>> woodruff: welcome to our pbs newshour special live verage of president trump's second state of the union address, and the democratic response. i'm judy woodruff. mr. trump faces a deeply divided congress and nation. he is expected to call for unity, while, at the same time, continuing his demand for a wall on the u.s. southern border with mexico. tonight's address was delayed by a week by the federal governmenn shutwith another potentially on the horizon next week.

stacey abrams, who lost a close ervernor's race in georgia last november, will delhe democratic response. but, for the first time, we will see newly-elected speaker of the house nancy pelosi seated behind mr. trump. it is his first addrfore a divided congress with a new democratic majority in the house. our lisa desjardins is there at the capitol, and yamiche alcind is at the white house. yamiche, the president left the white house, he is just arrived at the capitol, what do we expect him to say? k >> well, ow that president is extremely excited to deliver ddthis state of the unionss in the house chambers important to note that the president at te point was looking ater locations outside washington, d.c. to deliver his state of the unn address, but instead decided that the house was where he wanted to deliver it because of all ofts grndeur and all of its history. we know the president is going to be talking about immigration, he is going to be casting immigration as a mal issue, and saying that the political class of dc that is safe and has gates on their homes, that they are going to deny that same sense of security to working

class people, the president easels going to try to deliver a unifying mental and talk about prescription drugs and infrastructure, t the one thing to remember of course is that the president has some credibility issues on that because democrats are saying that he has offended them, he has insulted democrats, he even n'tgested that democrats do believe in border security, but we are going to try to think that the president is reagolly g to try to deliver a message to say this is not about his agenda, but about in america's agenda. >> woodruff: and, lisa, at the capitol it ihard to think of 0 a state of the union that has been preceded by as much drama as we lve had over theast few weeks waiting to see whether this government shutdown would end. they would come to some sort of temporary agreement. how has that affected e anticipation there? >> i think. >> lot of anxiety and frustration as deeper levels, especially for republicans here at the u.s. capitol. but it is an interesting contrast because there is also a different kind of excitement than i he felt in a while

there and think about it. there are 101 new members of this congress, many of them never elected to office before. ju lisa, i have to interrupt you just a second,t one second. >> the president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> woodruff: and the president enters the chamber of the house of representatives. lisa, i inteupted you so that we culd hear the president annyounced b the sergeant at arms, but continue with what you were saying. you were saying a lot of anxiety. >> well, i am happy to be interrupted by the presentation of the preside of the united states. i will step aside any time for that. there is age a sigh at this, especially among republicans over the shutdown and kind of in general the s yearsful year has been one ofs upd downs legislatively. however, there is excitement because think about this, 101 people in that chamber are newly elected. ey have never been to a state of the union before. so there is almost sort of like a first day of school kind of excitement for many of these,

especially younger and first time lawmakers that are in that chamber tonight. >> woodruff: yes. you exactly rigt . and a them are a lot younger than the class that preceded them. as we watch president trump greeand be greeted by members of congress who are seated there along the aisle, i want tol introduce al of you to the team who is going to be with me retching the president and analyzing his arks later, joining us all this night, syndicated columnist mark shields, amy walter of the cook political report, peter wehner of the ethics and policy public po center in washington, served in the last three republican conservative it is, jean-pierre, senior advisor to moveon.org and worked in theho obama white se and the conservative blog american greatness, welco and mark a shield i am going to come to you first. >> sure. >> woodruff: this is the presidentrump's second state of the union address, but the re i think it is fair to say is very different from last year. >> totally different, judy.

after president suffered stinng rebukes in midterm elections, the common approacha was to rech for common ground, to reach across the aisle and become a little bit humble, as bill clinton did in '94s george bush did in 20-- 2007. and it will be interestg to see if president donald trump doesry that sort of grace note that particularly comes to mind with gerge w. bush who said he was -- he felt privileged speak words nobody had ever spoken before, madam speak, when he introduced nancy pelosi the first time she was speaker. so i just would be interested to see how he handles the rebuke or just ignores it. >> woodruff: and president trump is givg his tradition, as tradition would have it a copyf the remarks of the address to both speaker pelosi and vice presint mike pence, both of whom will be sitting

behind him and we will be watchingeaheirion throughout the night, because they are the fiture, as agin as tradition would have it. the president at this point enjoined, enjoying a round of applause he is getting as he -- and everybody is standing. democrats and republicans. it is a p hoint ofor as the president comes in. peter wehner, you have watched this pre dent before. he seems to be enjoying the moment. >> well, he enjoys it f en she centertention and he is the center of attention but i tell you what i am looking for in the speech is, his aides are saying a this is going to be an effort to unify the country. i just don't think that is realistic. and the reason i don't is that this is a person who whose entire presidency has been based on division and act no any and anger, acrimony and number one i don't think he can pull it off a and a number 2 ven if he does i don't know how plausible it is or how long it will last. >> wodruff: amy walter, that is the skepticism that is out there, isn't it?.

>> well, and it is well earned skepticism. but, look, there are actually the real things on the table here that have to be theoretically have to be figured t in the next few days here, especially -- >> thank you very much. >> with theutovernment down. >> woodruff: the president. >> madam president. mr. vice president. members of congress, the fir lady of the united states. [ applause ] >> >> and my fellow americans. we meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential, as we begin a new cngress, i stand here ready to work with you to

achieve historic breakthroughs for all americans .. millions oz our fellow cis are watching us now gathered in this gre chamber hoping that we willve not as two parties but as one nation. [ applause ] >> the agenda i will lay out this evening is not a republican agenda or a democrat agenda. it is the agenda of the american people. many of ve keeped on the same core promises to defends american jd demand fair trade for american workers. to rebuild and revitalize our

nation's infrastructure, to reduce the price of healthcare and prescription drugs, to createn immigration system that is safwe, laful, modern, and secure and to pursue a foreign potlicy that pus america's interests first. n there is aew opportunity in american politics if only we have the courage together to seize it. [ applause ] ctory is not winning for our party.in victory isning for our country.

( applause ) this yer, rica will recognize two important niversaries that show us the majesty of america's mission and the power of american pride. r june, we ma75 years since the start of what general dwight d. eisenhower called "the great crusade," the allied liberation of europe in world war ii. ( applause ) on d-day, june 6, 1944, 15,000n young amerin jumped from the sky, and 60,000 more stormed

in from the sea to save our civilization from tyranny. here with us tonight are three of those incredible heroes. private first class joseph reilly. staff sergeant irving locker. andergeant heman zeitcheck. ( applause )pl ( se )

gentlemen, we salute you. in 2019, we also ceebrate 50 years since brave young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the american flag on the face of the moon. half a century later, we are joined by one of the apollo 11 asntonauts who pla that flag flag, buzz drin. ( applause )

( applause >> thank you, buzz. this year, ican astronauts will go back to space onts american roc ( applause ) in the 20th century, america saved freedom, transformed science, redefined the middle class, and when you get down it, there's nothing anywhere in the world that canmpete with america. ( applause )

( applause ) >> now we must step boldly an bravely into the next chapter of this great american adventure. there will be a new standard of living for the 21st century. for all of our citizens is within reach. we can make our communities safer, our famy ronger, our culture richer, our faieth dep deeper, and our middle class bigger and more osperous than ever before. ( applause )

but we must reject the politics revenge, resistance, andn retributnd embrace the boundless potential of oooperation, compromise, and the common god. ( applause ) together, we ca break decades of political stalemate. we can brie old divisions, heal old wounds, build new lcoalitions, forge new sutions and unlock the extraordinary

promise of america's future.e cision is ours to make. we nuft choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction.ni t, i ask you to choose greatness. ( applause ) over the last two years, my hdministration has moved wit urgency and historic speed to confront problems glected by leaders of both parties from many decades. in just over two years since the election, we have launched an

unprecedented economic boom, a boom that has rarely been seen before. there's been nothing like it. we have created 5.3 million new jobs and, imptantly, added 600,000 new manufacturing jobs,i something almost everyone said was impossible to do. but thefact is are just getting started. ( applause ) wages are rising at the fasst pace in decades and growing for blue-collar workers, whoi promised to fight for. they're growing faster than anyone else thoht possible. nearly five mil have been lifted off food

stamps. ( applause ) the u.s. economy is growing almost twice as fat today as when i took office,end w are considered far and away the hottest economy anywherin the world, not even close. ( applause ) unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over half a century. ( applse )

american american, helping american, and asian american unemployment have all reached theilowest levels ever recorded. ( applause ) >> unemployment for americans with disabilities has also reached an all-time low. ( applause ) more people are working now than at any time in the history of our country-- 157 million people at work.

( applause ) we passed a massive tax ct for working families and doubled the child tax credit. ( applause ) we virtually ended the estate tax, or death tax-- as it is often called-- on small businesses, for ranches, and, also, for family farms. ( applause we eliminated the very unopular obamacare individual mandatelt pe ( applause )

and to give critically ill patients access to life-saving cures, we passed, vey importantly, right to try. ( applause ) my administration has cut more relations in a short period of time than any other administration during its entire tenure. ( applause ) companies are coming bacrto ou country in large numbers thanks to our hitoric reductions in taxes and regulations. ( applause ) and we have unleashed a

revolution in american energy. the united states is now the number one pducer of oil and theural gas anywhere in world. ( applause ) and now, for the first time in 65 years, were a net exporter of energy. ( applause ) after 24 months of rapid progress,r economy is the envy of th erld. our military is the most powerful on earth, by far.

and america-- ( applause ) ...america is again winning each and every day. ( applause ) members of congress, the state of our union is strong. ( applause ) >> u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.!

>> at sounds so good. our country is vibrant and our economy is thriving like never on friday, it was announced that wealded another 304,000 jobs last month alone. almost double the number expected. applause ) an economic miracle is taking place in the united states, andi the only thng that can stop it are foolish wars,olitics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. ( applause )

if there is going to peace and legislation, there cannot be rar and investigation. it just doesn't k that way we must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad. this new era of coperation can start with finally confirming the more than 300 highly queeified nomwho are still stuck in the sen iate,n some cases years and yea, waiting. not right. ( applause )

the senate has failed to act on these nomination, which is unfair to the nominees, and veru unfair tr country. now is the time for a bipartisan action. believe it or not, we have already proven that that's poasible. in thecongress, both parties came together to pass unprecedented legislation to confront the opis,oid cri sweeping new farm bill, historic v.a. reforms, and after four decades of rejection, we passedc v.a.untability, so that we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans. ( applause )

and just weeks ago, both parties united for groundbreaking criminal justice reform. they said it couldn't be done. ( applause ) last year, i heard through friends the story of alice johnson. i was deeply moved. in 1997, alice was sentenced to life in prison as a first-time,v lent drug offender.

over the next 22 yea, she became a prison miister, inspiring others to choose a better path. she had a big impact on that prison population, and far beyond. alice's story underscores the disparities and unfairness that can exist in criminal seencing, and the need o remedy this totnaljustice. she served almost that 22 years, and had expected to be in prison for themainder of her life. in june, i commuted alice's sentence. when i saw alice's beautiful family greet her at the prison

gates hugging and kissing and crying and laughing, i knew i did something riht. alice is with us tonight, and she is a rrific woman. terrific.as alice, plee. ( applause ) alice, thank you for reminding us that we always have the power to shape our own destiny. thank you very much, alice. thank you very much. ( applause )

inspired by stories like ali's alice's, my administration worked closely witmembers o both parties to sign the first step act into law. big deal. it's a big deal. ( applause ) this legislation reformed sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed the african american community. the "first step" acit gves nonviolent offenders the chance to re-enter society as productive, laabiding citizens. now states across the country are following our lead. america is a nation that believes in redemption. we are also joand tonight by matthew charles from tennessee.

e 1996, at th age of 30,tt w was sentenced to 35 years for selling drugs and related offenses. over the next two decades, he completed more than 30 bible studies, became a lawrk cleand mentored many of his fellow inmates. now matthew is the very first person to be released from prison under the "first step act." ( applause ) matthew, please. ( applause )

thank you, mthat. welcome home. ( applause ) now republicans and democrats must join forces again to confront an urgent national crisis. congress has 10 days left to pass a bill that will fund our government, protect our homeland, and secure our very dangerous southern border. now is the time for congress to show the world that america is committed to endg illegal immigration and putting the ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers, and human trake out of business. ( applause )

as we speak, large orgedan caravans are on the march to the united states. h e just heard that mexican cities, in order to remove theig illegal imnts from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring em up to our country in areas where tre is little border protection. i have ordered another thre 3750 troops to our southern border to prepare for this tremendous

onslaught. this is a moral issue. the lawsstate of our southern border is the threat to the safety, security, and financial well-being of all america. we ha a moral duy to create an immigration system that protects the lives ad jobs of our citizens. this includes our obligation to the millions of immigrants living he fre today whoollowed the rules and respected our laws. legal immigrants enrich our nation and strengthen our society in countless ways. ( applause ) i want people to come into our

country in the largest numbers ever, but they have to come in legally. ( applause ) tonight i am asking you to defendur very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country. no issue better illustrates the divide between america's wrking class and america's political class than illegal immigration. wealthy politicians ands don push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. ( applause )

meanwhile, working class americans are left to pay the price for mass illegal immigration: reduced jobs, lower wages, oveurned schools, hospitals that are so crowded you can't get in, increased crime, and a depleted social safety net.fo toleranc illegal immigration is not compassiona compassionate. it is actually very cruel. ( applause ) one in three women is sexuallyd assaul the long journey

north. smugglers use migrant children as human pawns to exploit our laws and gain access to our country. human traffickers and sex traffickertake advtage of the wide-open areas between our ports of entry to smuggle thousands of young girls and women into the united states and to sell them into prostitution and modern-day slavery. tens of thousands of innocent americans are killed by lethal drugs that cross our border and flood into our cities, including meth, heroin, cocaine, an fentanyl. the savage gang ms-13 now operates in at least 20

different american ates, and they almost all come through our southern border. just yesterday, an ms-13 gag member was taken into custody for infatal shoon a subway platform in new york city. we are removing these gang members by the thousands, but until we secure our border, they're going to keep steaming right back in. year after year, countless americans are murdered by criminal illegal aliens. i've gotten to knonw may wonderful angel moms and dads andmilies. no one should ever have to suffer the horble heartache that they have had to endur here tonight is debra bissell.

just three weeks ago, debra's parents, gerald and sharon, wer burglarized and shot to death in their reno, nevada, home by an illegal alien. they were in theair 80snd they're survived by four chddren, 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren. also here tonight are gerald and sharon's granddaughter, heather; and great-granddaughter, madison. to debra, heather, madison, please stand. few can uderstand your pain. thank you and thank you for being here. tank you very much. ( applause ) ( applause )

i will never forget, and i will fight for the memory of gerald and sharon, tht it should never happen again. not one more american life should be lost because ou nation failed to control its very dangerous boder. in the last two years, our brave ice officers made 26,0 arrests of criminal aliens, including those charg or convicted of nearly00,000 assaults, 30,000 sex crimes, ad 4,000 killings orr muders. we are joined tonight by one of

those law enforcement heroes, ice special agent elvin hernandez. when elvin-- ( applause ) ank you. when elvin was a boy, he and his family legallyhemmigrated to united states from the dominicac repu at the age of eight, elvin told his dad he wanted to becoma special agent. today, he les investigations into the scourge of international sex trafficking. elvin says that "if i can make sure these young girls get the justice, i've really done my

job." thanks to his work and that of s incredible colleagues, more than 300 women and girls hav been rescued from the horroof this terrible situation. and more than 1,500 sadistic traffickers have been put behind bars. ( applause ) thank you elvin. we will also support the brave men and women of law enforceme t enforcement. and i pledge to you tonight that i will never abolish our heroes from icean

you. ( applause ) my administration has sent to congress a commonsense proposal to end the crisis on the southern border. it includes humanitarian assistance, more lru enforcement,detection at our ports, closing loopholes that enable child smuggling, and plans for a new physical barrier-- or wall-- to secure e vast areas between our ports of entry. in the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. i will get it built.

applause ) this is a smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier, not just a simple concrete wall. it will be deployed in the areas identified by the border agents as having th greatest need, and these agents will tell you wher, walls go u illegal crossings go way, way down. ( applause ) san diego used to have the most illerder crossings in our

country. r sponse, a strong security wall was put in place. this powerful barrier almost completely ended illegal crossings. the border city of el paso, texas, used to have extremely high rates of violent crime, one of the highestn the entire country, and condered one of our nation's most dangerous cities. now immediately upon its building, with a powerful barrier in place, el paso is one of the safest cities in ourtr co simply put, walls work, and walls save lives. ( applause )

so let's work together, compromise, and reactha deal will truly make america safe. as we work defend our people's safety, we mualt o ensure our economic resurgence continues at a rapid pace. no one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women who have filled 58% of the newly created jobs last ye. ( applause )

( applause ) you weren't supposed o that.ry thank you uch. thank you very much. l americans can be proud tha we have more women in the workforce than ever before. ( applause ) don't sit yet. yore going to like this.

and exactly oe century after congress passed the constitutional amendment giving women the ght to vote, we also have more womngen sern congress than at any time before. ( applause >> yo u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.!

u.s.a.! u.s.a.! >> that's great. really great. and congratulations. that's great. as part of our commitment to improving opportunity for women everywhere, this thursday,e are launching the first-ever government-wide initiative e focused onconomic empowerment for women in devoping countries. to build on-- k applause ) thu. to build on our incredible economic success, one priority isr paamount-- reversing decades of calatous trade policies. so bad. we are now making it clar to china that after years of targeting our industries and stealing our intellectual

property, the theft of american jobs and wealth has come to an end. ( applause ) therefore, we rently imposed tariffs on $250 billion of chinese goods, and now our treasury is receiving billions and billions of dllars. but i don't blame china for king advantage of us. i blame our leaders and representatives for allowing this travesty toappen. i have great respect for presiden nxi, and we arow working on a new trade deal wit china. but it must include real structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our

cronic trade deficit, and prect american jobs. ( applause ) thank you. another historic trade blunder was the catastrophe known as nafta. i have met the men and women of michig, ohio, pennsylvania, indiana, new hampshire, and many other states whose dreams were shattered by the signing of nafta. for years, politicians promised them they would renegotiate for a better deal. but no one ever tried until now. our new u.s.-mexico-canada agreement, the u.s. m.c.a., will

replace nafta and deliver for reerican workers like they haven't had delito for a long time. i hope you can pass the usmca into law so we can bring back our manufturing jobs in even greater numbers, expand american agriculture, protect intellectual property, and ensure that more cars are proudly stamped with our four beautiful words: made the u.s.a. ( applause ) tonight, i am also asking you to pass the united states reciprocal trade act so that another country places an unfair

tariff on an american prct, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the exact same product that they sell to us. ( applause )bo parties should be able to unite for a great reuilding of america's crumbling infrastructure. ( applause ) i know that congress is eager to pass an infrastructure bill, and l am eager to work with you on legislation to diver new and important infrastructure investment, including investments in the cutting-edge

industries of the future. this is not an option. this is a necessity. the next major priority for me and for all of us should be to lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs and to protect patients with pre-existing conditions. ( applause ) already, as a result of my administration's efforts, in 2018, drug prices experienced their single largest decline in 46 years. ( applause )

but we must do more. it's unacceptablhat americans pay vastly more than people in other countries for the exact me drugs, often made in the exact same place.w this ing. this is unfair. and togethe we will stop it. and we'll stop it fast. ( applause ) i am asking conasgress to ps legislation that finally takes on the problem o global freeloading, and delivers fairness and price transparency for americant paients. finally. . ( applause )

we should also require drug companies, insurance companies, d hospitals to disclose real prices to foster petition and bring costs way down. ( applause ) no force in history has done more to advan the human condition than american freedom. in recent years-- ( applause ) , applause ) in recent yea have made remarkable progress in the fight

against hche h.i.v. and aids. scientific breakthroughs have brought a once-distant dream within reach. my budget will ask democrats and republicans to make the need commitment to eliminate the h.i.v. epidemic in the united states within 10 years. we have mae incredible strides, incredible. ( applause ) togetherwe will defeat aids in america and beyond. ( applause ) tonight, i am also asking you to join me in another fight that all americans can get behind--

e fight against childhood cancer. ( applause ) joining melabbia in the gallery this evening in aery brve 10-year-old girl, grace eline. every birthday-- ( applause ) ( applause ) hi, grace.th every biry since she was

four, grace asked her friends to donate to saint jude's ildren's hospita she did not know that one day she might be nta pat herself. that's what happened. last year, grace was diagnosed with brain cancer. immediately, she began radtion treatment. at the same time, she ralied her community and raised more an $40,000 for the fight against cancer. ( applause ) when grace completed treatment last fall, her doctors and

nurses cheered. they loved her. they still loved her.h with tears inir eyes, as she hung up a poster that rea "last day of che." ( applause ) k you very much, grace you are a grenat ispiration to everyone in this room. thank you very much. many childhood canvcers he not seen new therapies in decades.ud myt will ask congress for $500 milli over the next 10 years to fund this critical life-saving research to help support working parents. the time has come to pass school

choice for americans' children. ( applau ) i am also proud to be the first president to include in my budget a plan for nationwide paid faly leave so tt every new parent has the chance to nd with their newborn child. a( pplause ) there could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in rect days.

lawmakers in new york cheered with delight upon the passage of legislation that would allow a baby to be ripped from the mother's womb moments from bir birth. these are living, feeli, beautiful babies who will never get the chance to share their t love aneir dreams with the world. and hen we had the case of the governor of virginia, where he stated he would execute a bay after birtto defend the dignity of every person, i am asking congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children. who can feel pa in the mother's womb. ( applause )

let us work toether to build a culture that cherishes innocent fe. ( applause ) and et us reaffirm a fundamental truth: alln child born and unborn are made in the holy image of god, th final part of my agenda is to protect

american security. over the last two years, we have begun to fully rebuild the united states military with $70 billion last year, and $716 billion this year. we are also getting other nations to pay the fair share. ( applause ) finally. finally. for years, the united states was being treated very unfairly by friends of ours, members of nato, but now we ha secured over the last cople of years

more than $100 billion of increase in defense spending from our nato allies. ( applause ) they said it couldn't be done. as part of our military build-up, the united states developing a state-of-the-art missile defense system. under my administration, we will never apologize for advancing america's interests. for exaesmple, decgo, the united states entered into a treaty witrussia in which we agreed to limit and reduce our missile capability. while we followed the agreement and the rules to the letter,

russia repeatedly violated its rms. it's been going on for many years. that is why i announced that e united states is officially withdrawing from the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty, or i..f., treaty. perhaps-- ( applause ) we really have no choice. perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement adding china and others, or perha we can't, in which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far. ( applause )

as part of a bd new diplomacy, we continue our hitoric push for peace on the korean peninsula. our hostages have come home. nuclear testing has stopped. and there has not been a missile launched in more than 15 months. if i hadot been elected president of the united states, we would right now in my opinion be in a major war with rth korea. ( applause ) much work remains to be done, but my relionship with kim jong-un is a good one. we will meet again on february

27 and 28 in vietnam. ( applause ) two weeks ago, the united states officially recognized the legitimate government of venezuela and its new president. ( applause ) juan gido. we stand with the venezuel venen people and their noblque for freedom, and we condemn theo brutalitf the maduro regime, whose ocialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiesin south america into a state of abject poverty and despair. ( applause )it

here in the states, we are alarmed by the new calto adopt socialism in our country. ( booing ) america was founded on liberty and independence and not govement coercion, domination, and control. ( applause ) we are born free, and we will stay free. >> yo u.s.a.! u.s.a.! >> tonight, we rnew our resolve that america will never be a socialist country. ( applause )

u.s.a.! u.s.a.! u.s.a.! one of the most complex set of challenges we face and have for many yen ars is ie middle east. our approach is based onci pre realism, not discredited theories that have failed for decades to yield progress. for this reason, my administration recognized theue capital of israel and proudly oned the american embassy in jleeru

s applause ) our brave trove now been fighting in the middle east for almost 19 years.an in afghanista iraq. nearly 7,000 american heroes have given their lives. more than 52,000 americans have been badly wounded. we have spent more than $7 trillion in fighting wars in the middle east. as a candidate for president, i loudly pledged a newproach. great nations do not fighten ess wars. ( applause )

when i tookffice, isis controlled more than 20,000 square miles in iraq and syria, just two years ago. today, we have liberated virtually all of thee trritory from the grip of these blood-thirsty monsters. allies we work with our to destroy the remnants of isis, it is time to givaour brve warriors in syria a warm welcome home. i have also accelerated our negotiations to reach, if possible, a political stlement in afghanistan. the opposing side is also very

happy to be negotiating. our troops have foght with unmatched valor, and thanks to their bravery, we are nowble to pursue a possible political solution to this long and bloody conflict. ( applause ) in afghanistan, my administrations holding constructive talks with a number of afghan groups, including the taliban. as we make progress in these negotiations, we wi able to reduce our troops' presence and focus on counter-terrorism, and

we will, indeed, focus on counter-terrorism. we do not know whether we'll achieve an agreement, but we do know that after twoecades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace. and the other side would like to do the same thing. it's time. ( applause ) keove all, friend and foe ali must never doubt this nation's power and will to defend our people. 18 yea ago, violent terrorists attacked the u.s.s. "cole," and last month, american forces killedone of theeaders of that attack.

>> yeah! ( applause ) we are honored to be joinedt toni tom wibberley, whose son, navy seaman, craig wibberley, was one of the 17or sawe tragically lost. tom, we vow to always remember the heroes of the u.s.s. "cole thank you. ( applause ) my administration has acted

decisively to confront the world' oleading state spons terror, the radical regime in iran. it is a radical regime.o theyd, bad things. to ensure this corrupt dictatorship never acquiresnu ear weapons, i withdrew the united states from the disastrous iran nuclear deal. ( applause ) and last fall we put in place thtoughest sanctions evr imposed by us on a country. we will not avert ouryes from a regime that chants "death to america" and threatens genocidew against the jish people.

( applause ) we must never ignore the vile poison of anti-semitism or those who spread its venonos creed. with one voice, we musconfront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs. just months ago, 11 jewhis americans were visually murdered an anti-semitic attack on the tree of life synagogue in pittsburgh. swat officer timothy matson raced into the gunfire and was shot seven tes chasing down the killer. and he was very successful.

timothy has just had his 12th surgery, and he's gong in for many more. but he made the trip to be here with us tonight. officer matson, please. ( applause ) ( cheers ) ( applause ) ( cheers )

thank you. we are forever grateful. thank you very much. tonight, we are also joined by pittsburgh survivor, judah samet. he arrived at the synagogue as the massacre began, but not onli judah narrowly escape death last fall. more thaseven decades ago, he narrowly surved the nazi concentration camps. today isudah's 81st birthday. ( applause )

♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday to you ♪ happy birthday dear judah happy birthday to you ♪ ( applause ) >> thank you! ( applause ) >> thy wouldn't do that for me, judah. ( laughter ) judah says he can still remember the exact moment nearly 75 yrs ago after 10 months in a

concentratiocamp whn he and his family were put on a train and told they were going to another camp. suddenly, the tain screeched to a very sg rlt. a soldier appeared.h' jufamily braced for the absolute worst. then his father cried out with joy, "it's the ame it's the americans!" ( applause ) thank you. a second holocaust survivor, who

is here tonight, joshua kaufman, was a priacsoner atu. he remembers watching through a hole in the wall of a cattle car as american soldiers rolled in with tnks. to me, joshua recalls the american soldiers were proof that god exists, and they came down from the sky. they came down from heaven. i bega this evening by honoring three soldiers who fought on d-day in the second world war. one of them was herman zeitchi zeitch mk. but there re to herman's story. a year aft he stormed the beaches of normandy, herman was one of the american soldiers who helped liberate dachau.

( applause ) he was one of themericans who helped rescue joshua from that hell on earth. most 75 years later, herman and joshua are bot together in the gallery tonight seated side by side here in the home of american freedom. herman and joshua, your presenc this evening is very much

appreciated. thank you very much. ( applause ) ( applause ) thank you. when american soldiers set out beneath the dark skies over the english channel in the early hours of d-day, 1944, they were just young men of 18 and 19 hurtling on fragile landing craft to the most momentous battle in the history f war.

they did not know if they wouldh survive thr. they did not know if they would grow old. but they knew that america had to prevail. their thuse wasis natn d generations yet unborn. why did they do it? they did i for america. they did it for us. everything that has come since-- our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science and discovery, our unrivaled progress towards equality and justice-- all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tea and courage and vision of the americans who came before. think of this capitol.

think of this very chamber where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads and the highways, and defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, and to face down evil empires. here tonight, we have legislators from across this you have come from the rocky nicres of maine and the vol peaks of hawaii, from the snowy woods of wisconsin, and the red deserts of arizona, from the green farms of kentucky and the golden beaches of california, together we represent the most

extraordinary nation in all of history. what will we do with this moment? how will we be remembered? i ask th w men amen of this congress look at th opportunities before us. our most thrilling achievements are still ahead. our most excrniting joueys still await. our bigigest vtories are still to come. we have not yet begun to dre. we must choose whether we are defined by our differences or whether we dare to transcend them. we must choose whether we squander our great inheritorce hether we proudly declare

that we are americans. we do the incredible. we defy the impossible. we conquer the unknown. this is the time to reiitthe american imagination. this is the time to search for the tallest sumt d set our sights on the brightest str. this is the time to rekine the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, asi nebors, as patriots. this is our fture, our fate, and our choice to make. i am asking you to choose greatness. no matter the trials wea f, no matter the challenges to come,

we must go foretrd togr. we must keep america first in our hearts. we must keep freedom alive inou souls. and we must always keep faith in merica's destiny, that one nation, under got be the hope and the promise and the light and theglory among all the nations of theo wrld. thank you, god bless you. and god bless america. thank you very much. ( applause ) that concludes president trump's second state of the union address. coming up in a few minute will be the democrat's response that will be delivered by stacey abrams who lost last novtoembe republic in a tight contest with the governor of georgia and youe

cathe president applauding as he is applauded by members of congress. as he is there in the chamber os the hoe of representatives with all of the members of the hoe and the senate, hist, cabineembers of the supreme court, this has been an hour and a half long speec the president touched on themes from unifying the two parties, pleading with democrats to work with him on his immigration and border security proposal. deploring abortion, looseningti ab rights measures and on a number of foreign plicy isues. it crossed the spectrum and there was a gd,o good amount of this speech was with devoted toelebrating heroes in the audience from world war iil al, holocaust survivors to a young

girl who has fought back brain cancer. i am joined here in the studio by ammark shieldsy walter, peter wehner, karinne jean-pierre, and chris buskirk. and i want to, mark, i want to turn to you first, this is a g esident who spent so much of his speech pleadth democrats to work with m across the aisle, pleading for unity and yet we are coming off one of the most divided periods in recent history. >> yes. judy, it is fascinating to me, as i listened to the speech, he devotethree pages of the speech to the economy. and he has aa mrvelous economic story to tell and never talks about it. i mean, he rarely brings itup and he did tonight and i think he is on strong ground when he i do, the rest of it when he said this is not, he opened it up by saying this is not a two't party -- i dant to, a ponse.ican or democrat res

any time we use democrat as an adjective it sends up theairs on the back of wherever democrat's neck, the work is democratic, that's an adjective, democrat is a dismissive pejorative word and, you know, so if you are offerin a olive branch that isn't the way to begin. it was a long speech. he delivers the speech better than he has in the past but i just thought it was conspicuously unmemorable. >> peter wehner? >> i will say a couple of thins just from the craft of a speech, it was very bad, it was became, undisciplined, it was windy, banal, and it was tossedge er, it didn't have the sense sheriffs somebody in control of the spe kech, yow, the teleprompter is not a credit to donald trump, theyrod that tonight, than saman who is more or less allergincto eloqand he showed that again tonight. so in that respect i thought it was a bad speech. i thought it was contrary

what his aides said it wasn't a speech of unity, it was at its core a speech for the base. he gave one sentence toat edn and he must have gone on 15 minutes on illegal immigration. so that was his target audnce. the last thing on this immigration issue, that argent and his entire case is built on a fiction and the fitic is that this is an unprecedented crisis. you carbe in favor of boder security but ill border apprehensions are w the loest point since 1971 and yet hes speaksis is the grave crisis facing america, it is not. >> woodruff: amy walter what did you make of the speech? >> it sounded a lomore to me like a 2020 convention speech an thrather than a state of the union speech. you made a point, judy saywainge pleading with democrats, i didn't hear pleading, i heard him say as he has prtty much e r the entirety of the time that democrats heen in

control of congress that this is the way that i want it to be, here are the proonblemhe border, he has made the same case over and over again onur border sy and what he wants for the wall. there wasn't a sense we are going to compromise, we are going find common ground and really no answer to the question of what happens in ten days from now to the government workers who are sitting there wondering if there is no agreement what happens to us? >> i want to turn t our correspondent at the capitol, i will -- will is desjardins and, yamiche alcindor white house, the members had some sense of what the pntesi was going to say tonight, but they didn't know, they certainly didn't know all of thedeil, are you able to a pickup from any of them in the last few minutes how they -- how they read this? yes. i am looking off to my right here with the house chambers about 100 feet away and i see members just coming out now so we haven't had a chance toem talk to et and i have been he nailing with my sources.

i think some things that thy will be thinking about, this is a tough speech in a way for memberito react to because counted myself 29 different topics. that's not just words he mention bud topics he spoke about in multiple sentences. that's lot to react to. on the one hand he did reach out in bipartisan ways on some iseres. on the ohand on issues of border security, he tried to make that a class issue and sy that democrats were against the working class in the stance for illegal immigrants. i think that is something we are going to see democrats react strongly to as well as the abortion language that the president had. i would expt a stament from virginia's governor, ralph -- who specifically singled out for i ink direct attack are te pea. but judy, i will let you know, we are waiting for the members to cowme out n. as you saw the applause was scattered, sometimes bipartisan, sometimes we saw evn the president's most adamantd opponents st for his statements, other times it was clearly a partisan room. >> woodruff: very quickly, to

yamiche, yamiche alcindor at the white house, she was out three and a half minutes before we iar from stacey abramsh the democratic response. yamiche, the president went int this knowing that he is working with a democratic majority in the hoe. that had to enter into the calcul of what he had to sa. the white house said this was supposed to be a speech about unity and bringing the country gether. but the president made clear he doesn't want to compromise and that he still wats aorder to be built. a border wall to be built. the president also used some l misleadiguage. he talked about the fact that border walls in san diego and el paso led to a decrease in crime and a decrease in illegal what we know for a fact actually is that there has been no new wall built and that there has been some fixes to existing fences that were parss bidior administrations. the president also was talking about the idea that border walls would somehow stop the flow of illegal immigrants coming into the country.mo we knot drugs come through legal ports of entry.

the president did however talk about the w unemployment rate for african-americans, that is true, the employment rates arelo very, he also talked about nato and getting nato to have more defense intending. that is true. the president pushed that body to spend more on defense spending and to have the countries around him spend more on defense spending. the president in some ways had a touching moment. t talked about a cancer survivor he brou a guest and also talked about alice johnson who he freed from prison. the were moments where yo could see unity but i think the most telling moment for he as a sreporter watching this when the president said the state of our union is strong. the mike pence clapped and republicans started chanting a but nancy pelosi sat in her seat and what that tells he we can believe our eyes, the state of d our union ided and we have a president as much as he wants y talk a about the border wall and border secur also is someone who is still using misleading statements and sti not telling the entire truth in a speech that was as you have known it an hour and a half

long. >> woodruff: and to robert costa joining usow, "washington post" reporter robert costa who of course is the moerator obs in washington week. robert, i saw you tweeting during the speech about the president going back toic bas when it came to immigration and the border wall. >> a dack, defiant speech that has echoes of what he said, american carnage at his inauguration, echoes of what hei sa2015 when he entered the mresidential race, his message on illegal iigration was one of trying to say to the republican party, stick with me, rying tohis hard-line, build a border wall, this is a president staring dividedme gove in the face and saying, i will not change. woodruff: and, robert, there is a contradiction there, beuse the white house all day today and up, leading up until this saying the prident was going to be reaching out, trying to show that he was prepared to work with democrats. >> that was the white house

message, but then there was the actual message in thispeec it began with overtures to the democrats, mentions of buzz aldrin, chance of usa, usa, then thaturn toard immigration, the turn toward talk of mass eillegal immigration at t border a, of crime, this is who presidentrump was reaching out to, the republican voter who he wants to stand by him through this turbulent year ahead with robert mueller's investigation looming and so much else. >> woodruff: all right, robert costa with washington week in review and also with then "washingost". and now the democratic response is being delivered tonight by stacey abrams who lost a close race with the governor in georgia. >> happy lunar new year. i am stacey abrams and i amd hono join the conversation about the state of our union. >> growing up my family went back and forth betwewer middle class and working class. yet even when they came home wary and bone tired my parents

und a way to show us all who we could be. my librarian mother taught us to love learning. my father, a shipyard worker put in overtime and extra shifts and they made sure we volunteered to help others. liter they both became united methodist ministers an expression of the faith thates guus. these were our family values,e faith,vice, education, and nosponsibility. we only had one car, so sometimes my dad had tohi hhike and walk long stretches during the 30-mile trip home from the shipyards. one rainy night my mom got worriee we piled in r and went out looking for him and we eventually found my dad making his way along the road soakeder and shg in his shirt sleeves. when he got in the car, my mom t ked if he left his co work. he explained that he had given it to a homeless man he met o the highway. when we asked why he had given away his on jcket, my dad turned to us and said, i kn

when i left that man he would still be alone, but i could give him my coat because i knew you were coming for me. our power and strength as americans lives in our hard work and our belief in more. my family understood firsthand the most success is not aranteed we live in a nation where opportunity is possible.bu we do not succeed alone. in these united states, when times are tough, we can persevere because our friends and neighbors will come for us. our first responders will come fors u. the it is this man tracks it is this uncommon grace of cmmunity that has griffin me to become an attorney, a small busneiness a writer and most recently the democratic nominee for govern georgia. my reason .. for running was simple. i love our country and its promise of opportunity for all.

and i stan here tonight because i hold fast to my father' credo, together we are coming for ameca, for a better america. just a few weeks ago i joined volunteers to distribute meals to furloughed federal wor they waited in line for a box of food and a sliver of hope, since they hadn't received paychecks in weeks. making livelihood of federal workers a pawn for political gains sakes grace, disgra, the shutdown was a stunt. engineered by the president of the united states, one that defied every tenet of faisrn and abandon not just our people but 0 our vaues. for seven years i led the democratic party in the georgia house of representatives. i didn't always agree witthe republican speaker or governor but i understood that ourti coents didn't care about our political parties. they cared about their l.v so when we had to negotiate

criminal justice reform or transportation or foster care improvements, the leaders of ou state didut down. we came together and we kept our word. it should be no different in our nation's capitol. we may come from differe sides of the political aisle, with our, but our joint commitment to the idealsf this nation cannot be negotiable. our most urgeniswor to realize american's dreams of today andomorrow. th carve a path to independence and prosperitt can last a lifetime. children deserve an excellent education from cradle tcareer, we owe them safe schools and the hiest standards rgardless of zip code. yet this white houseesponse timidly, while first graders practice acte shooter drills and the price of higher education grows ever steeper. from now on, our leaders must be willing to tackle gun saety

measures and face the crippling effect of educational loans. to support educators and investe what iessary to unleash the power of america's greatest minds. e georgia and around the country, people riving for a middle class where salary truly equals economic security. but instead, families hopes are beg crushed byepublican leadership that ignores real life or just doesn't unerstand it. under the current administration, far too many hardworking americae falling behind, living paycheck to paycheck , most without labor unions to protect them, fromar even worsem. the republican tax bill rigged the system against working people. rather than bringing back jobs, plants are cfslosing, layre looming and wages struggle to ke pace with the actual cost of living. we owe more to the millions of every day folks who keep our

economy running, like truck drivers forced to buy their ow riggings rigs, farmers caught in a trade war, small business owners in search of capital and domestic workers serving without labo protections. women and men who could thrive ifnly they had the support and freedom to do so. we know bipartisanship could draft a 21st century immigration plan but this administration chooses to cage children and tear famies apart. compassiocompassionate treatmene border is not the same as open borders. president reagan understood this, president oba understood this. ericans understand this. and democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. but we must all embrace that from agriculture to healthcare to entrepreneurship, america is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls. and rather than suing todi

antle the affordable care act as republican attorneys general have, our laders much, must protect the progress we have made and mitt to expanding healthcare and lowering costs for everyone. my father has battled prstate cancer for years. to help cover the costs, i found myself stinking deeper into debt because while you can defer some payments you can't defer cancer geatment. in thisreat nation americans are skipping blood pressure pills, forced to chootween buying medicine or paying rent. maternal mortality rates show that mothers ally black mothers, risk death to give birth, and in 14 states including my home state where aa rity want it our leaders refuse to expand medicaid whichl save rural hospitals, save es.nomies and save liv we can do so much more, take action on climate change, defend

individual liberties with fair minded judges. but none of these am -- ambitions are possible without the bedrock guarantee of our right to vote. let's be cle. voter suppression is real. for making it harder to register and stay on the roles to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful ballots we can no loer ignore these threats to democracy. while i acknowledge the results of the 2018 eection here in georgia i did not and we cannote acceforts to undermine our right to vote. that's why i started a nonpartisan organization called air fight to advocate for voting rights. this is the next battle for our democracy, when we are all eligible citizens can have their say about the vision we want fou our ntry. we must reject the cynicism that says alowing every eligible vote to be cast and counted is a

power grab. americans understand that these are the values our brave mn and women in uniform and our veteransisk their lives to defend. the foundation of our moral leadership around the globe is free and fair elections, where voters pick their leaders, not where politicians pick their voters. in tis time of division an crisis, we must come together and stand for and with one america has stumbled time and again on its quest for its justice an but with each generation we have revisited our fundamental truths and where we falter we make amends. we fought jim ow with th civil rights act and the voting rights act, yet we continue to confront racism from our past and in our present. which is why we must ho everyone from the highest offices to our own famyil

accountable for racist words and deeds m d call racat it is, wrong. america achieves a measure of reproductive jutice in roe v. wade but we must never forget it immoral to allow politicians to harm women and families po advance itical agenda. we affirmed maiage equality and yet the lgbtq remains under attack. so even as i am very disappntnted by the presi approach to our problems, i still don't want him to fail, but we need him to tell te truth and to respect his duties and respect tetraordinary diversity that defines america. our progress has always been found in the refuge, in the basic instinct of the american experiment, to do right by our people. and with a renewed commitment to social and economic justice we will create a stronger america

together. because america wins by fighting for our shared values against all enemies, foreign and domestic. that is who we are and whewe do so never waiving the state of our the union will always be strong. thank you and may god bless the united states of america. .. [ applause ] >> woodruff: and that wasde stacey abramivering the democrat's response to the resident's state of the union address, so with at the newshour table mark shields, karinne jean-pierre, and chris busk rk, karinne,emarkable on a number of counts, meaning in contrast to the president, you woman of color delivering the democratic response and someone who lost a race wo doesn't hold office right now. i believe that is a first. >> it is a first. >> woodruff: to have someone not holding office makinghe democratic response. she went to her fmily, she talk about her father.sh anlaid it on the line in

terms of what this administration has done in terms of healthcare, immigration, and the shutdown. >> you said it perfectly judy, that is , actly rige is the first black woman to give a responsenslook giving a res is very difficult. it is not easy to do. many have failed and i believe she failed it night. it was a complete opposite of contrast to what we just heard from donald trump moments ago, a speech at a state of the uni you would never hear being given by a president of the united states, her speechas powerful, it was optimistic, it was talking about bringing peo together, and it wasn't going down in the mud with donald trump, which is something that democrats shouldn't, do itt should be ab vision of how we are going to love america forward and that's what we heard .rom her and another thing you just said, judy, that i really agree with you is having a woman of color respond to donald trump, th alone is such a powerful statement, especially from all r of the hatefetoric we hear from this president and we heard from this president these last.

two yea >> woodruff: chris buskirk, what did you take away from stacey abrams? >> i thought two things, style and substance, i thought she was a really interesting choice to do the rebuttal. i was sort of expecting before e was announced maybe somebody like kamala harris or something linehat and then the political context struck me and i thought there were so many democrats kamala harris being one of them running for president, they almost had to go wiy someb who wasn't in office, and so there is this backdrop which i keep thinking how does this night play into 2020 both for the president and also for democrats who obviously will be seeking the presidency, and so that is sort of the style, the political part of it, on the substance, i thought it was, you know, very up in the air, you know, it was very --l a ot of sort of glib talk about, you know, the shiroff my back and this sort of thing, great, i mean those things sound good but then you have to sort of come up with policies to put behind that. you know,, there is the rhetoric and then there is the action, and so i -- it just

struck me whawe have seen over the past 15, 20 years themo democratic, atic party. >> thank you. >> there you go. >> the democratic party has become the party of the rich, since 2008, the majority of voters of over $200,000 of income have gone democratic and that doesn't jll with the rhetoric and that was i think there is this battle for the middle class, we saw it in trump's speech, trying toex ain what his vision is for the middle class and for the working class, and how that ties to things like immigration and trade and then you saw stacey abrams trying to claim that same mantle for the demd ratic party at's where the battle will be fought. >> woodruff: is that what you heard mark shields? a>> sta stacey abrams did not o answer donald trump, she gve basically a democratic speech, sort of her signature speech, and, you know, it is an impossible assignment for anybody, and if we want to list on one hand th memorable ones i think, you know, unfortunately i remember the unfortunate, the

marco rubio striving for the water, you know, wtever else, jim webb i think gave the only good one i can remember which was 15 or 13 yearsgo. but no, she was good. i think chris is right, it was way ooid ago family argument. i mean, you choose her, you stay out of the presidential, you are not showing favoritism, and certainly i mean she emerged from that race in georgia with a surprising strength and surprising -- i will jst say one with thing. what trump tried to do in his speech was he tried to recreate the re mystique, ronald reagan could talk about america d its values by talking about world war ii and d-day. he had great gift for that. it doesn't ring true with donald trump, because he never has a talkut it before. it never has been a part of his basic composition or just in his

0 knowledge. and i thought, you know, the idea that an american first,a which is whis foreign boil is, the irony is g is prais world war ii and america's involvement in it when his predecessors in th movement, e america first did everything they could to stay out of world war ii. so i mean, i ais sort ofn interesting bookend philosophically, if contradictory. >> woodruff: it was striking that stacey abrams was the one that citeed presidentgan,, understanding that compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders >> yes. >> >> woodruff: put stacey abrams in context, peter wehner, withr what thesident says. >> well, as everybody said, it is very, very harto give a response thatting right after the state of the union. i thought she cart out pretty well. you have some fret who have crashed and burned in these kind of things, nobody has ever given a response to a state of the union which has been deeply memorable and this onehe won't be e it was -- it

was probably a good choice for the domes to make for the d.reasons that chris sai i thought she was relitigating to some extent her loss in georgia. she spent a fair amount on the right to vote, which is ansu important but when you have seven minutes to give a national response i thini probably would have advised going in a different direction. it was culture, leaning toward culture aspposed to economic growth and it wasn't hugely uplifting, it was a hugelvi upliftinon but it was fine, i will say a week from now i think both speeches will be forgotten. >> the contrast -- the overriding message --n >> the cotrast will be important. i think chris made a good point too. you know, we get into 202a thle is who best represents the middle class, dod the class people who do you think is looking out for them? the republican or the democrats? and also this fight that we are going to see in 2020 reflects what mark was talking about, the president really a nostalgia for the way things were and celebrating the things of the past, versus stey abrams what

she represents, both her age, her gender, an her race, sort of future looking we are going to have somody that looks different, sounds different, comes from so many different places to be in leadership position so those will be a contrast. and she also basically hit every note of the sort of grievances f of democra the last two years, children in cages, you have to call racism out, the president needs to tell the truth, being able to get everyone -- this was sorof this trying to be above, right,l above ics, we are going to be the party that doesn't get down to the mud but then got ace cho just get a slip of those digs just right in there. >> a ltle bit. >> well, we are. >> woodruff: well we are just a couple of minutes more beore we take a short break. but i just want to quickly say to karnei thought from cosmetically i thought they needed more lighthere. [laughter.] >> you said it it was so dark.

>> it was dark and i think when you give the democratic nuance it is ofn in an unfortunate location, it is some place not a amber of the house and you can't see and you are focused on trying to see and hear sometimes. you know,. and they do reach for wat sometimes. well, we are going to be back after the turn of the hour but we know that some stations will be cutting away. we are coming up on 11:00 o'clock eastern, 8:00 p.m. pacific time, and as our verage of the state of the union continues we are going to give some pbs ston it is opportunity to resume their regular programming. but for those stations sta ung wiand for those of you watching online, don't go anywhere. we will beright back, mark shields, peter wehner, chris w buskirk, alter and karinne jean-pierre, thank you. >> ♪ ♪

gates: i'm henry gates, jr. welcome finding your roo. in this episode, we'll explore the ancestry of talkhow host michael strahan and actor s. epatha merkerson...ri