♪ larry: that's it for "kudlow." thanks for watching, folks. ♪ ♪

♪ bret: a live look at the white house, and we are just moments away from president biden and tonight's address to the nation. good evening from washington, i'm bret baier. maria: i'm martha maccallum. obviously, this is an important moment for any president when he chooses an oval office address as the way he wants to speak to the nation. he will make his case for a number of things. he is going to lay out additional aid for this fight in israel, also for the fight in ukraine. that was the original road map for his speech tonight, but now israel is a big part of the mix, and also humanitarian assistance for the residents of gaza. bret: president biden will speak to the nation from the to oval office. brit hume, dana perino and harold ford jr. will have analysis of the president's speech, we also have john roberts in jerusalem and peter doocy at the white house.

martha: let's go to the white house with peter doocy on the north lawn. good evening, peter. >> reporter: tonight's remarks are expected to explain to the american people why it is that u.s. dollars and in the u.s. troops are critical to wars both in the middle east and in europe. he is not expected the attack maga republicans because now he needs them to vote nearly $100 billion in new funding. back to you. bret: it'll be interesting to see if this sounds like a state of the union address with a list of priorities or more emotional. all think after that trip the he just came back from in israel, or he'll be touching on some of those themes. let's go live now to the oval office and the president of the united states, joe biden. >> good evening, my fellow americans. we're facing an inflection point in history. one of those moments where the decisions we make today are going to determine the future for decades to come. that's what i'd like to talk with you about tonight. earlier this morning i returned from israel. ooh i'm the first american president to travel there during

a war. i met with the prime minister and members of his cabinet, and most movingly, i met with israelis who had personally lived through horrific horror, the attack by hamas on the 7th of october. more than 1,300 people were slaughtered in israel including at least 32 american citizens. scores of innocents from infants to the elderly, grandparents, israelis, americans taken hostage. and as i told the families of americans being held cap ty by hamas, we're pursuing every avenue to bring their love ones home. as president, there is no higher priority for me than that the safety of americans held hostage. hamas unleashed pure unadulterated evil on the world. but sadly, the jewish people know perhaps better than anyone that there's no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on them. in israel i saw a people who are strong, determined, resilient and also angry, in shock and in

deep, deep pain. i also spoke with president ab a bass of the palestinian authority and reiterated the united states remains committed to the palestinian people's right to dignity and to self-determination. the actions hamas terrorists don't take that right away. like so many others, i'm heart broken by the tragic loss of palestinian life including the explosion at the hospital in gaza which was not done by the israelis. we mourn every innocent life lost. we can't ignore the humanity of innocent palestinians who only want to live in peace and have an opportunity. you know, the assault on israel echoes nearly 20 months of war, tragedy and brutality inflicted on the people of ukraine, people that were very badly hurt since putin launched this all-out invasion. we've not forgotten the mass graves, the bodies found bearing signs of torture, rape used as a

weapon by the russians and thousands and thousands of ukrainian children forcibly taken into russia, stolen there their parents. it's sick. hamas and putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy. hamas, its stated purpose for existing, is destruction of the state of israel and the murder of jewish people. hamas does not represent the palestinian people. hamas uses palestinian civilians as human shields and innocent palestinian families are suffering greatly because of them. meanwhile, putin denies ukraine has or ever had real statehood. he claims the soviet union created ukraine. just two weeks ago he told the world that if the united states and our allies withdraw, if the united states would withdraw, our allies would as well. military support for ukraine would have, quote, a week left to live. we're not withdrawing. i know these seem far away.

it's natural to ask, why does this matter to america? let me share with you why making sure israel and ukraine succeed is vital for america's national security. you know, history has taught us that when terrorists don't pay a price for their terror, when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. they keep going. the cost and the threats to america and the world keep rising. so if we don't stop putin's appetite for power and control of ukraine, he won't limit himself just to ukraine. putin's already threatened to remind, quote, remind poland that their western land was a gift from russia. one of his top advisers, a former president of russia, has called estonia, latvia and and lithuania russia's baltic provinces. these are all nato allies. for 75 years nato has kept peace in europe. it has been the cornerstone of

american security. and if putin attacks a nato ally, we will defend every inch of nato treaty requires and and calls for. we'll have something that we do, not seek, make it clear, we do not seek to have american troops fighting in russia or fighting against russia. beyond europe, we though that our allies and maybe most importantly our adversaries and competitors are watching. they're watching our response in ukraine as a well. and if we walk away and let putin erase ukraine's independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same. the risk of conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world. in the indo-pacific, in the middle east, especially in the middle east. iran is supporting russia in ukraine, and it's supporting hamas, other terrorist groups in the rage, and we'll continue to hold them accountable, i might add. the united states and our partners across the region are

working to build a better future for the middle east, one where the middle east is more stable, better connected to its neighbors and through innovative projects like the india, middle east and europe rail corridor that i announced this year at the summit of the world's biggest economies, more predictable markets, more employment, less rage, less grievances, less war. it benefits the people, until benefit the people of the middle east, and it will benefit us. american leadership is what holds the world together. american alliances are what keep us, america, safe. american values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with. finish to put all that at risk if we walk away are from ukraine, we turn our backs on israel is just not worth it. that's why tomorrow i'm going to send to congress an urgent budget request to fund america's national security needs to support our critical partners including israel and ukraine. it's a smart investment that's

going to pay dividends for american security for generations. help us keep american troops out of harm's way. help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren. in israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect their people today and always. the security package i'm sending the congress and asking congress for is an unprecedented commitment to israel's security that will sharpen israel's qualitative military edge which we've with committed to, qualitative military edge. we're going to make sure iron dome continues to guard the skies over israel. we're going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading. look, at the same time, president net an a ya a hue -- netanyahu and i discussed yesterday the critical needs for israel to operate by the laws of

war. that means protecting civilians in combat as best they can. the people of gaza urgently need food, water and medicine. yesterday in discussions with the leaders of israel and egypt, i secured an a agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance from the united nations to palestinian civilians in gaza. hamas does not divert or steal this shipment, these shipments, they're going to provide an opening for sustained delivery of life-saving, humanitarian assistance for the palestinians. as i said in israel, as hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. we cannot give up on a two-state solution. israel and palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, or dignity and peace. you know, here at home we have to be honest with ourselves. in recent years too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling racism, the rise of anti-semitism, islamophobia right here in america. it's also intensified in the wake of recent events that led

to the horrific threats and attacks that both shock us and break our hearts. on october 7th, terror attacks have triggered deep scars and terrible memories in the jewish community. today jewish families worried about being targeted in school, wearing symbols of their faith walking down the street going out about their daily lives. and, you know, i know many of you in the muslim-american community, arab-american community, the palestinian-american community and so many others are outraged and saying to yourself, here we go again, with islamophobia and distrust we saw after 9/11. just last week a mother was brutally stabbed, a little boy here in the united states, a little boy who just turned 6 years old was murdered in their home outside of chicago. his name was wadiya, a proud

palestinian-american family. we can't stand by and stand silent when this happens. we we must without equivocation renounce anti-semitism. we must also without equivocation denounce islamophobia. and to all you hurting, i want you to know i see you. you belong. and i want to say this to you: you're all american. you're all american. this isn't a moment, you know, in moments like these when fear and suspicion, anger and is rage run hard, we have to work harder than ever to holf religious freedom, freedom of expression. we all is have a right to debate and disagree without fear of being targeted in schools or workplaces or in our communities. we must renounce violence and vitriol, see each other not as enemies, but as fellow americans. when i was in israel yesterday, i said that when america

experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged as a well. we sought and got justice. we made mistake es. so i cautioned the government of israel not to be blinded by rage. and here in america, let us in the forget who we are. we reject all forms, all forms of hate. whether against muslims, jews or anyone. that's what great nations do. and we are a great nation. on ukraine, i'm asking congress to make sure we can continue to send ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves, their country without interruption. so ukraine can stop i putin's brutality in ukraine. they are succeeding. when putin invaded ukraine, he thought he would take kyiv and all of ukraine in a matter of days. a little over a year later, putin has failed and he continues to fail. kyiv still stands because of the bravery of the ukrainian people. ukraine has regained more than

50% of the territory russian troops once i occupied. backed by u.s.-led coalition of more than 50 countries around the world, all doing its part to supportkey. kyiv. what would happen if we walked away? we are the essential nation. meanwhile, putin has turned to iran and north korea to buy attack drones and ammunition to terrorize ukrainian cities and people. from the outset, i've said i will not send american troops to fight in ukraine. all ukraine is asking for is help, the weapons, munitions, the capacity, the capability to push invading russian forces off their land. the air defense system to shoot down russian missiles before they destroy ukrainian cities. let me be clear about a something. we send ukraine equipment sitting in our stockpiles, and when we use the money allocated by congress, we use it to replenish our own stores, our

own stock the piles with new equipment -- stockpiles, equipment that defends america and is made in america. patriot missiles for air defense batteries, made in arizona. artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country, pennsylvania, ohio, texas. so much more. you know, just as in world war ii, today patriotic american workers are building the arsenal of democracy. and serving the cause of freedom. let me close with this: earlier this year i boarded air force one for a secret flight to poland. there i board a train with blacked-out windows for a 10-hour ride each way to kyiv to stand with the people of ukraine ahead of the 1-year anniversary of their brave fight against putin. i'm told i was the first american to somewhere a war zone not controlled by the united states military since president lincoln. with me was just a small group

of security personnel and a few advisers. but when i exited that train and met zelenskyy, president zelenskyy, i didn't feel alone. i was bringing with me the idea of america, the promise of america to the people who are today fighting for the same things we fought for 250 years ago; freedom, independence, self-determination. as i walked through kyiv president zelenskyy with air raid sirens sounding in the distance, i felt something i've always believed more strongly than ever before, america is a beacon to the world. still. still. whereas my friend madeleine albright said is, the indispensable nation. tonight there are innocent people all over the world who hope because of us, who believe in a better life because of us, who are desperate not to be forgotten by us. they're waiting for us. the time is of the essence. i know we have our divisions at

home. we have to get past them. we can't let petty, partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation. we cannot and will not lettists like hamas and tyrants like putin win. i refuse to let that a happen. moments like these we have to remember who we are. we're the united states of america. the united states of america. and there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. if we do it together. my fellow americans, thank you for your time. my god bless you all, may god protect our troops. bret: president biden in his second oval office address lasting just about 15 minutes, focusing on israel's attacks, israel's response to hamas attacks, also about the war in ukraine, intertwining those two war fronts at times in what he called sick stories in both places and deprafty.

saying hamas and putin represent different threats, but they both, quote, want to annihilate a neighboring democracy. he said again publicly that israel did not bomb the el ali hospital inside gaza. he characterized the moment in the world saying, quote, we're facing an inflection point in history, that decisions made today the will determine the future for decades to come. and a large part of that speech, martha, dealt with ukraine. maria: yep. it's my understanding that a lot of the speech was written about ukraine, and the question about funding for ukraine and his support for it before october 7th. and then it became obvious that he needed to talk about israel as well. it's very fascinating that this president who really wanted to pull us out of long wars, tonight is essentially looking at the american people and saying there is an axis of evil and that it's iran it's russia with its battle with ukraine, and it's china.

he talked about the indo-pacific and the encroachment of aggressors and dictators and and making a very dynamic argument that the world depends on the leadership of the united states. he's going to face a lot of questions about whether that -- where that leadership has been leading up to these events and whether or not it was weakness by his administration that allowed the emboldenment of iran and of russia which made the move that they made and of china who has been, you know, saber rattling and pushing their equipment around taiwan and threatening them as well. bret: at one point he said iran is supporting russia inside ukraine, and iran is supporting hamas and other terrorist organizations. we'll continue to hold them accountable. i think republicans who have been critical of this administration would say where is the continued part about holding iran accountable? if anything, they've enabled iran to get around sanctions and

sell oil to china and others for billions and withs of dollars -- billions of dollars that gets funneled to hamas and hezbollah. let's bring in political analyst brit hume, dana prix know, cohost of "the five," and harold ford jr., former congressman. brit, this is the president's second oval office address. your overall thoughts. >> i think it may be remembered as one of the best if not the best speeches of his presidency. he was firm, he was unequivocal, he was strong as he has been particularly in recent days when he was, before he went to israel and while he was over there. i was struck by the fact that he spent as much time as he did on ukraine, and i think it was a good thing that he did because the aid for ukraine package that he's talking about -- and further aid to ukraine beyond that is in jeopardy, and i think that he was hamperedded a little bit in that effort by the fact he dare not really mention the best reason. he mentioned broadly speaking the best reason for sticking with it in ukraine which is that

what would the rest of the world and its evil-doers think if we pulled out of there, because that comes on the heels of his having pulled out of afghanistan which arguably emboldened all of the, all of our adversaries around the world, particularly vladimir putin. he didn't make -- he can't really make that case, and is you wouldn't expect him to, but he made a strong case for it nonetheless. and i think it's porn that he did. and also -- important that he did. you're right, bret, to wonder if there'll a be a follow-up to his statement about holding iran accountable, but at least he talked about iran. he'd been loathe to do so in his remarks regarding the israel atrocities since they happened. but tonight there it was, so on two important counts, i think he did remarkably well and was quite strong, quite firm. martha: dana, a lot has been said about the fact that the president prior to this has not made, articulated a strong argument for why the united states has to sport ukraine --

support ukraine. it's expected he's going to ask for $60 billion, a much bigger amount than was already on the table that congress has not allotted the money for yet. what did you think of the argument he made tonight? >> well, i'm a little out of my comfort zone because i almost always agree with brit hume -- [laughter] and i wish we were sitting next to each other so i could hold his hand and say, could we watch that together again? [laughter] i prepared all day e to love speech. i prepared to want to stand up and cheer, and at times i felt like we were reading a speech whose pages had been mixed up out of order. i thought that he didn't spend enough time talking about the atrocity of october 7th. he does, obviously, have a definite deep understanding of the pain, and he is definitely against anti-semitism both abroad and at home. but he rushed that part of the speech so much, and the next

thing i know we're talking about ukraine, and then we're kind of back to israel, but then -- wait, are you going to bring in taiwan as a well? i thought there was going to be something on the southern border. i did not think it was as strong as it could have been, and i wanted it to be strong. here's what i think i would have done. this speech, as, martha, you pointed out, was largely written about ukraine. that is a good speech for him to give. i think what i would have done tonight in an oval office address is to say we are in a fight between civilization and barbarism, and it's not just happening in israel, it's happening in these parts of the world and point those out. and at the end of the speech, i think he could have said i will be going to congress on monday, i will make everybody sit together even though they don't have a speaker right now, and i will make them listen to me, and i'm going to make this pitch for the money because we need to take this very seriously. matthew -- wrote a piece today that i thought was so good. he said we are no longer at a stage where we can say and

should help fund these efforts, we are now many a situation where foreign policy has so deteriorated that we are in a position of need and must. so to me, watching the speech it felt like watching a pinball game, and i wanted to love it, and i want to sit next to brit hume and hold his hand -- [laughter] bret: a i've never seen that between dana perino and brit hume. harold, i want to pay something for you with. it is four paragraphs in where the president talks about the hit on that hospital inside gaza. take a listen. >> like so many others, i'm heart broken by the tragic loss of palestinian life including the explosion at the hospital in gaza which was not done by the israelis. bret: he's obviously said that on his trip, but he added that just at the beginning of the speech, or harold, in the oval office. >> well, thanks for having me. i think it was important for him to say that.

that tragedy upinned his trip and made it -- upended his trip and made it very hard for him to meet with some of the arab leaders he wished to meet with on that trip. having said that, i thought his presence in israel was the right time, and all of his words, i think, resonated across the world. let me get to the speech. i sit next to dana two or three nights a week, and i don't with like disagreeing with her. i thought this was a good speech for one reason. he laid out for a lot of the country who don't follow these things as closely as we do why ukraine is important to our national security, why it's a part of our national security interests and, obviously, linked it to israel. when he said that maas and putie and the same, i think that will reverberate in parts of our country that want to understand why would you send a ukraine and israeli ask-for military assistance together? when he talked about the context in terms of the infliction --

inflection points in our nation's almost 250-year history, every inflection point has been motivate by or defined by our defense of freedom and liberty and projecting it. from truman who was president at the outset, at the birth of israel, who introduced the truman doctrine, gave us the marshall plan to help rebuild europe. these are moments when america has to be at its best. and when he reminded us of that beacon of the world, reminded us of that former secretary of state who called us the indices tense bl -- indispensable nation, i viewed this as the introduction the ask congress, let us step forward as a nation, let us step forward as a congress and provide the military assistance and resources to insure that evil, that the bar barism that dana rightly talked about does not spread further. i give him a good grade tonight. bret: as we were hearing that speech, as the president was delivering it, we're getting

confirmation that u.s. forces were attacked in iraq, a military base hosting u.s. forces near the baghdad airport. they took on rocket fire as that's happening, showing how dangerous the situation is and the tinderbox really all over the region. to harold's point, i want to bring in co-anchor of "america's report," john roberts from jerusalem to join the discussion. here is that point of mixing and intertwining hamas and vladimir putin. take a listen. >> hamas and putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it. hamas, it's its stated purpose for existing, the destruction of the state of israel and the murder of jewish people. meanwhile, putin denies ukraine has or ever had real statehood. bre breath john, you've been dealing with, talking with israeli officials on the ground. they had rah praised the president on both his trip and what he's saying. what a did you hear in that

speechsome. >> i mean, they had been praising the president because he's standing four square behind israel. he wants to give them what they need in order to be strong. and really what they need more than anything is replenishment of the iron dome system because if hezbollah decides to get into this fight, it's going to start raining missiles down on israel, and the only thing that will save israel is a fully-supplied iron dome. but when it came to the reason why this entire region is a tinder box is because of one nation, iran. not because of vladimir putin, it's because of iran. where was the ronald reagan moment? where was the kennedy moment? where was even the george bush moment to fire a warning shot across iran's bow to say, not just to say don't, don't, don't, but stay out of this, because if you don't stay out of it, there will be consequences. i'm with dana. that was glaringly missing from this speech. and that is the one thing that everybody in this nation wants

to hear. is this president being very strong about iran, which is fully funding these subsidiary proxies which are creating this mess here in israel. bret: everybody stand by, if you would. martha: let's bring in sean hannity, he will be hosting a special 2-hour version of "hannity" tonight. sean, great to have you with us. your reaction to what you heard from president biden moments ago. >> i don't want this to be gang up on brit night here -- [laughter] but share a lot of john's sentiments and dana's sentiments here. as the speech was going on, i wrote down a couple of words. i thought the speech was disjointed, i thought it was clicheed. i wanted to hear more about the barbaric brutality that took place in israel in their terror attack, the worst in their history. i wanted to hear more about the hostages, i i want to hear more about the americans killed. i wanted to marry more -- hear more about what americans need

to do to help our fellow americans out. he's been forcing and he made a big point yesterday that he tried to force upon israel the need to give money to the palestinians. i can tell you from experience, i know john is on the ground there now, i've been to israel numerous times even during some conflicts and flare-ups -- nothing like what's going on noe network of underground tunnels. i have seen with my own eyes what aid money, where aid money has gone that we have given to the palestinians. i have seen, you know, money that was supposed to be spent on infrastructure, on schools, on hospitals so building these tunnels so they can go into israel and kill israelis and take israelis hostage. i have no confidence at all that $100 million, which is what i believe joe is now proposing, is going to end up in anybody else's hands but hamas' hands. what assurances will we have? back to john's point, i thought

that on the issue of iran their involvement here, the iranian revolutionary guard, the quds forces up to their eyeballs in the plotting and the planning and the scheming of this attack, some reports saying going back as far as two years. why isn't he holding iran's feet to the fire? you know, right now if you look at the situation in israel in particular, not only are they facing a two-front war -- and that is hezbollah in the north at lebanon but also, obviously, gaza in the south and the close proximity to israeli communities and towns. and i've been there on these border towns. these are towns where children play in underground bunkers because it only takes 13 seconds from the moment a rocket is fired to land into one of these border cities. and as i look at the security challenges that israel is facing here, i don't think israel has much of a choice but to go in

and prevent this area of gaza a from ever again being a, being a launching pad to attack these israeli cities. and here's the really scary picture tonight to me, and i wish he addressed it, and that is not only will israel possibly be fighting a two-front war, but iran is saying time is up. iran is now saying that they may involve themselves in this conflict. if, god forbid, that happens, to me, all bets are off in terms of peace in the entire region. you could have full-on war in the entire region break out, and god forbid what it might take to actually end that conflict. it was very disturbing, one other point, very disturbing to me that leaders in jordan, or not even abbas himself, the palestinian authority, egypt, they didn't want to meet with an american president. i thought that was embarrassing. when the president got back on

air force one and he had a horrific, you know, gaggle of reporters where he was basically incoherent, that was scary to me because it's not just, you know, a conservative host like myself can look at this and say this is dangerous, this is not good for our country, but the world is watching this. that axis of evil that i believe, martha, you mentioned is real. this is iran, this is china, this is russia. we believe that north korean rockets were used against israel, so is it might be an even bigger axis of evil. so i think it's a very, very troubling time for the world and, you know, that disjointed speech we just heard going back and forth and flipping and flopping all the way from ukraine back to israel, israel back to ukraine and very little mention of the underlying, or you know, problem which i think is iran was troubling to me. bret: arab leaders, you're right, sean, didn't meet with him even after that intelligence

came out about -- >> well, that's another big problem. >> right. bret: brit, i want to have you respond. you've now sat around after your first statement. what are your thoughts in. [laughter] >> i'm a little bruised here -- [laughter] bret: you're okay. >> all respect to my colleagues, i would make this point: the case that iran and particularly hamas, islamic jihad and these terrorists are the bad guys and our friends, the israelis are the victims and the good guys was made by the events of october 7th and by the subsequent comments by the president and countless others since. it is a overwhelming majority view. what is not such an overwhelming majority view and which is clearly on the president's mind is keeping going our commitment in ukraine. which, by the way, has involved not a single american soldier in any combat role or any role at

all really. and, yes, a lot of money, but a tiny fraction of our defense budget which has had the effect, may i add, of gravely weakening vladimir putin's army and armaments and his regime and his place in the world. as he pointed out, putin's lost a huge slice of the territory he thought he'd gained in ukraine. and given the weakness displayed by mr. biden in pulling out of afghanistan, it created a situation in which we are where we are there, and if we pulled out of ukraine, the penalty would be awful, i think, in terms of our standing in the world, in iran, in china, in russia and elsewhere. so i think he was wise to focus as much of the speech as he did on ukraine. and whether it seemed judgement is bled to people -- jumbled to people listening to the speech, i doubt actually. i think he was trying very much

to weave the two together, and that's why he went back and forth between them. i don't think that was a fault of the speech. martha: the question is whether or not this president can handle the enormity of the threats to civilization, as dana put it, that exist out there and whether or not he is up to, up to it, frankly. and that's something that we can talk about. bret: he did have, you know, the whisper kind of presentation. dana, some thoughts as you've heard sean and brit and others weigh in? >> well, you know, listening to all of us, i think that we're all very clear-headed, and even the president might also be clear-minded about the stakes here. but the thing is, is that we've all articulated it a lot better than he did tonight. and an oval office address is such a big moment. and i know it is so lonely in the oval office. it's awkward, you're buy yourself with, you can't see anybody. i felt like he rushed it. one of the things that he could

do going forward is give more regular speeches and more interviews. he did an interview with "60 minutes" over the weekend. it was a pretty good interview. we are something into a very dangerous time. america and our adversaries, meaning our enemies, and our allies need to hear more from him. bret: we've asked the president for an interview many, many times and have yet to get that answered. sean, thank you so much for joining us, and we'll be with you for the two hours starting at 9:00. >> see you guys, thank you. martha: more reaction, more analysis of the president's speech, we have barely just scratched the surface. we've got more coming back after this short break with. ♪ dexcom g7, the most accurate cgm, can alert you before you go too low. now, that's more peace of mind with dexcom g7. ♪ ♪

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♪ >> in recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen fueling racism, the rise of antia semiism, islamophobia right here in america. it's also intensified in the wake of recent events that led to the horrific threats and

attacks that both shock us and break our hearts. martha: very interesting assessment about hate here in america, talking about the oxygen that it has been given in recent years. let's go live to peter doocy on the north lawn. good evening, peter. you've heard the panel weigh in on the president's speech. you're at the white house where they have been getting ready e for this all day. your thoughts on his focus on that. >> reporter: first thought as somebody that listens to every speech, you don't see him sitting down and giving an address like that very often, so that was something different. and, actually, i mow that we're about -- i know we're about 25 minutes after he wrapped,s there is a marine zen try, so he is still in the oval office doing whatever it is a president does after giving an address like this. surely he was surrounded by aides who are telling him probably what everybody on tv is saying about the remarks. it's interesting though because this is a president who from the very beginning when it was safe

to travel abroad with covid, he would come back and say i told these leaders america is back, and they're all thrilled to hear it. that's the conversation, that's how he characterizes these a chats with other world leaders. but he hasn't really this tonight tried to convince the american people that america needs to establish itself in the world as leader during a time of war. he took all of the pain that came with the dreadful afghanistan withdrawal because he believed that, he was very, he had strong convictions that that was this right things to do. he -- that was the right thing to do. he does not want to be a wartime president, and he's very clear he's not going to send u.s. troops into harm's way to fight russians in ukraine or terrorists in the israel. but it's u.s. influence and u.s. money and the, the way that the u.s. can influence other nations from here that he thinks so so

important at this time. he's not somebody that we've heard talk very much over the last three and a half years about terrorism. and so to that hear him talk about terrorists paying the praise for the terror, dictators paying the price for their aggression is a lot different than what they've been trying to talk about in the runup to the campaign which is guide mommics. back to you -- bidenomics. martha: a lot about green energy. he canceled the green energy speech in colorado this week when all of this began happening. peter, thank you. peter doocy at the white house. bret: let's bring in lieutenant general keith kellogg. i want to play this sound bite about iran, general. take a listen. >> iran is supporting russia's -- in ukraine, and it's supporting hamas and other terrorist groups in the region. meanwhile, putin's turned the iran and north korea to buy attack drones and ammunition to terrorize ukrainian cities and people. from the outset --

bret: he says we'll continue to hold them can accountable. and i think it's republican critics mainly who have talked about the president, where is the accountability on iran for the money, for the support, really for anything here? >> yeah. bret, you're right. look, i think it was a mess tonight. here's why. that war in ukraine has been going on for 550 days, and he hasn't addressed it this tonight. it's been a long war. second piece is we're looking at right now what i think is the largest potential fight we have in the middle east with iran, and you're looking at a state that we're trying to normalize relations with, we're trying to give them more money. it's a huge mistake. we're giving money to the palestinian authority, and is we've moved two carrier strike groups into the eastern med, a lot of other forces moving there because this may break hard. if i does -- it does, it's because hezbollah, an iranian proxy, is going to get involved. you saw the attacks by iranian approximateties -- proxies right

now in iraq are. we know they're behind it, and he's going to have to make a hard call on what he wants to do because if hezbollah comes into this fight, the next question is, okay, what are you going to do with iran, how are you going to handle it? it's a terror state. thirteen days ago in their parliament they chanted "death to america, death to israel." there are 32 dead americans in israel as a result of that attack. there's over a dozen missing. that's the big spread he's -- biggest threat he's facing today, and he's going to have to recognize that. he is going to have to be potentially a wartime president. martha: let me ask you this. if you're iran watching this speech tonight or you are president xi or vladimir putin -- >> yeah. martha: -- what's your reaction? because so far you've been able to push this all of these areas. are you any more intimidated or thinking that you're going to have to pull back after tonight's speechsome. >> yeah, great question, martha, and i would say they're going to test him. i was one of those leaders, ill

say let's find out how tough he really is. and is he's going to push. and this is when he's going to have to be resolute and take hard actions. and some of those actions are going to be pretty rough. he's to going to have to understand there's going to be consequences. when we went after sol manny, we were told we -- soleimani, we were toll we may see some action inside iran, but we took the decision anyway. martha: and those things didn't happen. >> no, they didn't. breath e breath and, general, you talked about iran's support for hamas and hezbollah, they also support the houthis in yemen which today shot land-based cruise missiles and 8 drones it's believed towards targets inside israel. the uss car think in the northern red sea took them out. but this administration back in 2021 removed the designation of the supporters of houthis as a terrorist organization. >> right. yeah. it's kind of -- i think the comment today was they were fired north. [laughter] where else are they going to be going than to israel?

that's the reason i'm saying he's going to be tested. i think today you've seen a test. not only that, but what happened today by the iranian proxies inside iraq are, that's a test. let's see where they're going to take it. and that's how we're going to see the president's going to react. and i really do think the real issue is going to be what's happening in the middle east, what's happening in israel, what's happening with iran and hezbollah, that's the real concern i think this president should have. ukraine's going to take care of itself. bret: general, thank you. martha: let's go back to the panel, and i want to bring brit in on this, because there's been a lot of comparisons made to 1973 and the carter administration. one of the interesting developments in the past couple of days has been these canceled meetings with abdullah in jordan, the cancel meeting with abbas, the leader of the palestinian authority. and when you look at a saudi arabia's posture in all of this, all of those relationships that they worked so hard to build, are we now going to see that slip away, and will the arabs

coalesce together against the united states and israel? is all of that broken down? >> well, that's something that we're all right to worry about. i've always wondered about about the peace process and so on, whether any of it would ever work because i wonderedded this, martha: is a second, it own state really what the palestinians want or at least their leaders want? it certainly doesn't seem to be what hamas wants. and it's not at all clear to me it's a workable solution or ever has been. the only solution may be to deal with these people the way they have dealt wees reel and to some extent -- with israel and that is by force, with firmness. and i've always worried or that this whole structure -- remember how many times, how many presidents came close to what they thought was a deal to create a palestinian state and end the palestinian question

which was thought to be the absolute center of the problems in the middle east. finish they'd get that question solved. i remember bill clinton came so close at the end of his presidency, and yasser arafat got up and walked away with it. it was quite a deal, and lots of land and all the rest of it. it was all there, it was right in front of him. he walked away and what did he do? he started the second intifada. so that is just a piece of the history here. other events have been comparable to that. so i've always doubted whether this attempt to so the palestinian -- solve the palestinian problem first was ever a good idea, and i think we now know that it isn't, it doesn't work, and the best hope began with the abraham accords and is with the possibility of some normalization between israel and saudi arabia which may in light of this have to be postponed indefinitely. but i don't think it's dead. bret: yeah. harold, obviously i went and talked to the saudi crown prince then talked to the israeli prime

minister in succession, and both said they were very close to a normalization deal. saudis have now said that's on hold, it's frozenning. but neither side is really saying in the big picture that they're not -- they're going to give up that hope. you would think a lot depends, harold, on what happens inside gaza and how this develops in the coming days. >> let me align myself with brit here again. what you just shared, brit, just think about this, this is a few weeks ago we were all lauding and believing that within reach was an historic agreement between the saudis and the israelis. a part of that conversation was about the palestinians. but what mbs has shared with you can and others is that the threat, deterring iran and isolating iran was a big part of why they wanted this agreement. i think president biden did a fantastic job this evening. could he have done better? sure. should he have speculated about what our war footing and posture may look like if the9 iranians get involved? i don't think so. i do think lieutenant general kellogg has a legitimate point

as a he raises how and what we do if, indeed, hezbollah attacks on the northern border. but the president over the last few days never mentioned iran. it took iran, they introduced themselves across twitter wanting to make sure that we knew they were there. the president knows exactly whom he's talking to. the iranians know exactly that he's talking to them. and i would argue those who believe that russia's not involved here, russia and iran have been partners for a long time. remember even the debate between romney and obama, romney said that russia was our greatest strategic geopolitical threat, and people laughed at him including some democrats. he turned out to be right because russia and iran have been partners. i hope congress will provide the aid and help him help the israelis and help the ukrainians fight wars without american soldiers. bret: all right, panel, stand by, if you would. there is some chaos in washington. it's not deadly chaos, but it is chaotic. martha: yep. coming up next, we'll talk about the search for a new speaker of the house right behind us on

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♪ ♪ bret: well, have you followed this hunt for a speakerrer of the house? there was not another vote today ohio congressman jim jordan trying to gain support, trying to add up the votes after losing two floor votes so far. senior congressional correspondent chad pergram has the latest from capitol hill. good evening, chad. >> reporter: we're probably going to have a vote on jim jim jordan, his third try tomorrow around 11:00. right now it appears he does not have the votes, he did not gain ground today. in fact, he probably lost ground. here's the ironic thing when it comes the what president biden is asking for from capitol hill with this aid package. the chaos in the house of representatives probably helps.

why? the senate is in control. the senate wants to jam the house of representatives. they are more disposed to this aid package here. mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader, he met with the secretary of state antony blinken today so they can get this through the senate, get more than 60 votes, overcome the filibuster, they can send it to the house. but the house could be delayed with this package until they get a speaker. that could be several weeks away. bret: chad pergram live on the hill, thank you. martha: quick round on this issue, panel. let me start with dana, your thoughts on jim jordan, going to go in for another round tomorrow. >> well, you know, people point out it took mccarthy 15 rounds in order to become the speaker, and i just don't know if we are seeing any sort of movement in the direction. and he doesn't have a lot the play with this in terms of making sure that somebody can get what they want or need in order to vote for him. this is a moment when republicans should be shining. president biden's numbers are terrible on every measure. republicans are more trusted on

the economy, crime, the border, foreign policy, you name it, and they look like the gang that couldn't shoot straight. maybe they'll get their act together by next week. bret: brit, you've covered capitol hill for a long time. we've never seen what's happening now. >> i wonder if it's beginning to dawn a on me, the group that voted mccarthy out, that they made a mistake. they did. now the situation is one where jim jordan is looked upon by more moderate members of the republican caucus as somebody who's more like those eight or nine than like him. like them, i should say. and i think they feel that making him speaker would reward the group of eigre reluctant to do it. i'm not sure he can gain any, gain any votes going forward here. i think we may be in for a longer e siege even an than we've had. martha: harold, what's your take in. >> this is the sue nist of the individualization in politics.

politics is about compromise and consensus building. you would imagine in our -- your own party you could find consensus who the leader could be so you could at least get into the hard issues. stop thinking about yourself, guys. it's not about you. it's about the body, it's about congress, it's about your constituents. hopefully, they can think about those things as opposed to just themselves or individuals. martha: the whole thing's looking kind of like european coalition building and several different parties up there. we'll see where it goes. breath e president harold, dana, brit, as always, thank you. well, they need a house of representatives functioning if the president's going to put forward what he's i putting forward, all this money for israel and ukraine. it's going to be something. martha: maybe they put mchenry in there, and we'll see if he can herd the cats and get this done. great to have you with us tonight to see this president biden foreign policy address. i'm martha maccallum. bret: the stay with fox for complete coverage, good height from washington.