yamiche: the state of the union and a state of division. >> let's finish the job, there is more to do. yamiche: president biden hits the road. >> a lot of republicans, their dream is to cut social security and medicare. if that is your dream, i am your nightmare. yamiche: challenging republicans on the issue of entitlements in key battleground states. [booing] following a state of the union unlike any other. plus, former vice president mike pence is spoenaed by the special counsel investigating the effort to overturn the 2020 election. next. ♪ >> this is "washington week." corporate funding is provided by -- >> for 25 years,onsumer

cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can find one the fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. >> additional funding is provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation -- committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delay-magnuson. rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> once again, from washington, moderator yamiche alcindor. yamiche: good evening and welcome to washington. tuesday saw one of the rowdy's state of the union speeches in recent memory.

republicans heckled him through the door address. -- the address. the divisions were crystal clear, the president touted accomplishments and big bills passed last year, and urged bipartisanship to finish the job. it is a phrase he used 12 times during his speech. republicans shouted at him and called him "liar." this when he accused them of seeking to make cuts to entitlement programs. >> some republicansant medicare and social security to sunset. [booing] let me give anybody who doubts it, contact my office and i will give you a copy of the proposal. as we all apparently agree, social security and medicare is off the books now. [applause] all right. yamiche: quite a moment.

after his speech, arkansas's new governor, sarah huckabee sanders , gave the republican party responds and pointedly criticized the president and democrats. >> at 40, i'm the youngest governor in the country, and at 80, he is the oldest president in american history. i am the first woman to lead my state. he is the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob. yamiche: after his address, president biden hit the road, taking his message to two key battleground states, wisconsin and florida. while he hasn't officially announced he's running for reelection yet, he offered a glimpse at what his 2024 message might sound like. to discuss all of this i am joined by errin haines, and here in studio, peter baker, leigh ann caldwell, and nikole killion

. thanks all of you for being here. peter, you have covered a number of states of the union. what sticks out about this one, what president biden was saying and when republicans were heckling him, almost walking into what was maybe him baiting them? peter: i think that's what happened, i think the aides writing the speech determined to places where they might heckle him and that's what happened. not only was president biden ready, he was hoping for it. they wanted him to look like the adult in the room, when the quarrelsome children are shouting and being rude, and the gala they wanted. i think for a president whose speeches are not always full of energy, he has to convince people that at age 80 he still has vigor, and it was a good moment. he got to engage a foe and play off of them.

yamiche: sarah huckabee sanders criticized him, talked about him being part of the woke mob. also president trump, he said the speech was not as terrible as it could have been, but he also criticized him. peter: they are trying to find the traction, what sarah huckabee sanders, woke issues, they don't talk about much else. she also said several times it is time for a new generation of republican leadership. who was she talking to? maybe her old boss, who is 76. president biden is 80, neither of them is a new generation guy. yamiche: interesting point. speaker mccarthy had warned republicans to behave. what does that tell you about hold and grip on his party but also the strategy for republicans when you think about what congress has to get done? nikole: my take away is welcome to my world. for those of us who cover congress, this is the dynamic we

will likely deal with over the next two years and i don't think it is something that comes with any surprise after we witnessed the speaker battle, quite contentious, where you had one lawmaker lunging at another. you look at the week before the state of the union, a highly charged debaten the house floor when republicans tried to remove ilhan omar, a democrat, from the house foreign affairs committee, where you had people like aoc trying to tell off republicans. it is a very contentious and divided congress. no surprises that it was as raucous as it was tuesday night. i think in terms of kevin mccarthy having to shush members, it took him 15 votes to get the speakership. it takes some wrangling to keep his numbers in line. yamiche: it's a question i want to ask you, the medicare and

social security cuts, president biden says some republicans want to do it. you saw video from ron desantis, ron johnson talking on video years back about wanting to cut social security and medicare. what is the truth? nikole: this is the third rail ofolitics. in terms of the dynamic of cutting entitlement programs like social security and medicare. obviously before president biden made the state of the union speech we saw kevin mccarthy giver preview, he said social security andedicare will be off the table. at the same time it is nuanced because you have people who put out a bi plan recently, in the last election cycle, where rick scott suggested sunsetting medicare and social security. that's where the notion of potentially cutting it comes from and part. many republicans have since tried to distance themselves from that idea, including senator scott himself. it is in the weeds i think for a

lot of people at home, but as you saw, the president tried to leverage that opportunity to get everybody on record we are not going to touch this as part of the debt limit negotiations. yamiche: what are your sources saying about this? that was a moment to see president biden get democrats and republicans to stand up and say we will not touch social security and medicare. leigh ann: it really played into his hands, but i don't think this is the end of the discussion for social security and medicare. maybe for the time being republicans have realized it is that politically and it will be an issue in the 2024 presidential election. president trump, also goading republicans on the issue, he thinks it should not be cut. i interviewed senator kiersten cinema yesterday and she said there is a bipartisan working group in the senate addressing social security. they plan to come out with a plan on ways to reform the system. this is definitely not going to

be the end of the discussion on ose issues. yamiche: very interesting. errin, you pointed out president biden did t spend almost anytime on abortion or lgbtq rights. what are you hearing from sources, especially women and people impacted by these issues? errin: i think what the president was emphasizing tuesday night did matter, or that you could tell from the guests in the gallery. among the most notable, tyree nichols's parents, his mother was hoping her presence would put a face on police reform as they try to deal with that issue in a very politically divided congress. it stalled out on this issue last summer. you saw other black lawmakers had other family members in the gallery. the president did mention the

word abortion in the state of the union for the first time but cap -- kept those statements brief, as well as a knowledge of transgender youth. the activists i spoke to, while they said they were hardened by hearing the president mention issues like reproductive rights access, the lgbtq rights and also gun violence, the work is still unfinished and that's where you have president biden saying let's finish the job, but mentioning those types of things in a state of the union speech does signal they are priorities and also signals he understands perhaps the types of coalition he will have to pull together if he is running free -- running for reelection. yamiche: i was looking at some nielsen reports and it said 22.3 million -- 2.3 million tuned in.

it was a drop. what is it tell you about the significance of the state of the union versus the president going to keep battleground states? errin: many americans are tuning in for the first time to what the administration has been doing. we just had a washington post/abc poll that said 62% of americans don't feel like the administration is doing, they are not aware of what their, schmitz have been, even though you have president ticking off as what he sees as the administration's accomplishments in the state of the union address. i think that's why you also saw him continuing to hammer the theme of finish the job on the road. president biden in wisconsin, florida, president hair -- vice president harris dispatched to atlanta. they're talking about jobs, opportunities and the work they still want to do on behalf of americans, all you also have republicans casting sarah huckaby sanders -- sarah

huckabee sanders and her response, leaning into the culture wars in a different sort of appeal think to the working class voters both of these parties are attempting to harness headed into 2024. yamiche: peter, the other thing you pointed out to our producers and i had to double check, president biden spent very little time talking about global issues, ukraine and china, some of the things we see as priorities in the white house agenda. what do you make of that? peter: it was inverse proportions, the amount of time he probably spent in private dealing with china and ukraine just to say the two of them and he didn't mention any of the others. turkey just had a monster earthquake, no mention of that, no mention of south america or north korea. i think it shows how much this is a campaign oriented speech. he rolled out a lot of things that are good for the progressive base that will never pass the republican house. he did it to state a position,

this is what i'm fighting for, and if you want to take this issue to the voters, i'm happy to do it. that's his reelection campaign speech, and ukraine and china are not helpful to him in that regard. many americans don't want to talk about foreign affairs, they want to talk about what is happening at home. yamiche: talk to me about how republicans view this, youhink the fact that their strategy was to beat him up on domestic issues. you think about 2024, but also closer in the debt ceiling. what does that tell you about the way republicans see these things? leigh ann: republicans are gearing up for a fight, right? we saw that in the fight to elect kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house, the far right faction of the party imposed priorities on mccarthy and on republicans. they are prepared to make their demands for one thing that surprised me with the

president's speech is i was expecting him to adopt republican framing and focus on cutting deficits, focusing on the debt, but he did not do that. that's something president obama did in 2011 in his state of the union address after he was shellacked in the midterms, the height of the tea party movement when republicans were focused on deficit cutting. biden really avoided that and kept the national and domestic discussion in his terms. yamiche: i would know he also, as somebody who covered him in 2020, i noticed he also hearkened to the similar themes he raised during the campaign about trying to be a president for all americans, not betting against america. i think to peter's point, and we know the white house and those around the president were looking at this address as potentially a softer relaunch for his campaign and that was notable in some of the phrases he laid out.

peter: it was a steady as she goes speech for unsteady times. he made the mood music of bipartisanship -- work with me. but the point is, work with me on my priorities. he did not do what obama or clinton did. because he did not feel like he got a shellacking last fall. he lost the house but they feel like they did better than expected in the don't feel repudiated or the need to pivot to the middle. yamiche: it's interesting when you think about that he did not pivot to the middle. errin, you spoke to the mother of tyre nichols. he talked about the talk, which back -- black parents have with their kids, this is how you survive a police interaction. he said i didn't have to have this talk with my kids, we have to think about the fact we are living in a country where black and brown families have to. what was your reaction?

i know people want more reforms, but will that move any part of this? errin: the folks i spoke to were struck by the tone that president biden struck, humanizing these parents that are still grieving. it's only a month after tyre nichols was killed that they were in the gallery. even though this isn't his experience, trying to appeal to americans this is an issue at all americans should care about and all americans should want police reform. defunding the police was not the message you heard, which is something a lot of folks have been critical of, were critical of in previous election cycles but that was not the message president biden was touting. it was somewhat of a happy

warrior stands, in stark contrast to the bareknuckle brawler style you saw from the former president, who obviously is running again. whetr or not president trump is the nominee, you still have these other could be candidates, nikki haley, expected to announce next week, the former south carolina governor, ron desantis, the florida governor, or others, who may not necessarily be acting in the style of trump but certainly embrace a lot of that rhetoric and some of the culture wars agenda that appeals to a number of voters. the contrast in style i think was on display and that issue was a prime example of how you saw that playing out. leigh ann: i want to say something about tyre nichols, i was in the gallery during e speech and i saw his mom. during one of the standing ovations that she got from the entire chamber, she was such a

force. she stood up, and to the republicans, also giving her a standing ovation, she said thank you, had her hands like this, and said we need to do something. it was a really poignant moment as well and what president biden did is when he talked about police reform in a very optimistic way despite its uphill chances, passing on capitol hill, he did not talk about policy or specifics but appealed to people's emotions and it was a different tactic is and what he rmally does. we will see if it will be effective. yamiche: you did see kevin mccarthy also stand up for the line when he talks about greater accountability for officers, which was notable. talking to folks after the speech, i think they also raise the point of how far both president and even republicans might be coming along on this issue. granted, it is still an uphill battle and i think in part it was intentional the president wasn't that specific about police reform because frankly

lawmakers are still strategizing what that path should be, especially the congressional black caucus. i think that's what you heard him use more general phrasing to at least instill hope. >> it was so hard to watch revlon wells, less than a month since her child died and she is in congress. yamiche: peter, part of what we were talking about is something related in some ways to the vice president. she was a former prosecutor, but you've talked about colonel justice in you and your colleagues wrote -- criminal justice and you and your colleagues wrote a biting piece. vice president harris's trying to find her footing and message. peter: she is still having trouble and this is a worry for democrats. the concern with her is fair or not, she has not risen to the

occasion the way they would like to see her do. this is a big burden. first of all, it stings to be vice president. every vice president goes through something like this. then you add on the burden to be a first. there are double standards almost certainly applying. having said that, the people concerned about are the people who want her to succeed and feel like she hasn't, that she hasn't been visible or strong enough, hasn't crafted enough of an identity. it may matter less in the sense that we now believe president biden is going to run, therefore she doesn't have to step up, but she could be a liability to the ticket if republicans make the obvious argument, voting for an 82-year-old president who will be 86 at the end of his second term means you may be voting for, harris for president. they don't want her to be a political liability. she won't be tethered to the senate the same way she was, she's telling staff i want to be on the road three times a week, do stronger speeches, abortion

is an area where she's found her voice, and they're looking to reboot. yamiche: errin, you cover the vice president closely. errin: yeah, a very strong surrogate on the issue of abortion and tying that to voting rights and the erosion of rights of americans that resonated with key coalitions, women, people of color, lgbtq people, that see the stakes of our politics right now as existential. for her to carry that message in the midterms in a way that felt effective for a lot of those voters i think is something you will see continue. she was in atlanta, raphael warnock was just reelected to the senate in 2022. shoring up black voters. they did not get voting rights legislation. those folks need to be shored up for 2024. to put together the kind of coalition that the biden harris

administration is going to need to win. to peter's point, a large part of why we are even having this conversation is because of the president's age and the reality is this is someone who potentially could be president. that certainly is drawing a lot of scrutiny, although a lot of people i have also talked to say the scrutiny she is getting, how does that jibe with the reality on the ground with the voters she is connecting with as she's getting out there more? yamiche: leigh ann, there's so much we could say about four vice president pentz, we have to make a -- vice president pence , we have to make the hard term about the document sounded his home and also that he was subpoenaed. what do you think this means a

politically for him given that it looks like he might run in 2024? leigh ann: a lot of challenges for mike pence, running for president, not just the legal sense but also what sort of lane is he in? i think that dovetails in him being subpoenaed witthe special prosecutor's case. mike pence, we know his will on january 6, it was standing up to nald trump, very different from what donald trump did. now he is out there and not willing to say clearly and stake out that position firmly of where he is. but this issueith this investigation ongoing is going to be something he will have to talk about over and over again. yamiche: peter, break down this mike pence debacle. pete i don't know what his lane is. the pro trump crowd were saying hang mike pence on january 6. otrs are not happy with him trying to straddle that line.

he wants to talk and being subpoenaed is the best way forward, he is obligated to do it, it is a legal duty, not that he is volunteering to do it and looking disloyal. yamiche: and wildcard for those watching at home, we shot down another thing in the air. it is the white house saying? peter: they are not telling us what it is, is it a balloon? they say it is an object. is it china's? is it russia's? we don't know. they shot it down over the water just off the alaskan coast, it is frozen so they think they can get a lot of the debris and analyze it. it's not what we saw with the chinese balloon, it is a smaller, doesn't have the same look. trying to figure out what it is. yamiche: every week, it's like the chinese spy balloon, something in the air. we have to leave it there, clearly i could ask more questions about that. thank you to our panelists for joining us and sharing your reporting. be sure to tune into pbs news

week and for the latest from turkey and syria following the recent deadly massive earthquake. finally, three words for this weekend's super bowl -- flight, eagles flight. i said it. i am yamiche alcindor, good night from washington. >> corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. our u.s.-based customer service team can find one the fits you. to learn more, visit consumercellular.tv. >> additional funding is provided by -- koo and patricia yuen through the yuen foundation -- committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. sandra and carl delay-magnuson. rose hirschel and andy shreeves. robert and susan rosenbaum. the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

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(narrator) the royal family and the tabloid press have had a long and complicated relationship. (camera shutters snapping) (dramatic music) sometimes, they're friends. ♪ -sometimes, they're not. -this is harassment and must stop. (narrator) this is the inside story of that often-troubled relationship. ♪ of how the editors and copywriters got their biggest royal scoops... ♪ ...and most iconic front pages. and how creating them had the power to reshape public opini. ♪ the tabloids are criticized left, right, and center, but we need to find out what's really going on at the upper end of the establishment. (narrator) in this episode, we reveal how the most powerful family in britain