tonight -- >> madam speaker -- >> state of the union. >> the president of the united states. >> with the stakes so high, president biden trying to unite the country. >> let's stop seeing each other as enemies. start seeing each other for who we are. fellow americans. >> and the world. >> putin was wrong. we are ready. we are united. >> we peel back the curtain on this momentous day with our team on the ground. >> this is what state of the union day looks like here at the white house. the capitol is on high alert. 3 >> and how one group of texas voters reacted to what he said. this special edition of "nightline" will be right back.

as a small business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving with comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts. saving you up to $500 a year. so boost your bottom line by switching today.

get the new samsung galaxy s22 series on comcast business mobile and for a limited time save up to $750 on a new samsung device with eligible trade-in. ♪ thanks for joining us. tonight's state of the union billed as president biden's chance for a reset. a chance to rally his party and the nation into the midterms. but global events intervened. the russian war on ukraine looming large over the speech. >> my report is this. the state of the union is strong because you, the american

people, are strong. >> reporter: triumphant and optimistic. in his first state of the union reassuring tountry amidst a climate of uncertainty. >> i know news about what's happening can seem alarming to all americans. but i want you to know, we're going to be okay. >> reporter: offering a plea of unity to a divided nation. >> let's stop seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are. fellow americans. >> reporter: in a moment when so much is on the line and so many are questioning his leadership. >> president biden set to deliver his first state of the union address tonight. >> 40-year high inflation -- >> explosions in ukraine's second-largest city kharkiv. >> okay, we're on the air. >> this is what state of the union day looks like here at the white house. you can see the media getting ready. president biden's been in the west wing, he's going through

final run-throughs. >> reporter: in a speech marked by tradition, the look surrounding today's state of the union was different. >> the capitol is on high fence entire u.s. capitol. if you want to come inside, this is what you have to walk through in order to get in. >> reporter: the stakes for the president enormously high. in a moment of international crisis with near record low approval ratings. >> this is not the speech he wanted to give. this is not the speech his team needed to give. he needed a reset heading into tonight, given his poll numbers that he's looking at right now. instead, ukraine and russia has really been taking up almost all of his time leading up to this speech right now. >> reporter: navigating a bitterly divided congress where partisan fighting is the norm. >> democrats have really struggled in the last year to pass major democratic priorities. voting rights, police reform. >> reporter: tonight, so many feeling the fallout of an economy touched by the years-long pandemic. >> inflation has been a persistent issue since last spring, and it's only gotten

worse since this escalation with russia. most notably in the cost of gasoline. tonight the national average, $3.62. oil now above $100 a barrel, at the highest level since 2014. >> reporter: this, the backdrop for what many considered biden's most consequential address. >> madam speaker, the president of the united states. >> reporter: from the first moments, a scene unlike any recently. the president entering the house to a largely maskless audience. glad-handing as he approached the podium. biden devoting the opening of his address to the crisis in ukraine. >> six days ago, russia's vladimir putin sought to shake the very foundations of the free world, thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways.

but he badly miscalculated. he thought he could roll into ukraine and the world would roll over. instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. he met ukrainian people. >> reporter: touting the cost of sanctions. >> tonight, i say to the russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this regime no more. >> reporter: promising over $1 billion to direct assistance in ukraine with even more pressure on russia. >> tonight i'm announcing that we will join our allies in closing off american air space to all russian flights, further isolating russia, adding additional squeeze on their economy. >> reporter: scattered through the audience, yellows and blues. even some sunflowers in solidarity for the beleaguered country, a rare show of unity for a divided congress. the ukrainian ambassador to the u.s., the guest of honor in the first lady's box. but the president quickly pivoting to the economy.

the issue foremost on the minds of americans. the president acknowledging their everyday struggles. >> the pandemic has been punishing. and so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more. >> reporter: saying that innovation here is one of the solutions to tackling the worst inflation the country has seen in 40 years. >> lower your costs, not your wages. [ cheers and applause ] folks, that means make more cars and semiconductors in america. more infrastructure and innovation in america. more goods moving faster and cheaper in america. more jobs where you can earn a good living in america. >> reporter: amidst cheers from his party, a promise to the american taxpayer. >> none of my plan -- nobody,

let me say this again, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. not a single penny. >> reporter: one of the few topics where republicans stood in approval? >> the answer is not to defund the police. >> that's right! >> it's to fund the police. >> reporter: for just over an hour, the president spoke on a series of wide-ranging initiatives and what he called a unity agenda for the nation. four pillars. the opioid epidemic, mental health, supporting veterans, and cancer research. >> we can do these things. >> reporter: while congress is unlikely to pass many of his initiatives and his poll numbers are underwater, biden concluding with a sense of optimism, proclaiming the state of the union is strong. >> this is our moment. to meet and overcome the challenges of our times. and we will. and as one people, one america, the united states of america!

god bless you all, and may god protect our troops! >> president biden's words are likely to echo around the world tonight. abc's james longman is on the ground in moscow where it might be a little bit harder to hear that message. james? >> reporter: hi, juju. as you can imagine, an american state of the union address doesn't receive wall-to-wall coverage on russian state media. it's very tightly controlled. the messaging on particularly this war in ukraine, it's not going to change the calculus at the moment. was this speech heard in the kremlin? absolutely. will it be listened to in the short-term to change anything that's actually happening in ukraine at the moment? unlikely. for president putin, this is an existential crisis. this invasion doesn't seem to be going particularly well. at this point, it's either him or ukraine. and that is a very dangerous place to be, juju. >> james longman, thanks. president biden had a lot of ground to cover tonight.

how did he do? abc's maria villarreal has been talking to voters in houston. >> i'm in houston with a selective group of ten texans. they definitely watched all of the state of the union tonight. i actually watched them watching the state of the union. they have a lot of strong opinions. we want to get straight to it. the first has to do with the biggest conversation piece, which was ukraine and russia. leonard, we spoke with you early on about this particular issue. did you hear enough from the president tonight? >> i think the part of the speech on ukraine was very strong and very optimistic, which was needed for both our nato allies to hear, as well as the ukrainian civilians. >> what was it that might have been missing tonight? >> how do you connect with the russian people and having them understand what's going on in the world? >> i want to flip over to elizabeth. and the reason is because you are a business owner here in the houston area. you are also an immigrant, first

of all, with your family. >> yes. >> that's important, obviously, because of how important your business is and how important it is to build that kind of a business. >> yes. >> he discussed inflation and the economy quite a bit. was it enough for you? >> it wasn't enough for us. as you mentioned, my family is an immigrant family. like so many others in this country, we came because of economic opportunity, because we wanted to build businesses, we wanted to grow. inflation is out of control, and one of the chief contributors to that is energy prices. he did talk about releasing some of the strategic reserve, which is encouraging. however, that's a drop in the bucket. a drop in the ocean, really. he closed down pipelines. he's limited american production drastically. and if we were able to have a good energy policy, not only will that mitigate things like are happening in ukraine, but it will also reduce the price what was we pay at the pump and what we pay to transport our goods and will help to alleviate the inflation that is killing our

economy. >> lataya, there was a discussion about child care and the importance of getting families help. and on top of that also, how did the speech leave you at the end of the night? did you have inspiration and hope? was there a feeling of coming together? >> there was a feeling of coming together. but i want to focus on the first i feel that child care is important, especially for the middle class. because they suffer the most. i'm going to say, we suffer the most. because that was me. i was in that situation where i made too much money to qualify for any assistance, but i also didn't have quite enough to live comfortably and to be able to afford the child care. so i like the fact that he said that child care with his legislation, that he proposed will be no more than 7% of your income. so that's something that really

struck my heartstrings. >> i want to thank you all tonight for spending your night with us. i know it has been a long night. your opinions shared are extremely valued, so thank you again for joining us. juju, we are going to send it back to you. >> thanks, maria. when we come back, two political pros give their take on the president's message. le... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting,

and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. wake up to the possibility of lower a1c with rybelsus®. you may pay as little as $10 for up to a 3-month prescription. ask your healthcare provider about rybelsus® today. does your plug-in fade too fast? try febreze fade defy plug. it has built-in technology to digitally control how much scent is released to smell first day fresh for 50 days. la la la la la. you are an electric vehicle. electricity powers your heart. want to feel your heart beat faster? ♪ (heart beat music) ♪ drive an electric car. made by a company whose evs have gone five billion miles... for every highway... every driveway... ...and every speedway. and where the loudest sound... ...is the beat of your electric heart. this is the new nissan.

♪ ♪ ordinary tissues burn when theo blows. so puffs plus lotion rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion, puffs bring soothing relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed. america's #1 lotion tissue. in new york city, ♪ ♪ there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come be a part of it.

plan your next vacation at iloveny.com

tonight's state of the union address addressing a deeply divided america. did president biden rally the country and the world in this moment of peril? joining me now to sort it out, two of abc's powerhouse political roundtable, democratic

strategist donna brazil, former new jersey governor chris christie. thank you for joining us. governor, let me begin with you. clearly huge expectation expectations in the runup to the speech, arguably one of the important nights of his presidency. how did joe biden do? >> well, i think the problem is that he didn't address a lot of these problems head-on in a way the american people are going to find believable. look, i got a text from somebody during the speech that said they just paid over $5 a gallon for gas. he talks about releasing 60 million barrels of oil. worldwide that is a drop in the bucket. and people know that. he talks about the world taking too long to realize how high the stakes there. yet he was the one who didn't arm ukrainians with defensive weapons for the last 13 months. so when people walk away from the speech and they start to think about it tomorrow, they're still going to go to the gas station, to the supermarket, and they're going to watch the news

and see that his policies are not working. >> donna, tonight it was joe biden, global leader. even on ukraine it was joe biden, sort of grandfather in chief, saying, we're going to be okay. we know he's grappling with dismal approval ratings here at home. did his speech help him dig out of that hole? >> i think so. tonight the american people really wanted to hear from the commander in chief, the leader of the free world. they wanted him to outline the steps we're taking to strengthen ukraine, our humanitarian assistance, our economic assistance. the fact that he has rallied the world. we're standing behind nato, we're standing behind the european union. the fact that he had the ukrainian ambassador in the capitol. i think tonight was an opportunity for the president to not just talk about what he has done and getting this country back on the road to recovery, but also, all of these unmet challenges that we're facing as

american citizens, whether rising gas prices, food prices. but more importantly, he talked about how we're going to invest in america. that we're going to provide the kind of relief that the american people will see, not just at the grocery store or the gas pump, but in their own lives. i think he did a fantastic job tonight. >> chris, it struck me as a stunning scene tonight in the house chamber, the face mask mandate gone, no face masks virtually in sight. the president announced his so-called test to treat program. did you hear a clear plan tonight for america to emerge from the pandemic? >> here's the problem with the biden administration. americans are leading america out of the pandemic, not the biden administration. they are leading from behind. they caught up finally on masks when most of the other states around the country have already gotten there. no, i didn't really hear anything in that regard. here's the problem for the president in response to what

do inflation. we're looking at people thinkin mettle is being tested. when was the last time we saw that? we saw that during the time when joe biden said his favorite president was presiding. that was jimmy carter. that's what joe biden said his favorite president was, jimmy carter. i fear for the country that joe biden is leading us to a jimmy carter-type america. that's not going to be good, not only for america, it's going to be real bad for joe biden's political future and the political future of the democratic party. >> donna, the governor rightly brings up inflation. the president tonight said that fighting inflation is his top priority. we're seeing spiking gas prices, inflation at its highest in 40 years. what stood out to you that might help people's pocketbooks now? >> first of all, let's not forget that when the president took office, the unemployment rate was well over 6%. it is down to 4%. more jobs created than any president in american history.

we see some of the fastest growth, wages are up. and because of that, inflation is robbing us of our joy. so i think what the president said, and rightly so, that this pandemic caused so many problems. inflation, we've seen the supply shortages. so he outlined really, i believe, some very important steps that he's going to take. governor christie mentioned releasing more petroleum, all from the reserves. but more importantly, we've got to work with our suppliers to make sure that we can deliver these goods to the american people that they can afford. he outlined some steps that he believed will help with giving more americans the resources to fight it. he also said it's time to approve his nominees for the federal reserve board, which will also tackle inflation. there are many steps that we have to take, but one thing that the president is doing, he's leading. the other side is just whining

and trying to find arguments because they have nothing to offer. >> lots of whining, lots of arguments. donna brazil, chris christie, thank you both for joining us tonight. we'll be right back. car vent cl. just click, install and febreze steady release technology uses your fan to circulate freshness throughout your car. so, you can enjoy up to 40 days of consistent scent. febreze car. introducing the all-new gillettelabs with exfoliating bar. it combines shaving and gentle exfoliation into one efficient stroke, for a shave as quick and easy as washing your face. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's every-other-month, injectable cabenuva.

for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions, post-injection reactions, liver problems, and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection-site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. every other month and i'm good to go. ask your doctor about every-other-month cabenuva. of course you've seen underwear that fits like this... but never for bladder leaks. every other month and i'm good to go.

new always discreet boutique black. i feel protected all day, in a fit so discreet, you'd never know they're for bladder leaks. always discreet boutique

♪

finally tonight, president biden vowing to fight inflation and lead the u.s. out of the pandemic. all while trying to rally the international community to stand united against putin's bloody attack on ukraine, saying freedom will always triumph over tyranny. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.