speech tonight? caller: i did not believe in a lot of the stuff like the numbers on the fraud and stuff that they said they found. because they put up the list and then they got to take the -- of it all. i think elon musk should not be in there because it's a conflict of interest. he's got contracts with the government and you know he's going to be helping himself. the immigrants, i agree on deporting the criminals. but the ones that are working and trying to provide for their families, they are trying to leave their country because it's not good. i don't think we should be deporting them.

we should be helping them become citizens because they are the one that work on the farms and stuff. i used to drive trucks and i watched them work on the farms. they are not here to freaking freeload like they said. in springfield, ohio when he said they was eating the dogs and cats, that was all a lie. you know, it's crazy the lies they feed. be truthful with the american people. that's what we vote you in for. that's just like with the democrats not standing for that little could. that is a bunch of bull crap. i got family members that have cancer. i thank god that some of them was saved and some of them wasn't. but it's just crazy how they wouldn't stand for that little boy. peter: howard, that said, was there anything tonight that you liked, either from the president, the democrats, or the democratic response? caller: i like the idea of

deporting the bad immigrants and upholding our police officers. they put their life on the line for us everyday. peter: who did you vote for in the last election? caller: i voted for kamala because i've seen what trump was in 2016 and i wasn't wanting a repeat. because he's like a bully, just like they done with zelenskyy in the white house. . that was crazy. we made an agreement with them that gave up their nuclear weapons, that we would not allow russia to take over on them. and look what he's doing now. it seems like he's taking russia's side, which we need to be taking our people's side, are allies. we don't need to be turning against canada, mexico, the eu, none of them. we need to be supporting them. peter: appreciate you calling in. greta, what do you have? greta: we caught up with steve scalise after tonight's speech. he told manu raju that obviously

there would be a censure considered against representative al green for his shouting at the top of president trump's speech. he knows what he did was a clear violation of house rules and it shouldn't have happened and it's going to be dealt with. a capitol hill reporter of nbc catching up with senator elizabeth warren. she was asked about the president calling her pocahontas during his speech. sen. warren: was applauding the help that the united states government was giving to ukraine. evidently, on the day that donald trump has stopped that assistance, he is feeling pretty sensitive on that point. he should. greta: senator warren reacting to what the president had to say during his speech, calling her

pocahontas. peter: we've got about five minutes left. we are going to show you this at the end as well. but i want to put this up so you guys can see this. this is really a neat idea. our political producer, this is his idea. if you have ever watched c-span and seen the press conferences held at the white house by both the democratic and republican presidents, you know that caroline levitt -- karoline leavitt is the new press secretary for donald trump. nature will be done at the white house. if you have a question for white house press secretary karoline leavitt, send it to this email address. you can see it on the screen. we are going to leave it up for a minute so you can copy it down. if you've got a question, we are going to go through those and see which ones we can ask kar

olibne leavitt, and nate will identify you as the person who came up with it. right there, just leave it on the screen. whquestions@cspan.org. burke in las vegas, thanks for holding. what did you think of the president's speech on the democratic response? caller: i actually did not watch it in protest. i watched president zelenskyy's show on netflix. it is called -- hold on one second -- "servant of the people." peter: this is the show that made him famous in the ukraine several years ago? >> yes, it is. i did tune in for senator slotkin's rebuttal. i thought she did and amazing job.

i also wanted to say that i support all of the resistance that the democrats showed. i think telling us to be polite is just another way of telling us to be quiet and not stand up for what we believe in. resistance isn't quite. it is passionate and loud because we want change to happen. for all the veterans out there who are upset about how donald and doge are handling things, there are democrats out there who want to help veterans. congressman steven horsford has tried to put together bills that help veterans and help families in the military. there are people who want to be there and to help and work with republicans to get the things that we want. many federal workers who were fired recently by elon musk and by donald were veterans.

another thing i wanted to say is that i absolutely support what al green did. i also wanted to say that the no tax on social security is not in any of the bills. people are saying they are going to do things to help us and they are lying. when it gets down to brass tacks, they are not doing what they say they are going to. peter: that is brooke in las vegas. let's show you the email address one more time. this is if you have a question for karoline leavitt at the white house. you can send it to this email address. we will take those questions and post some of them to the press secretary at the white house. whquestions@c-span.org. well, our conversation will continue again tomorrow morning beginning at 7:00 a.m. on the washington journal. as always, three hours of your phone calls reacting to what the