steve: we are honored this morning to have vice president mike pence join us from the white house. mr. pence, we have a lot of things to ask you. >> good morning. steve: at one point my wife and i were talking about mike pence and paul ryan along with the president are on television for over an hour. how important is it to know, you know, that everybody's watching you and how do you figure out when to start a standing ovation? >> well, nobody was watching me or paul ryan, i'll tell you. i just -- i just have to tell you what a privilege it was for me to be there. not just for a great speech but it was a great night for america. and what the american people saw last night for that one hour speech was the president of the united states stepping forward and laying out an agenda to rebuild our military, restore our economy,

to repeal and replace obamacare, to have the kind of trade deals and the kind of tax reform that will really get this economy moving again, to end illegal immigration, and i think it's the reason why that speech is resonating all across the country and as i said, i couldn't be more had you heard to be there. brian: you know, it's not been the easiest to be the running mate with donald trump, one of the most unorthodox, and you're a traditional politician who grew up in this business. however, have you -- when you talk to him after that speech, did you get the impression that he knew that this was the best speech of his career? >> well, i think he was very pleased with the response in the congress. there were a number of moments of genuine bipartisanship. i thought particularly, brian, when he came out at the beginning, and he said we can be divided on policies, but we are united in this country in condemning acts of hatred and

anti-semitism. and i think he was encouraged. i think he left the room and left the capitol with a sense that he had laid a foundation for really moving this country forward. but, you know, what was most meaningful to me was i think millions of americans with that unfiltered hour in that joint address to congress saw the president that i work with every day. broad shoulders, strength, determination, but a big heart. and i just -- i couldn't have been -- i couldn't have been more pleased with the response that it's receiving all over the country. ainsley: when we interviewed him in the white house on monday, he said he gave himself a grade of c or c minus when it came to messaging. so i was curious to find out behind the scenes when you two were talking, and he's prepping for the speech, what kind of messaging was he not happy about that he has given in the past that he wanted to change that he was successful at changing last night? >> i don't think it was about his messaging.

i think it's about the totality of the administration and how we're communicating the vigorous efforts the president has put into effect. thousands of american jobs have been created since his election. companies that were planning to build factories outside the united states have canceled those and come here, and i think the president's challenging all of us to do a better job telling the story of what he's doing. but no one does it better than president trump. and last night, the american people heard straight from the president about the progress we've made, about the challenges we face, but they also heard what i see every day and that is that broad shouldered optimism that believes there is no challenge. there's no problem that can't solved, and i think that's why it's resonating with millions of americans this morning. steve: well, and the reaction across both party lines, sir,

is that it was a great speech because he seemed presidential. i mean, even democrats are saying that was a very presidential address. i'm curious, though. i'm looking at real donald trump's twitter, and he has not tweeted in the last 11 hours, other than to say watch the joint session of congress. brian: you can exhale now. steve: is that going to be -- do you think we're going to see as much tweeting and whatnot? or is that part of the new better messaging going forward? >> well, i don't think it's part of any new messaging. i think the american people heard from president trump last night the exact same agenda that he ran on. steve: sure. >> he laid out this policies. we're going to repeal, and replace obamacare, we're going to deal with illegal immigration and build a wall, cut taxes, get the economy moving again, and rebuilding the military. you heard the president's passion for security. so i think you're going to continue to see the president fight for the american people. but i think what happened last

night with the filter of the media taking office, the american people got to see president trump in full. they got to see those broad shoulders, that big heart and frankly that's the president i work with every day. brian: you are the liaison with congress, you have all the connections and now we understand he wants to do a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill. he wants to do repeal and replace and get tax reform done. this is a congress chance to be able to do things they've been unable to do for eight years, ten years. what can you do to make sure they took advantage of this opportunity? because for 40 days, we haven't seen much. >> well, you've seen a tremendous amount of action by this president. brian: but not from congress. >> well, but congress has passed legislation to roll back excessive regulations passed under president obama and president trump has signed those into law. but you're absolutely right, brian. with the joint session of congress, traditionally, this

is when a president has his best opportunity to lay out an agenda, to give us, if you will, a to-do list to the congress, and i -- i tell you. i've sat through a number of the state of the union addresses with republican and democrat presidents. i've never seen a state of the union address in my lifetime where the president cast a more optimistic tone for the future. but a specific agenda. and now i think all of us as the team works with the president to advance his agenda on capitol hill, we all now have our marching orders, members of congress know where the president wants to go, what the principles of accomplishing that are, the priorities of security, prosperity, repealing and replacing obamacare, and now congress is going to get to work. brian: you know, i don't remember ever hearing a state of the union address or a president addressing congress for the first time. they all tell their stories, different people sitting in the audience. but i don't think i ever remember seeing one as

emotional as last night when president trump was honoring the navy seal about a month ago, ryan owens, listen to this, and that's his wife right there. the president was remembering her last night. listen to this. trump: we're blessed to be joined tonight by karin owens, the wife of senator chief william ryan owens. the bible teaches us there is no greater act of love than to lay down one's life for one's friends. ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country and for our freedom, and we will never forget ryan. [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause] [cheers and applause] >> and ryan is looking down right now, you know that, and he is very happy because i think he just broke a record. [applause] ainsley: so mr. vice president, what was it like to be in the room and to witness that? >> well, first, i can tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the house when mrs. owens was looking up speaking words that only she could hear. my wife was up there near

her. and i'll tell you the tribute that the president paid to her husband ryan, to their family, and through them to the families of all of those who serve in uniform was like nothing i had ever seen and afterwards, i was with the president when he was greeting her and her parents and reminding them that the congress represents the whole country. and i know it was a blessing to them, but i know the president hopes it was also a blessing to all the men and women who wear the uniform to know that whatever our differences in this country, we all stand behind and are grateful from our hearts from all of those who serve. steve: mr. vice president before you go, your reaction to some of the democrats who you said stand behind, some of them didn't stand up for the president, some of them didn't clap, some were hissing, some were giving the thumbs down. >> well, it's disappointing to see that.

i'm someone who believes in the great tradition of state of the union addresses, that's a moment where we can all come together, recognize that president of the united states is president of all the people. but whatever the reaction in the congress, what you saw president trump do -- and, again, what people saw with the president i see every day. broad shoulders and a big heart with a clear vision for the future. he laid that out, and he reached out -- you saw him. he reached out to both sides of the aisle, and he said let's work together to move this country forward. and i'm excited. i'm excited to go to work on moving this agenda for the american people. brian: make sure they go to work and do that, mr. vice president be