tonight, president biden and the state of our union. the president one year into office, facing massive challenges at home and abroad. on the domestic front, record inflation causing prices to rise and the president's approval rating to drop. overseas, russia invading ukraine. a conflict that could reshape the map of europe. all this as the nation tries to emerge from a pandemic that's taken the lives of nearly 1 million americans and widened political divisions.

with the midterm elections only eight months away, the president facing a sharply-divided congress in the house chamber tonight as he makes his case to lawmakers and the american people that the state of the union is strong. >> announcer: from nbc news, president biden's state of the union. live from washington. here are lester holt and savannah guthrie. and good evening from washington. i'm savannah guthrie here with lester holt. and just moments from now, president joe biden will enter the house chamber to give his first official state of the union address. and it comes at a moment when the world is in crisis and on the precipice. russia has invaded its neighbor ukraine, shattering peace in europe and unleashing a massive assault, growing more brutal by the day. we're on the ground in ukraine tonight as the world waits for what message president biden will deliver to americans, to ukrainians, and to moscow tonight. >> as always, issues here at home to grapple with. you have the pandemic, rising

inflation hitting americans hard. any moment we expect the sergeant at arms to announce the president's arrival. a big difference from last year is the size of the crowd. all members of congress were invited to attend tonight's address and masks are optional, something we've not seen since the start of the pandemic. everyone was required to provide a pcr test prior to entry. the fencing that went up around the capitol following the january 6th insurrection is back, with national guard troops on standby. i want to go right to nbc's chief white house correspondent peter alexander. peter, good evening. >> lester, good evening to you and savannah. president biden's aides say there is no question this is a different speech than he would have been giving just a couple of weeks ago, punctuating one of the most consequential periods of his presidency. in the midst of the russian invasion, only days after announcing his pick to be the first black woman on the supreme court.

this is a high stakes balancing act. ukraine, i'm told, will be a dominant theme. the president will try to demonstrate his leadership in one of the greatest threats to liberty since world war ii and what the president will call an premeditated and unprovoked war. the u.s. will close airspace to russian aircraft. the president's job approval is at an all-time low, americans dissatisfied with his handling of crime and inflation. look for him to express empathy with those economic struggles, detail how he will be cutting costs to help families. i will be watching his tone tonight. officials are previewing what they call a unity agenda, focusing on priorities that have been historically bipartisan. lester, just moments ago we learned that the designated survivor during tonight's state of the union will be the commerce secretary, gina raimondo.

>> all right, peter, thank you. we want to turn now to our chief foreign correspondent richard engel in ukraine's capital city of kyiv tonight. general milley is in the house chamber tonight, we saw tony blinken. richard, russian forces are engaging in a six-day brutal assault, one that's expected to get even worse as the days wear on. what is the situation you're seeing on the ground at this hour? >> reporter: there is a lot of concern, particularly with what is happening in the city of kharkiv. people are worried that what is happening to the second city in this country could be the fate of kyiv. kharkiv right now is completely surrounded by russian forces. it is being attacked from the outside by russian artillery, air strikes, missiles. and then just a short while ago, according to ukrainian intelligence, there was a russian air assault into the city itself.

and they worry that this pattern could repeat itself on a city twice its size, the city of kyiv, with first russia encircling the city, then attacking it, then landing troops inside. a short while ago the president of ukraine, zelenskyy, made an appeal, saying this country needs help, that without more assistance it is not going to be able to confront russia on its own. up until now, the ukrainian military has been able to keep the russians at bay and has been putting up a heroic defense. but a new kind of tactic would be much more difficult. >> richard, the president has entered the house chamber. we expect this walk to last quite a few minutes, as it often does when he greets members of congress, the assembled guests. we've seen several members of the supreme court, the cabinet. and again, no mask in the chamber tonight. masks were optional and many have chosen not to wear them.

so we're starting to see that return to normalcy. we'll bring in nbc's political director "meet the press" moderator chuck todd and nbc chief political correspondent andrea mitchell. >> this war is not an american war but one that certainly americans have followed with interest, the pain and the soul-crushing moments we've witnessed in that part of the world. >> the president has an opportunity that he wouldn't have had weeks ago, more people will tune in to this speech. the last few states of the union, one party watches its president, the other party doesn't. tonight, with the uncertainty of what's going on in ukraine, the uncertainty of the threats from putin, the president has an opportunity to talk to some people he hasn't perhaps been able to talk to in a while. now, that's the challenge, of course, of the speech, is to see if what he says penetrates the public.

i think he's had a hard time penetrating and getting them to listen to what he has to say on domestic politics. i do think this is his wheelhouse, this is what in some ways he's been preparing his professional life for, is this moment, to manage the crisis in europe. he is perhaps ready for this moment. so the opportunity tonight to meet it. >> andrea, our chief foreign affairs correspondent, this is a moment for history. this is a moment where the president is likely to talk about the forces for democracy versus the forces of a dictator and set it in quite stark terms. >> and he's hoping, as we see the president handing the speech, the text, to the vice president and of course the speaker of the house, he's hoping that all the republican criticism that he did not move quickly enough to arm ukraine will now be resolved because they have taken decisive action. >> i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states.

[ cheers and applause ] . >> this could be a rare moment of bipartisanship. >> i see a lot of blue and yellow already in the crowd. >> the ukrainian flag with the u.s. flag. >> thank you, thank you, thank you. [ applause ] . >> thank you all very much. thank you. thank you all very, very much. thank you. please. thank you so much. madam speaker, madam vice

president, our first lady and second gentleman, members of congress and the cabinet, justices of the supreme court, my fellow americans. last year, covid-19 kept us apart. this year, we're finally together again. [ applause ] . tonight we meet as democrats, republicans, independents. most importantly, as americans. with the duty to one another to america, to the american people, to the constitution. and an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny. [ cheers and applause ] .

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 the ukrainian people. [ cheers and applause ] . president zelenskyy, to every ukrainian, their fearlessness, truly inspires the world. groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. everyone from students to volunteers to teachers turned

soldiers, defending their homeland. president zelenskyy said in a speech to the european parliament, light will win over darkness. the ukrainian ambassador is here tonight sitting with the first lady. if you're able to stand, stand and send an unmistakable signal to the world. [ cheers and applause ] . thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. she's strong, she's resolved. yes. we, the united states of america, stand with the ukrainian people. throughout our history, we've

learned this lesson. when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos. they keep moving. and the cost, the threats to america and the world keeps rising. that's why the nato alliance was created, to secure peace and stability in europe after world war ii. the united states is a member, along with 29 other nations. it matters. american diplomacy matters. american resolve matters. putin's latest attack on ukraine was premeditated and totally unprovoked. he rejected repeated, repeated efforts at diplomacy. he thought the west and nato wouldn't respond. he thought he could divide us at home, in this chamber and in this nation. he thought he could divide us in europe as well.

but putin was wrong. we are ready. we are united. and that's what we did. we stayed united. we prepared carefully and extensively. we spent months building coalitions to confront putin. like many of you, i spent countless hours unifying our european allies. we shared with the world in advance what we knew putin was planning, and precisely how he would try to falsify and justify his aggression. we countered russia's lies with the truth. and now, now he's acted. the free world is holding him accountable, along with 27 members of the european union, including france, germany, italy, as well as countries like the united kingdom, japan, korea, new zealand, many others, even switzerland are inflicting pain on russia and supporting

the people of ukraine. putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been. [ applause ] . together along with our allies, we're right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. we're cutting off russia's largest banks from the international financial banking system, preventing russia's central banks from defending the russian ruble, making putin's $600 billion war fund worthless. we're choking russia's access. we're choking russia's access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come. tonight, i say to the russian oligarchs and the corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime,

no more. [ cheers and applause ] . i mean it. the united states department of justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of the russian oligarchs. we're joining with european allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. we're coming for your ill-begotten gains. and tonight i'm announcing we'll join our allies in closing off american airspace to all russian flights, further isolating russia and adding additional squeeze on their economy. [ cheers and applause ] . he has no idea what's coming. the ruble has already lost 30% of its value. the russian stock market has lost 40% of its value.

and trading remains suspended. the russian economy is reeling. and putin alone is the one to blame. together with our allies, we're providing support to the ukrainians in their fight for freedom. military assistance, economic assistance, humanitarian assistance. we're giving more than a billion dollars of direct assistance to ukraine and we'll continue to aid the ukrainian people as they continue to defend their country and help ease their suffering. [ applause ] . but let me be clear. our forces are not engaged and will not engage in the conflict with russian forces in ukraine. our forces are not going to europe to fight ukraine but to defend our nato allies in the event putin decides to keep moving west. for that purpose, we have mobilized american ground

forces, air squadrons, ship deployments, to protect nato countries including poland, romania, latvia, lithuania, and estonia. as i've made crystal clear, the united states and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is nato territory the full force of our collective power. every single inch. [ applause ] . and we're clear-eyed. the ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. but the next few days, weeks, and months, will be hard on them. putin has unleashed violence and chaos. but while he may make gains on the battlefield, he'll pay a continuing high price over the long run. and a pound of ukrainian people, proud, proud people, pound for pound, ready to fight with every inch of energy they have.

they've known 30 years of independence. they've repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards. to all americans, i'll be honest with you, as i always promised i would be, a russian dictator invading a foreign country has costs around the world. and i'm taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the russian economy and that we use every tool at our disposal to protect american businesses and consumers. tonight, i can announce the united states has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world. america will lead that effort, releasing 30 million barrels from our own strategic petroleum reserve. and we stand ready to do more if necessary, united with our allies. these steps will help blunt gas prices here at home. but 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. we're going to okay. when the history of this era is written, putin's war in ukraine will have left russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. [ applause ] . while it shouldn't have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what's at stake, now everyone sees it clearly. we see the unity among leaders of nations, a more unified europe, a more unified west. we see unity among the people who are gathering in the cities and large crowds around the world, even in russia, to demonstrate their support for the people of ukraine. in the battle between democracy and autocracies, democracies are rising to the moment.

and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security. this is the real test. it's going to take time. so let's continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the ukrainian people. from our fellow ukrainian americans who forged a deep bond that connects our two nations, we stand with you. we stand with you. putin may circle kyiv with tanks, but he'll never gain the hearts and souls of the ukrainian people. he'll never extinguish their love of freedom and he will never, never weaken the resolve of the free world. [ applause ] . we meet tonight in an america that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. the pandemic has been punishing. and so many families are living

paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, gas, housing, and so much more. i understand, like many of you did, my dad had to leave his home in scranton, pennsylvania to find work. so like many of you, i grew up in a family, when the price of food went up, it was felt throughout the family. it had an impact. that's one of the first things i did as president, to fight to pass the american rescue plan. because people were hurting, we needed to act, and we did. two pieces of legislation have done more at a critical moment in our history to lift us out of a crisis. it fueled our effort to vaccinate the nation and combat covid-19. it delivered immediate economic relief to tens of millions of americans. it helped put food on the table. remember those long lines of cars waiting for hours just to get a box of food put in their trunk? it cut the cost of health care insurance. and as my dad used to say, it

gave the people just a little bit of breathing room. unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration, that benefitted the top 1% of americans, the american rescue plan -- the american rescue plan helped working people and left no one behind. [ cheers and applause ] . and it worked. it worked. it worked. it created jobs, lots of jobs. in fact our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year. [ cheers and applause ] more jobs in one year than ever

before in the history of the united states of america. the economy grew at a rate of 5.7 last year, the strongest growth rate in 40 years. and the first step in bringing fundamental change to our economy that hasn't worked for working people in this nation for too long. for the past 40 years, we were told the tax break for those at the top and benefits would trickle down and everyone would benefit. but that trickledown theory led to a weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits, and a widening gap between the top and everyone else in nearly a century. look, vice president harris and i ran for office and i realize we have fundamental disagreements on this, but ran for office with a new economic vision for america. invest america. educate americans. grow the workforce. build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down, because we know -- [ cheers and applause ]

-- because we know -- because we know, when the middle class grows, when the middle class grows, the poor go up and the we'll do very well. america used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on earth. and now our infrastructure is ranked 13th in the world. we won't be able to compete for the jobs of the 21st century if we don't fix it. that's why it was so important to pass the bipartisan infrastructure law. i thank my republican friends who joined to invest in rebuilding america, the single biggest investment in history. it was a bipartisan effort and i want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen. we're done talking about infrastructure weeks. we're now talking about an infrastructure decade. [ cheers and applause ]

. it's going to transform america and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st century that we face with the rest of the world, particularly china. i've told xi jinping, it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. we'll create good jobs for millions of americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports, waterways, all across america. and we'll do it to withstand the devastating effects of climate change and promote environmental justice. we'll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, begin to replace the poisonous lead pipes so every child has clean water to drink at home and at school. [ applause ] we're going to provide affordable high speed internet for every american, rural,

suburban, urban, and travel communities. 4,000 projects have already been announced. many of you have announced them in your districts. and tonight i'm announcing that this year we will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair. [ cheers and applause ] . folks, when we use taxpayers' dollars to rebuild america, eri. buy american products. support american jobs. [ applause ] the federal government spends about $600 billion to keep this country safe and secure. there's been a law on the books for almost a century to make sure taxpayers' dollars support

american jobs and businesses. every administration, democrat or republican, says they'll do it. but we're actually doing it. we'll buy american to make sure everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guard rails is made in america from beginning to end, all of it. all of it. [ cheers and applause ] . but folks, to compete for the jobs of the future, we also need a level playing field with china and other competitors. that's why it's so important to pass the bipartisan innovation act sitting in congress, that will make record investments in emerging technologies and american manufacturing. we used to invest almost 2% of our gdp in research and development. we don't now. china is. let me give you one example why

it's so important to pass. if you travel 20 miles east of columbus, ohio, you'll find a thousand empty acres of land. it won't look like much. but if you stop and look closely, you'll see a field of dreams. the ground on which america's future will be built. that's where intel, the american company that helped build silicon valley, is going to build a $20 billion semiconductor mega site. up to eight state of the art factories in one place. 10,000 new jobs. and those factories, the average job, about $135,000 a year. some of the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world, to make computer chips the size of a fingertip. the power of the world in everyday lives, from smartphones, technology of the interpret, technology that's yet to be invented.

but that's just the beginning. intel's ceo, pat gelsinger, pat, stand up. [ applause ] . pat came to see me and told me they're ready to increase their investment from $20 billion to $100 billion. that would be the biggest investment in manufacturing in american history. and all they're waiting for is for you to pass this bill. so let's not wait any longer. send it to my desk, i'll sign it, and we'll really take off in a big way. [ applause ] . and folks, intel is not alone. there's something happening in america. just look around and you'll see an amazing story.

the rebirth of pride that comes from stamping products "made in america." the revitalization of american manufacturing. companies are choosing to build new factories here, when just a few years ago they would have gone overseas. that's what's happening. ford is investing $11 billion in electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country. gm is making the largest investment in its history, $7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in michigan. all told, 369,000 new manufacturing jobs are created in america last year alone. [ cheers and applause ] . folks, powered by people i've met like jo jo burgess from generations of union steelworkers in pittsburgh who is here tonight,,are you, jo jo?

there you go, thanks, buddy. as ohio senator sherrod brown says -- [ cheers and applause ] . as sherrod brown says, it's time to bury the label "rust belt." it's time to see what used to be called the rust belt become the home of a significant resurgence in manufacturing. and bright spots in our economy, record job growth, higher wages. too many families are struggling to keep up. inflation is robbing them of the gains they thought otherwise they would be able to feel. i get it. that's why my top priority is getting prices under control. look, our economy roared back faster than almost anyone predicted. but the pandemic meant that

businesses had a hard time hiring up people because of the pandemic to keep up production in our factories. so we didn't have people making those beams that went into buildings because they were out. the factory was closed. the panic also disrupted the global supply chain. factories closed. when that happens, it takes longer to make goods and get them to the warehouses, to the stores, and prices go up. look at cars last year. one-third of all the inflation was because of automobile sales. there weren't enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. and guess what? price of automobiles went way up. especially used vehicles as well. and so we have a choice. one way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make americans poorer. i think i have a better idea to fight inflation. 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. instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let's make it in america. [ cheers and applause ] . [ chanting, usa ] >> economists call it increasing the productive capacity of our economy.

i call it building a better america. my plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. 17 nobel laureates in economics said my plan will ease long term inflationary pressures. top business leaders, and i believe most americans, support the plan. here is the plan. first, cut the cost of prescription drugs. [ cheers and applause ] . we pay more for the same drugs produced by the same companies in america than any other country in the world. just look at insulin. one in ten americans has diabetes. in virginia, i met a 13-year-old boy, a handsome young man standing up there, joshua davis. [ applause ] he and his dad both had type 1 diabetes. which means they need insulin every single day.

insulin costs about $10 a vial to make. that's what it costs the pharmaceutical company. drug companies charge families like joshua and his dad up to 30 times that amount. i spoke with josh and his mom. imagine what it's like to look at your child, who needs insulin to stay healthy, and have no idea in god's name how you're going to be able to pay for it. what it does to your family. but what it does to your dignity, your ability to look your child in the eye, to be the parent you expect yourself to be. i really mean it. think about that. that's what i think about. you know, yesterday -- joshua is here tonight but yesterday was his birthday. happy birthday, buddy, by the way. [ applause ] so joshua and 200,000 other people with type 1 diabetes, let's cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month.

so everyone can afford it. [ cheers and applause ] and drug companies will do very, very well. their profit margins. while we're at it, i know we have great disagreements, let's let medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs. [ cheers and applause ] . they already cut the price for va drugs. look, the american rescue plan is helping millions of families with affordable care act plans to save them $2,400 a year on their health agreements. let's close the coverage gap and make these savings permanent. [ applause ] and second, let's cut energy costs for families. an average of $500 a year by combatting climate change. let's provide an investment tax credit to weatherize your home and your business, to be energy

efficient and get a tax credit for it. double america's clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more. lower the price of electric vehicles, saving another $80 a month that you're not going to have to pay at the pump. [ applause ] folks, third, the third thing we can do to change the standard of living for hard working folks is cut the cost of childcare. [ cheers and applause ] cut the cost of childcare. folks, if you live in a major city in america, you pay up to $14,000 a year for childcare per child. i was a single dad for five years, raising two kids. i had a lot of help, though. i had a mom, a dad, a brother, and a sister that really helped. middle class and working folks shouldn't have to pay more than

7% of your income to care for young children. [ cheers and applause ] my plan would cut the cost of childcare in half for most families. and help parents, including millions of women who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn't afford childcare, to be able to get back to work, generating economic growth. my plan doesn't stop there. it also includes home and long term care, more affordable housing, free-k for 3 and 4-year-olds. all these will lower costs to families. 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. [ cheers and applause ] . i may be wrong, but my guess is if we took a secret ballot on

this floor, that we would all agree that the present tax system ain't fair. we have to fix it. i'm not looking to punish anybody. but let's make corporations and wealth americans start paying their fair share. look, last year -- [ applause ] . last year, like chris coons and tom carper and my distinguished congresswoman, we come from the land of corporate america. there are more corporations incorporated in america than every other state in america combined. i still won 36 years in a row. the point is, even they understand, they should pay their fair share. last year 55 of the fortune 500 companies earned $40 billion in profit and paid zero in federal taxes. [ audience reacts ]

look, it's not fair. that's why i proposed a 50% minimum tax rate for corporations. [ applause ] we've got -- that's why until the g7 and other meetings overseas, we were able to put together, i was able to be somewhat helpful, 130 countries agree on a global minimum tax rate. so companies can't get out of paying their taxes at home by shipping jobs and factories overseas. and raise billions of dollars. that's why i propose closing loopholes for the very wealthy who pay a lower tax rate than a teacher and a firefighter. so that's my plan. but we have more detail later. we'll grow the economy, lower the cost to families. so what are we waiting for? let's get this done. we all know whatever got to make changes. [ applause ] .

folks, and while you're at it, confirm my nomination for the federal reserve. it plays a critical role in fighting inflation. my plan will not only lower costs and give families a fair shot, it will lower the deficit. the previous administration not only ballooned the deficit with those tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations. it undermined the watchdogs, the job of those to keep pandemic relief funds being wasted. remember we had those debates about whether or not those watch dogs should be able to see every day how much money was being spent, was it going to the right place? in my administration, the watch dogs are back. and we're going to go after the criminals who stole billions of relief money meant for small business and millions of americans. tonight i'm announcing that the justice department will soon name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud. [ cheers and applause ]

. and look, i think we all agree -- thank you -- by the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half of what it was before i took office. the only president ever to cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year. lowering your costs also meant demanding more competition. i'm a capitalist. but capitalism without competition is not capitalism. capitalism without competition is exploitation. it drives up profits. [ applause ] and corporations have to compete. their profits go up and your prices go up when they don't have to compete. small businesses and ranchers, i need not tell my republican friends in those states, guess what, you have four basic meat packing facilities. that's it.

you play with them or you don't get to play at all. and you pay a hell of a lot more, because there's only four. see what's happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of america. during the pandemic, about half a dozen or less foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000% and made record profits. tonight, i'm announcing a crackdown on those companies overcharging american businesses and consumers. [ cheers and applause ] . folks, and as wall street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up. that ends on my watch. medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure loved ones get the care they deserved and that they expect and they will be looked at closely.

we'll also cut costs to keep the economy growing strong and give workers a fair shot, provide more training and apprenticeships, hire based on skills, not just degrees. let's passion the paycheck fairness act, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and extend the child tax credit so no one has to raise a family in poverty. let's increase our support for hbcus and invest in what jill, our first lady, who teaches full-time, calls america's best kept secret, community colleges. look, let's pass the pro act. when a majority of workers want to form a union, they shouldn't be able to be stopped. when we invest in our workers and we build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, together we can do something we haven't done in a long time. build a better america.

for more than two years, covid has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of this nation. and i know you're tired, frustrated, and exhausted. i can't even count the close to a million people who sit at a dining room table or kitchen table, looking at an empty chair because they lost somebody. but i also know this. because of the progress we've made, because of your resilience, and the tools that we have been provided by this congress, tonight i can say we're moving forward safely back to a more normal routine. we've reached a new moment in the fight against covid-19. where severe cases are down to a level not seen since july of last year. just a few days ago, the centers for disease control and prevention issued a new mask guideline. under the new guidelines, most americans in most of the country

can now go mask-free. and based on projections -- [ applause ] and based on projections, more of the country will reach a point, that point, across the next couple of weeks. thanks to the progress we have made in the past year, covid-19 no longer need control our lives. i know some are talking about living with covid-19. but tonight i say that we never will just accept living with covid-19. we'll continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. and because this virus mutates and spreads, we have to stay on guard. here are four common sense steps as we move forward safely, in my view. first, stay protected with vaccines and treatments. we now have incredibly effective vaccines. if you're vaccinated and boosted, you have the highest degree of protection. we will never give up on vaccinating more americans. now, i know parents of kids under 5 are eager to see vaccines authorized for their children.

scientists are working hard to get that done and we'll be ready with plenty of vaccines if and when we do. we are also ready with antiviral treatments. if you get covid-19, the pfizer pill reduces your chance of ending up in the hospital by 90%. i've ordered more pills than anyone in the world has. pfizer is working overtime to get us a million pills this month and more than double that next month. and now we're launching the test to treat initiative. so people can get tested in a pharmacy and if they prove positive, receive the antiviral pills on the spot at no cost. [ applause ] folks, if you're immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have

ignoring anyone's needs as we move forward. on testing, we've made hundreds. and you can order them for free to your doorstep. if you've already ordered free tests, tonight i'm announcing you can order another group of tests. go to covidtest.gov starting next week and you can get more tests. second, we must prepare for new variants. over the past, we've gotten much better at detecting new variants. if necessary, we'll be able to develop new vaccines within 100 days instead of maybe months or years. and if congress provides the funds we need, we'll have new stockpiles of tests, masks, pills, ready if needed. i can't promise a new variant won't come. but i can promise you we'll do everything within our power to be ready if it does. [ applause ] .

third, we can end the shutdowns of schools and businesses. we have the tools we need. it's time for america to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again with people. people working from home can feel safe and begin to return to their offices. we're doing that here in the federal government. the vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person. our schools are open. let's keep it that way. our kids need to be in school. [ applause ] . 75% of adult americans fully vaccinated and hospitalizations down by 77%. most americans can remove their masks and stay in the classroom and move forward safely. we achieve this because we have provided free vaccines, treatments, tests, and masks.

of course continuing this costs money. so it will not surprise you, i'll be back to see you all. i'm going to soon send a request to congress. the vast majority of americans have used these tools and we may need them again. so i expect congress, and i hope you'll pass that quickly. we've sent 475 million vaccine doses to 112 countries, more than any nation on earth. [ applause ] we won't stop. because you can't build a wall high enough to keep out a vaccine. the vaccine can stop the spread of these diseases. you know, we've lost so much in covid-19. time with one another. worst of all, the loss of life. let's use this moment to reset. to stop looking at covid as a

partisan dividing line. see it for what it is. a godawful disease. let's stop seeing each other as enemies and start seeing each other for who we are. fellow americans. [ applause ] . we can't change how divided we've been. it was a long time in coming. we can change how to move forward. on covid-19 and other issues that we must face together. i recently visited new york city police department days after the funerals of officer wilber mora and his partner officer jason rivera. they were responding to a 9/11 call when a man shot and killed them with a stolen gun.

officer mora was 27 years old, officer rivera was 22-year-old. both dominican americans who grew up in the same streets they later chose to patrol as police officers. i spoke with their families. i told them that we're forever in debt for their sacrifices and we'll carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety that every community deserves. like some of you who have been around for a while, i've worked with you on these issues for a long time. i know what works. investigating crime prevention and community policing. cops who walk the beat, who know the neighborhood, and who can restore trust and safety. let's not abandon our streets or choose between safety and equal justice. let's come together and protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable. that's why the justice department has required body cameras, banned chokeholds and restricted no-knock warrants for its officers.

that's why the american rescue plan that you all provided $350 billion that cities, states, and counties can use to hire more police, invest in more proven strategies. [ applause ] . proven strategies like community violence interruption, trusted messengers, breaking the cycle of violence and trauma, giving young people some hope. we should all agree the answer is not to defund the police. it's to fund the police. [ cheers and applause ] fund them. fund them. fund them with resources and training. resources and training they need to protect our communities.

i ask democrats and republicans alike to pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe. and we'll do everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking of ghost guns which you can buy online, assemble at home, no serial numbers, can't be traced. i ask congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence. pass universal background checks. why should anyone on the terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon? why? why? [ cheers and applause ] and folks, ban assault weapons with high capacity magazines of up to a hundred rounds. do you think the deer are wearing kevlar vests? look, repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in america that can't be sued. the only one. [ applause ] imagine, had we done that with the tobacco manufacturers. these laws don't infringe on the

second amendment. they save lives. the most fundamental right in america is the right to vote and have it counted. and look, it's under assault. in state after state, new laws have been passed. not only to suppress the vote. we've been there before. but to subvert the entire election. we can't let this happen. tonight i call on the senate to pass, pass the freedom to vote act. pass the john lewis voting rights act. and while you're at it, pass the act to let americans know who is funding elections. i would like to honor someone who dedicated his life to serving this country. justice breyer, constitutional scholar, army veteran, retiring justice of the united states supreme court. justice breyer, thank you for your service. thank you, thank you, thank you.

i mean it. stand up. let them see you. thank you. [ applause ] . we all know, no matter what your ideology, we all know one of the most serious constitutional responsibilities a president has is nominating someone to serve on the united states supreme court. as i did four days ago, i've nominated a circuit court of appeals, ketanji brown jackson, one of our nation's top legal minds, who will continue in justice breyer's legacy of excellence. [ cheers and applause ] . a former top litigator in private practice, a former federal public defender, from a family of public school educators and police officers, she's a consensus builder. since she's been nominated,

she's received a broad range of support, including the fraternal order of police and former judges, democrats and republicans. folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure or border and fix the immigration system. [ applause ] . as you might guess, i think we can do both. at our border, we've installed new technology like cutting edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling. we've set up joint patrols in mexico and guatemala to catch more human traffickers. we're putting in place dedicated immigration justices in a significant larger number so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases

heard faster and those not legitimately here can be sent back. we're screening. we're securing commitments and supporting partners in south and central america to host more refugees and secure their own borders. we can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty which has led a generation of immigrants to this land, my forebears and many of yours. provide a pathway to citizenship for dreamers. [ applause ] revise our laws so businesses have workers they need and families don't wait decades to reunite. it's not only the right thing to do. it's the economically smart thing to do. that's why the immigration reform is supported by everybody from labor unions to religious leaders to the u.s. chamber of commerce. let's get it done once and for all. [ applause ]

folks, advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women. the constitutional right affirmed by roe v. wade, standing precedent for nearly a century, is going backwards like never before. we must protect women's right to choose and advance maternal health care for all americans. [ cheers and applause ] and folks, for our lgbtq plus americans, let's finally get the bipartisan equality act to my desk. [ applause ] the onslaught of state laws targeting transgender americans and their families is simply wrong. i sad last year, especially to our younger transgender americans, i'll always have your back as president so you can be yourself and reach your god-given potential.

[ applause ] folks, as i've just demonstrated, it often appears we do not agree, and we do agree on a lot more things than we acknowledge. i signed 80 bipartisan bills into law last year, from preventing government shutdowns to protecting asian americans from still-too-common hate crimes, to reforming military justice, and we'll soon be strengthening the violence against women act that i first wrote three decades ago. it's important. it's important for us to show the nation we can come together and do big things. so tonight i'm offering a unity agenda for the nation. four big things we can do together, in my view. first, beat the opioid epidemic. [ cheers and applause ] there is so much we can do.

increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery. get rid of outdated rules that stop doctors from prescribing treatments. stop the flow of illicit drugs by working with state and local law enforcement to go after the traffickers. and if you're suffering from addiction, you know, you should know you're not alone. i believe in recovery and i celebrate the 23 million, 23 million americans in recovery. [ applause ] second, let's take on mental health. especially among our children whose lives and education have been turned upside down. the american rescue plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. i urge every parent to make sure your school, your school does just that, they have the money. we can all play a part. sign up to be a tutor or a mentor. children are also struggling before the pandemic, bullying,

violence, trauma, and the harms of social media. as francis houghen, who is here tonight with us, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the experiments they're conducting on our children for profit. [ applause ] . folks -- thank you. thank you for the courage you showed. it's time to strengthen privacy protections. ban targeted advertising to children. demand companies to stop collecting person data on our children. and let's get all americans the mental health services they need. more people can turn for help and full parity between physical and health care if we treat it

that way in our insurance. [ applause ] look, the third piece of that agenda is support our veterans. [ cheers and applause ] veterans are the backbone and the spine of this country. they're the best of us. i've always believed that we have a sacred obligation for those we send to war and care for them and their families when they come home. my administration has provided assistance, job training, housing, now helping lower income veterans get va care debt-free. our troops in iraq and afghanistan have faced many dangers, one being stationed at bases, breathing in toxic smoke from burn pits. many of have you been there. i've been in and out of iraq and afghanistan over 40 times. these burn pits that incinerate waste, the waste of war, medical

and hazardous material, jet fuel, so much more. and they come home, many of the world's fittest and best-trained warriors in the world, never the same. headaches, numbness, dizziness. a cancer that will put them in a flag-draped coffin. i know. one of those soldiers was my son, major beau biden. i don't know for sure if the burn pit that he lived near in iraq and earlier than that in kosovo, was the cause of his brain cancer, the disease of so many other troops. but i am committed to find out everything we can, committed to military families like danielle robinson from ohio, the widow of sergeant first class heath robinson. he was born a soldier.

army national guard, combat medic in kosovo and iraq, stationed near baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields. danielle is here with us tonight. they love going to ohio state football games. [ applause ] . and they love building legos with their daughter. but cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged heath's lungs and body. danielle says heath was a fighter to the very end. he didn't know how to stop fighting. and neither did she. through her pain, she found purpose to demand that we do better. tonight, danielle, we are going to do better. the va -- [ applause ]

-- the va is finding new ways of linking toxic exposure to disease, already helping veterans get benefits. tonight i'm announcing we're expanding coverage to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. i'm calling on congress to pass laws to make sure these veterans finally get the benefits and the comprehensive health care they deserve. [ cheers and applause ] . fourth, last, let's end cancer as we know it. this is personal. [ applause ] .

this is personal to me and to jill and to kamala and so many of you. so many of you have lost someone you love. husband, wife, son, daughter, mom, dad. cancer is the number two cause of death in america, second only to heart disease. last month, i announced a plan to super channel the cancer moonshot that president obama asked me to lead six years ago. rates by at least 50% by the next 25 years and i think we can do better than that. turn cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases. more support for patients and their families. to get there i call on congress to fund what i call arpa-h, advance research projects agency for health. patterned after darpa in the

defense department, which led to the internet, gps and so much more. this will make our forces safer and able to wage war with more clarity. arpah will have a single purpose, to drive breakthroughs in cancer, alzheimer's, diabetes and more. a unity agenda for the nation. we can do these things. it's within our power. and i don't see a partisan edge to any one of those four things. my fellow americans, tonight we've gathered in this sacred space, a citadel of democracy, in this capitol. generation of generation of americans have debated great questions, made great stride, and done great things. we've fought for freedom, expanded liberty, debated totalitarianism and terror. we've built the strongest, freest, and most prosperous

nation the world has ever known. now is the hour. our moment of responsibility, our test to resolve conscience, of history itself. it is in this moment that our character of this generation is folder. our purpose is found. our future is forged. well, i know this nation. we'll meet the test, protect freedom and liberty, expand fairness and opportunity, and we will save democracy. as hard as those times have been, i'm more optimistic about america today than i've been my whole life, because i see a future in our grasp. i know there's simply nothing beyond our capacity. we're the only nation on eartha that has turned every problem into opportunity. the only nation that can be defined by a single word, "possibilities."

on this night, on our 245th year as a nation, i've come to report on the state of the nation, the state of the union. and my report is this. the state of the union is strong because you, the american people, are strong. we are stronger today, we are stronger today than we were a year ago. [ cheers and applause ] and we'll be stronger a year from now than we are today. this is our moment, to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. and we will. as one people, one america. the united states of america. god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you. go get it. >> president biden speaking for a little over an hour in his

first state of the union speech, spending about the first ten or 11 minutes talking about the situation in ukraine, and the american-led coalition of countries that have stood up to vladimir putin. but what we saw just a few minutes ago, six minutes near the end of the speech, we heard interruption in the crowd, a member of congress. i want to go to nbc news senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake who is inside the chamber. what was that we heard as the president was beginning to talk about his late son beau? >> reporter: yeah, lester, that was republican lauren boebert from colorado as the president was talking about warriors in flag-draped coffins, she interjected, "13 of them," i believe a reference to the american servicemen and women killed in afghanistan during the withdrawal. she and marjorie taylor greene and other republican freshman

kept on something of a running commentary throughout much of the speech, interjecting in segments about immigration, segments about covid, jumping up with clearly audible commentary even as far away as i am in the gallery. >> and it sounded like someone tried to shush her. >> reporter: yeah, there was definitely a reaction. there's only the center aisle in the chamber that separates democrats and republicans, it's not entirely clear where it was coming from but clearly an unwelcome interruption for most of the other folks in the chamber, lester. >> we want to turn to chief white house correspondent peter alexander. it felt like the top of the speech was a rewrite in light of pressing events happening on the world stage but the remainder of it went along as most state of the union addresses do, a laundry list of goals and aspirations and pressing lawmakers to pass his initiatives.

what was your take, peter? >> yes, savannah, that was my take. this really did feel like two different speeches. the first 15 minutes in many ways seemed like they were written for this moment, the u.s. and its allies overseas teaming up together in this fight against tyranny, against autocracy, against vladimir putin in support of the ukrainian people. it was about as much bipartisan applause as you've seen in a chamber like that in a couple of decades, dating back to the months and years that followed 9/11, the president saying of vladimir putin, he has no idea what's coming. but what surprised me is how quickly he then pivoted to the domestic agenda, in many ways revisiting a lot of the topics that are litigated on a daily basis here in washington, dc, sort of recasting the build back better plan as an effort to build a better america, detailing a lot of the same policies that have been stalled on capitol hill. the president did rebrand

another slogan that was harmful to democrats in the last election, the "defund the police" line, saying "fund the police." on this night, it felt like there was a moment, a potential to bring all of these americans, all of these lawmakers together in this moment where the world is really watching, that the president focused on that only very briefly before moving on. i was struck by his final words as well before he left the podium, the president said "go get him," unclear to whom he was referring there, was that about vladimir putin or who else? i think in some ways it might be more of an oval office type of address on foreign policy but became as much a laundry list as anything else after that. >> it felt like a split screen moment, not a literally one, certainly that first 11 minutes as the president was talking about ukraine, the imagery in our minds that we have all seen as he spoke about what was happening there. i want to go to kyiv, ukraine, now where chief foreign correspondent richard engel is standing by.

richard? >> reporter: so ukrainians will be very flattered by what they heard. there was a lot of blue and yellow in the crowd, the colors of the ukrainian flag, honoring the ambassador, celebrating the heroism of the ukrainian resistance. it is something that ukrainians themselves are very proud of. it is something that they are talking about a great deal. they themselves are quite pleased with the fact that they have been able to literally stand up and block convoys of russian tanks. and that is happening more and more, as russian troops pour into this country. the fellow slavs, both ukrainians and russians are slavs, that the russians are not only having their convoys slowed down because of technical difficulties, lack of fuel, lack of food, and logistical problems, but in some cases the

ukrainians will go up to those armored vehicles, young and old, and confront the russian soldiers themselves and say, don't shoot. and the russians are having moments of pause. so all of that will be very welcome and well-received here in kyiv. the problem is, you didn't hear a great deal of new information. not any major new sanctions and not the kinds of specific help that the ukrainians are asking for. just a short time before president biden gave the state of the union, president zelenskyy said quite clearly that without more help, the ukrainian military, as hard as they fight, isn't going to be able to take on russia itself, especially as russia changes gears and moves away from small unit strikes to full-on siege warfare with this city, kyiv,

being the most likely next target. >> richard, you and your team continue to be safe. >> we want to turn now to chief washington correspondent andrea mitchell and chuck todd, who is with me. chuck, when we look back at this speech in history, and the moment we are in, not just as a nation but the world, the president framed it democracy versus autocracy. he said this is a real test. did it meet the moment in terms of, you know, the real good versus evil struggle that is unfolding, you know, half a world away right now? >> let me put it this way. in some ways, for the sake of the ukrainians, i hope we don't say it didn't -- i hope we say, oh, it was about right. but i fear this is going to feel like a speech that didn't age well because of the lack of -- i thought he would spend more time on ukraine, spend a little more time explaining why it is our

fight, as you said, good versus evil, explain a little bit more and a little bit of the history of the defense of europe, and why we're in this position, why we have these alliances, what it all means. and it just felt like an abrupt end after the 12 minutes of that. it felt like, boy, we could have had more. there was more to say. i think there was more that the public would have. i think he accomplished two important pieces of politics. saying the phrases, secure our borders and fund our police. there are a lot of vulnerable democrats in a lot of house and senate races that are relieved to hear the leader of the democratic party say those two phrases. but that's the politics. when you're asking about ukraine, it certainly didn't -- it felt to me like it could have had a lot more. >> andrea, there was no reassurance when the president was talking about ukraine. we heard a few days ago vladimir putin raise the specter of

putting his forces on nuclear alert, recognizing it's a sensitive ground for the president to go on. but were you surprised there wasn't a reassurance to the american people that we are going to be okay through this? >> i think we're told the president wants to deemphasize that threat, twice, now, from vladimir putin, just in the last few days, because he doesn't want to respond to it. he did not do what he could have done, which is to raise the alert on american nuclear forces, equivalent to what putin has done. that would be an anticipated response. instead he's trying to almost ignore it, because he wants to deemphasize it, de-escalate. to the point of not explaining the stakes, we're not in this, but we are going to have to make some sacrifices are are and it's tied to inflation. he could have done a much better job of explaining why we care. broadening that conversation about democracy versus autocracies. and describing what we face with

vladimir putin, describing what the irrationality is of his positions about ukraine, why we should care about this country so much. you had the pageantry, the flags, the colors, the ukrainian ambassador. but not explaining why we're not on the ground there, because we may have to get involved in a counterinsurgency outside the borders. if we don't get those supplies, we're now a billion dollars in in terms of getting aid to them, some said too little, too late. but it's a contested airspace. if we don't get to that land's border on the western side -- >> that's right, it's one thing to promise to deliver it when it's needed. >> if they circle kyiv as they have kharkiv, they won't be able to get that stuff delivered. they have to do it in the next ten days.

>> it felt like it was symbolically satisfying, there was a moving moment when the entire chamber stood for the ambassador from ukraine and there was a sea of blue and yellow. but when you get down to brass tacks, he said we're not sending boots to the ground. he said these will be tough days for ukraine and he made clear he would defend nato territory. but it left open, but what about those people surrounded right now. >> the end of the speech was clearly speaking to the larger, this is what makes us a great democracy. i think we were all waiting for it to be tied exactly -- i think we were all waiting for this to be, frankly, a ukraine sandwich, and it didn't land there a little bit. you know, and so again, i just -- i think we're all saying the same thing, i think we all expected a little more. we're all fearing the next week

is going to just horrifying, as we see a cornered vladimir putin do some perhaps crimes against humanity in order to -- >> there are questions about what the point of the sanctions are, what's the action that you expect. clearly he's not turning -- >> he had an opportunity to basically be a professor tonight a little bit and tell the american people, you know, fireside chats, whatever historical metaphor you want to have, and i think he had a public that was ready to hear more. >> and ask for somesacrifice. the strange moment at the end when he said "go get him," we're not quite sure what he means. i think he's talking about vladimir putin and the bad guys over there. >> normally he ends with "god bless the soldiers." >> i think he was trying to buck up americans, the state of the union is strong. >> his covid messaging was very strong, i think that was sort

of -- that was a moment where it seemed to get everybody -- i thought he did some good. >> he avoided the claim of victory. >> correct. i thought that was a well-crafted portion of the speech. >> it is interesting to see how -- whether it's the covid messaging, the funding of police, the border wall, there did seem, lester, to be an overt effort to reposition the democratic message more in the middle, because obviously they're looking the same polls and they see that the midterm elections are upon us. and all indications are that the democrats are not going to do well, to put it kindly. >> by the way, this is his comfort zone. i covered him when i was congressional correspondent. look at the way he is mingling, staying more so than any other president, because he is so happy to be back in this joint session and in the house. >> we want to go to chief white

house correspondent kristen welker and get her initial thoughts on what we just heard. kristen? >> reporter: lester, i'm getting mixed reaction, hearing from some democrats. some democrats saying, exactly as you're discussing right now, they felt as though the section on ukraine was strong but they wanted to hear more of it. they think that this moment is critical for this president to really seize the leadership mantle, to have really made that case, the argument for why this is a battle for democracy. and they feel as though they wish he had sort of given that a little bit more time, a little bit more space to breathe. on the other hand, i'm also hearing from democrats, including those on capitol hill who say, look, this to some extent will help with a roadmap into the midterms. savannah, exactly what you're talking about. the fact that democrats are facing real headwinds heading into the midterm elections. and what we heard tonight was a

robust argument for the biden agenda, for the moderate democratic agenda. he talked about the need not only for his social programs, lowering things like health care cost, but passing reform on gun control and pro-choice as well. so those are the types of messages i think the democrats will take from this speech onto the campaign trail. but again, a mixed reaction tonight because this was such a pivotal moment for the president and frankly his party as well, lester. >> the republican response will be delivered by iowa governor kim reynolds. we'll here it in a few moments. for more on that let's bring in hallie jackson. we can expect, hallie, the republican response will focus on some of those hot button issues such as parenting, school choice, crime. >> that's right. >> that laundry list of items that at least in some of the

political races we've seen in the interim, for example the virginia governor's race, have been quite potent for republicans. >> and we expect that continue into the midterms. we're talking about iowa governor kim reynolds, a grandmother of 11, who will weave in some of her biography as she prepares to deliver the biggest speech in her political career. i've been on the phone with folks familiar with her remarks, she will focus on covid and the economy. this is all about contrast. her mission and the mission of republicans in this response is to highlight how their leadership in states like iowa in these two issues have been different from the biden administration's. keep in mind that iowa was one of the first states to get kids back in classes about a year ago. they had resisted in the initial days of the pandemic moving into a lockdown status. you've got that piece of the pandemic response. governor reynolds among the republican governors leading these red states, these states where people largely went for former president trump on that front.

you also have the economic bucket. i expect, for example, will you likely reference the fact that just today in iowa, she signed a bill into state law that would do tax reform, essentially, implement a new tax rate for iowans. she will go after him, i expect, on inflation, for president biden. many republicans around the country believe the economic messaging and talking about how much people are paying and what kind of money is in their wallet will be really effective come november. you have to keep in mind too that the response to any state of the union can be, in the words of one source i talked to today, kind of thankless. if you do it well, people tend not to remember and they do remember if you do it poorly. that is the needle she's going to thread and i expect you to see some of those big themes from her tonight. >> hallie, thank you. when we come back, the republican response to president biden's state of the union address from iowa governor kim reynolds. our coverage continues after this.

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was premeditated and totally unprovoked. he rejected repeated, repeated efforts at diplomacy. he thought the west and nato wouldn't respond. he thought he could divide us at home in this chamber and this nation. he thought he could divide us in europe as well. but putin was wrong. we are ready. >> just some of the remarks from president biden a few moments ago on this crisis in ukraine. that part of his first state of the union address, he touched on challenges abroad and at home. andrea, you know, let's put the

stakes out there, because vladimir putin has decided to invade his neighbor ukraine and no one, not anyone, knows what he does next and how far he will push it. and that is why this is a crisis moment, not just for ukraine but for the whole world. >> and what we are now seeing in kharkiv, what we're seeing in the city that is encircled, he's going after -- there were air assaults for the first time today, as richard engel reported. we're seeing him go after civilian populations, hitting the tv tower but also that holocaust memorial. it's going to be devastation. when the president said tonight there are going to be hard days ahead for the brave people of ukraine, the next week, the next ten days, are just going to be horrific because they so outnumber those brave souls. >> but he said, let me be clear, our forces will not engage in conflict with russian forces. >> the question is, is that sustainable. first of all, that's something for which there seems to be

actual agreement in large swaths, nobody is calling for american boots on the ground. >> marco rubio, vice chair of senate intelligence and foreign relations, said we're not going in. >> even that idea of a no-fly zone has been pooh-poohed by the white house because you would end up in a situation where american airplanes would be forced to -- >> in your important interview with him, he said we're not going to get into a world war with russia. >> some of these nato nations, there were a few that were going to send some planes over to help with ukrainian pilots, and somebody got to them, because they don't want to give the russians the wrong impression. >> way governor kim reynolds is about to give the republican response. >> like you, i just watched the president's address. i listened as the governor of our state, as a mom and grandmother of 11 who is worried our country is on the wrong track. we're now one year into his presidency and instead of moving

america forward, it feels like president biden and his party have sent us back in time to the late '70s and early '80s when runaway inflation was hammering families, a violent crime wave was crashing our cities, and the soviet army was trying to redraw the world maps. even before taking the oath of office the president told us he wanted to, quote, make america respected around the world again and to unite us here at home. he's failed on both fronts. the disastrous afghanistan withdrawal did more than cost american lives. it betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies. north korea is testing missiles again at an alarming rate. the speaker of the house recently warned our olympic athletes not to speak out against china. and now russia has launched an

unprovoked, full-scale military invasion of ukraine. an attack on democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. now all americans must stand united in solidarity with the brave people of ukraine as they courageously defend their country against putin's tyranny, as they fight for their freedom. but we shouldn't ignore what happened in the run-up to putin's invasion. waving sanctions on russian pipelines while eliminating oil production here at home, focusing on political correctness rather than military readiness, reacting to world events instead of driving them. weakness on the world stage has a cost. and the president's approach to foreign policy has consistently been too little, too late. it's time for america to once again project confidence. it's time to be decisive.

it's time to lead. but we can't project strength abroad if we're weak at home. and that's what i want to discuss with you tonight. the president and democrats in congress have spent the last year either ignoring the issues facing americans or making them worse. they were warned that spending trillions would lead to soaring inflation. they were told that their antienergy policies would send gas prices to new heights. but they plowed ahead anyway, raising the price at the pump by 50% and pushing inflation to a 40-year high. four decades ago when our nation was last reeling from inflation, i was a young working mom just starting out. my husband kevin worked days while i watched our girls and then we would literally switch. we would pass in the yard as he was coming home and i was leaving to work evenings at the local grocery store.

from across that checkout counter i saw the pain of inflation on my neighbors' faces. i saw what happens when prices rise faster than wages. the biden administration believes inflation is a, quote, high class problem. i can tell you, it's an everybody problem. i saw moms and dads' paychecks buy less and less. i watched working people choose which essentials to take home and which ones to leave behind. and now president biden's decisions have a whole new generation feeling that same pain. when i took the oath of office five years ago, i promised iowans that i would never lose sight of who i was working for, that i wouldn't become detached from the problems they were facing, from the problems that i had faced myself. but you don't have to check groceries to see what high inflation does to people. you just need to step outside of

the dc bubble, talk to americans about what's on their mind, ask them what are your concerns, what keeps you up at night, and they'll tell you. and i can tell you what's not on that list. they won't tell you that spending trillions more and bankrupting their children is the answer to their problems. they won't tell you we should be paying not to work. and they certainly won't tell you that we should give billions in tax giveaways to millionaires and billionaires in democrat-controlled states like california, new york, and new jersey. but that's what the biden administration has been pushing for over the last year. and that's all part of build back better. thankfully, the president's agenda didn't pass because even members of his own party said enough is enough. well, the american people share that view.

enough is enough. and it's not just with dc spending. americans are tired of a political class trying to remake this country into a place where an elite view tells everyone else what they can and cannot say, what they can and cannot believe. they're tired of people pretending the way to end racism is by categorizing everybody by their race. they're tired of politicians who tell parents they should sit down, be silent, and let government control their kids' education and future. frankly, they are tired of the theater where politicians do one thing when the cameras are rolling and another when you believe you can't see them. where governors and mayors

invoke mandates but don't follow them. where they demand that your child wear a mask but they go maskless. so you've heard the excuses. they were just holding their breath. but it's the american people who are waiting to exhale, waiting for the insanity to stop. we now live in a country where violent crime is out of control, liberal prosecutors are letting criminals off easy, and many prominent democrats still want to defund the police. you know, it seems like everything is backwards. the biden administration requires vaccines for americans who want to go to work or protect this country, but not for migrants who illegally cross the border. the department of justice treats parents like domestic terrorists but looters and shoplifters roam free. the american people are left to

feel like they're the enemy. this is not the same country it was a year ago. the president tried to paint a different picture tonight. but his actions over the last 12 months don't match the rhetoric. it's not what he promised when he took office. but it doesn't have to be that way. there is an alternative. across the nation, republican governors and legislators are showing americans what conservative leadership looks like, what it means to respect the people we serve, to hear them out, to stand up for them and walk alongside them. we know that our problems require bold action. but we also know that bold action doesn't have to mean government action. it's americans making their own decisions for their own families and future. republican governors face the same covid-19 virus head on.

but we honored your freedom and saw right away that lockdowns and school closures, they came with their own significant costs, that mandates weren't the answer. and we actually listened to the science, especially with kids and masks and kids and schools. what happened and is still happening to our children over the last two years is unconscionable. learning loss, isolation, anxiety, depression. in so many states, our kids have been left behind and so many will never catch up. that's why iowa was the first state in the nation to require that schools open their doors. i was attacked by the left. i was attacked by the media. but it wasn't a hard choice. it was the right choice. and keeping schools open is only the start of the pro-parent, pro-family revolution that

republicans are leading in iowa and states across this country. republicans believe that parents matter. it was true before the pandemic. and it has never been more important to say out loud. parents matter. they have a right to know and to have a say in what their kids are being taught. families also have every right to live in a safe and a secure community. and that begins with a safe and secure country. but the biden administration has refused to secure our border. they've refused to provide the resources to stop human trafficking, to stop the staggering influx of deadly drugs coming into our neighborhoods. they've refused to protect you. with texas and arizona leading the way, i along with republican governors from several states have sent resources to the

border. and we've actually gone to the border, something that our president and vice president have yet to do since taking office. on the economy, the contrast couldn't be more stark. while democrats in dc are spending trillions, sending inflation soaring, republican leaders around the country are balancing budgets and cutting taxes because we know that money spent on main street is better than money spent on bureaucracy. today, i signed legislation that eliminates iowa's tax on retirement income and sets our tax rate at 3.9%. that's less than half of what it was just four years ago. and it shouldn't come as a surprise that out of the top 20 states with the lowest unemployment rates, 17 have republican governors. republicans may not have the white house, but we're doing

what we can to fill the leadership vacuum. and on the issues that are affecting americans, republicans are leading. we're standing up for parents and kids. we're standing up for life. we're keeping our communities safe and thanking those in uniform. we're fighting to restore america's energy independence. and that includes biofuels. we're getting people back to work, not paying them to stay home. most of all, we're respecting your freedom. behind me stands iowa's capitol where we display our state motto. "our liberties we prize and our right now we will maintain." and those aren't just empty words. it's a belief that the greatness of the state and this country lies in our people, not government.

you shouldn't have to wake up every morning and worry about the next thing the government is going to do to you, your business, or your children. if we as elect leaders are doing our job, then the government is working well but operating in the background. it's supporting the ingenuity and spirit of our people, not drowning them out. it's keeping them safe, not restricting their freedoms. that's what i believe. that's what republicans believe. and that's what republicans are doing. i am so blessed to be the governor of iowa where people are humble, hard working, and patriotic. we take care of each other and yes, we are, as they say, iowa nice. but you don't have to be from iowa to see that those are the values of america at its best. all of america.

over the last few years, i put my faith in iowans and they haven't let me down. i encourage this president to do the same, to put his faith in you, the american people, who had never wavered in your belief in this country regardless of who leads it, because you know, you've shown that the soul of america isn't about who lives in the white house. it's men and women like you in every corner of this nation who are willing to step up and take responsibility for your communities, for your neighbors, and ultimately, for yourself, by that most important measure at least, the state of our union is indeed strong. thank you, god bless you, and god bless the united states of

america. >> the republican response from kim reynolds, governor of iowa. both speeches hit on rising inflation that's hitting americans hard. we want to go to nbc news senior business analyst stephanie ruhle. >> lester, savannah, president biden has a complicated economic story to tell. while he has some very big wins, 6.5 million jobs created, unemployment now down to 4%, and household savings hitting a record high as we come out of the pandemic, those are very big wins. unfortunately for this administration, they're discounted, because the inflation we're facing right now is a huge problem for the american people. we see it all over the place. and it's not going to get any better anytime soon, because of the situation in ukraine. now, it's no surprise, the gop's response was hammering inflation over and over. but frankly, they didn't even need to do that. the american people are feeling it every single day. it's what they're talking about at their kitchen tables and it's what's causing a problem in

approval rating for president biden. >> stephanie, thank you very much. those domestic issues of course at the forefront. usually the bread and butter of a state of the union. but as we saw tonight, the president spending the first part of his speech on the situation in ukraine. we want to return to that. tom llamas, our correspondent, is in lviv, the western part of the country. he's been there for several days now. what do you think will be the reaction to the speech, to the extent that folks there will even hear of it when they are literally fighting for their lives? >> reporter: savannah, it is a good point. it's going to be 6:00 in the morning shortly here. ukrainians are going to wake up, i can be very honest with you, the president's speech is not going to be on their mind. they're waking up and going to volunteer centers and packing bags for sent out to the war torn regions. after that we're assembling molotov cocktails, men who run

auto parts stores or are dentists or doctors are now at military checkpoints, looking for russian saboteurs. i'm not sure if president biden's speech will inspire the ukrainian people because he couldn't tell them what they want, which is they need troops on the ground here. president biden is not going to do that, nato is not going to do that. they want a no-fly zone for russian aircraft, and nato won't enforce that. they've realized that at this point, when you speak to ukrainians they're convinced they're going to defend their country and win their country. one thing maybe left out of the speech that maybe they could have spent more time on was the refugee crisis. what is the u.s.'s role going to be in helping the more than 600,000 refugees that have now fled ukraine, right, the mass immigration crisis, migration crisis that's going to happen with this country. those families, those mothers, those daughters, i've spoken to them, i know what they want to know. they want to know that they're going to leave this country, is it going to be the same country when they come back.

i know president biden doesn't have that answer, nobody has that answer. but i think we needed to hear a little bit more about how the u.s. will help all these people that are trying to leave this war-torn region. when you look at that map and you look at the size of russia, you look at the size of ukraine and what ukraine is up against right now with that russian military, and these ukrainians, all they have is their bodies in some cases to stop those tanks and molotov cocktails, the power of the u.s., the power of nato, it's really hard for ukraine to understand that at this point. >> tom, thank you very much. >> let me pick up some of that conversation with nbc news national security analyst jeremy bash. jeremy, what tom said, the u.s. can't give ukraine what the ukrainian people really want, which is firepower and boots on the ground. are we in some ways hitting the hardest part of this now? we've seen the major sanctions come down, it's kind of a "what next" now, right? >> reporter: we're entering a very dangerous space, lester.

if we're not going to engage in direct conflict with russia, which the president said tonight, we have to start talking about indirect conflict, training, equipping, cyber, intelligence, other aspects of national power to help the ukrainians win. because if this is the defining moment of the generation, if it is truly good versus evil, the united states is going to have to do a lot more to help the ukrainians win this fight. >> jeremy, thank you. >> let's turn to senior international correspondent keir simmons in moscow. of course, keir, the question that everyone wants the answer to and no one has it except for vladimir putin, is what is his next move, how far is he willing to push this. and do his ambitions end with ukraine or is he just getting started. >> reporter: that's exactly the right question, savannah. as tom mentioned, in this part of the world, it is overnight, as you can see it's 7:00 a.m. in the morning, the sun is just rising. i think people here might have wanted to hear those who hoped to hear from the west, a little more from the president appealing to the russian people.

that being said, i think watching the speech turn to domestic politics and the traditional politics resume with some members sitting and some standing, was a little uncomfortable to watch from here. but savannah, that is democracy. as battle is joined here between autocracy and democracy, what you see there is how uncomfortable it can be. but it is uncomfortable when you live under an autocracy here in russia. and we are seeing that. we're now hearing that radio stations and independent tv stations are being taken off the air. even the russian wikipedia is being told it is being taken down. >> joining us now is michael mcfaul, former u.s. ambassador to russia and an nbc news international affairs analyst. ambassador, there seems to be no escape valve here for putin. a lot of people trying to get in his head, but these concerns

being raised of course about whether if he's backed into a corner, what happens now. give us your thoughts. >> i think he is backed into a corner, lester. it's the exact right frame. i don't think he has an end game for this war. so he's changed tactics, he's gone from shock and awe to now doubling down, and old tactics he used in chechnya to bomb civilians, we'll see in the coming days the horrible casualties that come with that. but then what? what is he going to do after he seizes kyiv, what is he going to do if he arrests zelenskyy? i don't think he's thought through the consequences. he doesn't have the forces to occupy this giant country. my prediction is if that horrible thing happens and kyiv and kharkiv fall, there will be a partisan war with guns and there will be active nonviolent civic resistance in ukraine for weeks and months and years to

come because putin doesn't know what to do if he finally reaches the capital. >> does he have any strong political rivals? >> no. tragically, he doesn't. he's arrested them all. alexei navalny is the strongest and he sits in jail right now. remember, he tried to kill him with poison, then arrested him when he came back from germany. what i sense, lester, i talk to russians every day, normal friends and people in the elite circles. nobody supports this war. they were shocked by this war. they now know that their lives will be interrupted forever because of the amazing set of sanctions that the western democratic world has put in place. and i don't know when it will happen, but you will see more and more defections. you've seen a few already. and my prediction is that popular opposition to this war will grow over time. >> but ambassador mcfaul, that raises the central question, which is, is putin totally impervious to pressure? he is without rival, he's been in power for 20 years.

and many who have watched putin, and you obviously are among them, think that there is something that's different about him now, that somehow his calculus has changed, that he is showing flashes of emotion that he didn't before. do you think that he could be persuaded even by those oligarchs that surround him, even by this terrible thrust of western sanctions, or is he a man on a mission and a man willing to stand alone? >> that's exactly the question, savannah. i don't have a great answer. i have a guess. one, he is isolated. he's not surrounded by oligarchs. that's part of the problem. i wish he had more face time with oligarchs. he's sitting out in a bunker-like mentality at his compound. he's not listening to anybody. that makes him out of touch and in my view, increasingly erratic. he's upset with the way the war has gone, that's why he threatens to put his nuclear forces on high alert. you don't do that if you're winning.

and some hope that eventually those around him, probably not the oligarchs, probably the generals, by the way, might persuade him, enough is enough, this was a mistake, this was an overreach, it's time to sue for peace. that's what i want. i don't know if it will happen. it's the only way we avoid a massive, horrific war that could go on for months if that doesn't happen sometime soon. >> ambassador michael mcfaul, always good to have your perspective, thank you. we want to turn back to the speech now and how it played on both sides of the aisle. we want to bring in symone sanders and stephen hayes. simone, i'll let have you the first crack. what did you think of the speech tonight? >> hi, savannah, hey, lester. i think the president came and did what he needed to do, he needed to speak forcefully about what his administration had done to support ukraine and to hold

russia accountable. he also needed to give the american people some hope that the government can and does work for them. and that's what he did in name checking all these policies. he ticked through a lot, we heard about mental health, veterans, child care, elder care. he talked about taking on companies who are engaging in price gouging, driving up inflation. i thought there are a lot of people that will be pleased, and that's what i've heard from folks. >> and stephen, were there some bipartisan boxes checked that you didn't expect when you heard the president talk about, no, fund the police? what are your thoughts? >> lester, i think that was the moment, but there wasn't much more than that. he talked about a unity agenda. he ticked through four unity agenda items. but i think the rest of the speech just felt off, it felt like a president who was high in popular approval right now, and a country that thinks we're on the right track. that's what the speech felt like. but in fact he's mired in the high 30s in his approval rating,

three out of four people think the country is on the wrong track, and i don't think he did anything to really speak to those people who are concerned about the direction of the country. i don't think the state of the union is strong. i think the state of the union is tired. >> simone, what did you think? because it did seem like the president was making a real concerted effort to moderate some of the positions that whether they've been the democratic position or not, it certainly is the perception, for example, defund the police, that is a line that republicans have seized and used to their advantage in many elections, the immigration, keeping our borders secure and strong. were you surprised to see him strike that more moderate tone? >> i was not. joe biden, the president, is true to what he believes. he has never been a fan of nor endorsed defund the police. i worked for the president on his campaign. i remember many a lively debate of some staff that wanted him to endorse it but that is not what he believes. he believes that you need to fund the police department and

you need to hold police officers, rogue police officers, accountable. in terms of the border, i was very struck by governor reynolds and the republican response, saying neither the president or the vice president had been to the border, because the vice president has been to the border, i was on that trip, lester i do believe was there if i remember correctly. so i think that there were a lot of things in this speech for a lot of different people. but i do think the president got the job done tonight. >> there will be a lot of further analysis of this speech, what was said, and what was not said. >> absolutely. that will do it for us for nbc's special coverage of president biden's first state of the union address and the republican response. >> you'll of course have much more tomorrow morning on "today"

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