[applause] >> president trump: as long as we are proud of who we are and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve. as long as we have confidence in our values, faith in our citizens, and trust in our god, we will never fail, our families will thrive, our people will prosper, and our nation will forever be safe and strong and proud and mighty and free. thank you, and god bless america. good night.

[cheers and applause] [chanting "usa"] [applause] [applause] >> the fate of our union is strong because our people are strong and this is our new american moment. the state of the union address from the president of the united states, his first, live from capitol hill tonight. i'm shepard smith from washington with a.b. stoddard. if you were looking for a sort of boilerplate republican conservative speech, well-delivered, as you said

earlier, often poetic. >> a.b.: everything was there that every republican wanted to hear, with with the exception of addressing a surging debt and our entitlement programs, which is boilerplate republican. other than that, it was as conservative as it gets. he never mentioned draining the swamp. i wonder what steve bannon is thinking tonight. he hit hard on immigration talking about crime by immigrants before talking about a compromise, may be to let his supporters know he's going to stick to his promises on a wall and other matters for immigration hawks. every message -- his line on trade that makes republicans nervous, but didn't promise any new tariffs or anything that sounded like a trade war or anything with which he disagrees with the mainstream of his part party. >> shepard: off in the press dome a question with this president is not what sort of policies is he about to suggest,

what specific is he going to ge get, there are almost never specifics on state of the union nights. the question is almost always will he be teleprompter president trump or will he be ad-libbing president trump? the truth is to make the ad lived a lot. we were reading along with prepared text. it was mostly adjectives and adverbs. he was on point and seemed to very much enjoy it. >> a.b.: we did the joint address at congress together last year, that was a very effective speech with really good themes of optimism and unity. this was much better. very well delivered. president trump's delivery is improving. by the end he seemed to really be enjoying it and really sort of enthused by how uplifting and lofty it was. i think is going to get great accolades in the days to come. >> shepard: louis gomer getting his moment, the microphones are open, let's listen. >> well done.

[inaudible] >> thanks, fellows. appreciate it. >> terrific. terrific. [inaudible] >> loved it. awesome. >> shepard: the opioid epidemic, a poignant story. there were a lot of tearjerking moments made throughout the speech. really fantastic guests i thought, some with incredible stories. no specifics about what to do about this opioid epidemic that is crushing so many parts of our nation. people want specifics. as i said, state of the union night is rarely a night for specifics but it would have been a good place for one. >> a.b.: especially with the choice of guests, the parents who adopted that child.

all of the guests were excellent, and all emotionally compelling. on the opioid issue, the administration's efforts thus far, paying lip service but not activating anything on the issu issue. problems with their task force and whose up to speed and people quitting and this type of thing. it's an urgent matter, and the congress needs to push on the issue as well. i also noticed that he called to an end to the suppressor, but no pointing out how to pay for it. this is an increase in military spending that everyone took on and spending cuts, across-the-board cuts known as the sequester in 2011 because we went to a near default on the debt. again, another issue that got a huge applause line, but no details about how you paid. >> shepard: reforming our prisons to give people a second chance, but if there were specifics, i didn't understand it. >> a.b.: that is an issue they

are reaching out to different coalitions within the republican party and democrats about. i really think that's actually a bipartisan issue, an area for hope in terms of cooperation, but no one has a specific plan. no specifics really on infrastructure except speeding permits and the type of thing. if this is where the devils will be in the details in terms of whether or not they can keep democrats on the table about new transportation projects, how to pay for them, whether it's just a way to facilitate, as i said, the repeal of environmental laws. that's where you're going to have to get specific to get bipartisanship. >> shepard: oh moment by way of observation so you know what happening here at home. the clock starts running -- excuse me, it's very dry in her tonight. the clock starts running on the democratic response when he leaves this chamber. by this time, normally, looking at the clock, the president, whoever it is, the previous one and the one before that would

have been out, but the handshaking continues so this discussion will continue. once he leaves the room we will have 5 minutes before the democratic response begins. peter doocy is there in the hall. big crowds of around him. >> reporter: there are. head of this remark that had a lot of very enthusiastic republican applause and a lot of democrats remaining seated with her arms crossed, we were told to expect to see to write something that might be a surprise, and that would be all the talk about north korea. the president said something that he has talked about before where he thinks that the nuclear program run by the north korean dictator kim jong un is potentially a threat and that the u.s. is going to apply maximum pressure. he built up an hour plus long stated the union address, his first, to show, using a victim

of their brutality's parents, who were seated in the gallery, as well as a defector, north korean defector, how brutal they are. without really taking aim at north korea, the president did take very personal examples into the gallery with him to show and maybe start to make the point to the american people that these are very nasty people that the pentagon is going to have to potentially confront soon. it something else we didn't expect to see, because nancy pelosi told democrats, rank-and-file democrats not to interrupt the president. there was loud cheering and groaning when the president mentioned the fourth pillar of his immigration plan, which is an end to chain migration. the president is proposing a plan that will let people who are in this country and get citizenship, they could bring in the nuclear family, but no longer distant relatives.

that got a very, very loud rolling boo almost in the chamber. that is something the democratic leadership was hoping not to do. they did not want to be seen distracting the president, interrupting him, they just wanted to let him go and then be done with it tomorrow. that is something you are going to hear a lot about. how difficult it's going to be for both sides to come together because they are going to need democrats and republicans were in immigration deal. >> shepard: peter doocy, thank you so much. there were a lot of dreamers in the hall tonight. i think the final total was about 50 who were going to be the guests of democratic were presented to us. >> a.b.: word went out that a congressman from arizona was going to be asking the attorney general and the department of justice have people there checking ids to see if any illegal immigrants were here and have them arrested and there was sort of a fight breaking out on twitter over

this. quite remarkable. the president, in his comments on chain migration, said that anyone coming in here in the past has had the ability to bring in unlimited number of relatives and that's simply not true. >> shepard: while we wait for the democratic response, just a couple minutes away, one more thing i thought was notable, he talks about prescription drug prices and how high they are and he said they are going to come down, you watch as if there were some plan for that already. >> a.b.: people have been eager. this is a passionate topic for president trump. when he was a candidate he talked about he really wants to bring them down. he's never actually put a plan on the table for how you work with the drug companies to do that. to negotiate prices. it is something, you can tell when he talks about it, that is a very strong priority. also, i should mention, an issue

americans really want to hear about and want congress to address. he got a big applause on saying they've eliminated the mandate in the affordable care act, but that's why you saw him talk about drug prices and experimental drugs for terminally ill patients, because he is trying talk to the need -- they see it in the polling, they know it's going to recommend action. >> shepard: if you are a republican and a supporter of president trump, you probably love what you just saw. for my twitter, it looks like if you are a democrat, you are mad as a wet hornet, as is often the case in these polarizing times. the democratic response is coming up 60 seconds from now. joe kennedy the third of the state of massachusetts has a difficult night tonight. it's never easy to follow the state of the union. >> a.b.: exactly. they call it the curse of the state of the union response and there are five responses for the

democratic party, his is the official. that's the response that will get the most attention. he's trying to become a leader in a very divided party. >> shepard: a party which is very much trying to figure out who's going to be its voice. 30 seconds away. you wonder if we are going to find out the night five different people speaking on presumably the same topics. >> a.b.: he's a very impressive up and comer in his party. he's 37, he's been serving since 2012. but at the same time, as you said, this is not a party with a lot of fresh faces or names like kennedy. >> shepard: democrat joseph kennedy the third with the democratic response officially tonight live, and here we go. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you. good evening, ladies and

gentlemen. it is an absolute privilege to join you alternate. we are here in fall river massachusetts, a proud american city. [cheers and applause] >> an american city built by immigrants. [cheers and applause] >> from textiles to robots, this is a place that knows how to make great things. [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: the students are with us here this evening in the auto tech program at diamond regent technical school carry on that rich legacy. [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: like many american hometowns,

fall river has faced its share of storms, but the people here are tough. they fight for each other. they pulled for their city. it is a fitting place to gather as our nation reflects on the state of our union. this is a difficult task. many have spent the last year anxious, angry, afraid. we all feel the fractured fault lines across our country. we are the voices of americans who are forgotten and feel forsaken. we see an economy that makes stocks sore, corporate profits climbed, but fails to give workers their fair share of the reward. the government that struggles to keep itself open.

russia knee-deep in our democracy. an all-out war on environmental protection. a justice department rolling back civil rights by the day. hatred and supremacy probably marching in our streets. bullets tearing through our classrooms, concerts and congregations, targeting our safest sacred places. in this nagging, sinking feeling, no matter your political beliefs, this is not right. this is not who we are. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause]

>> representative kennedy: it would be easy to dismiss this past year's chaos. partisanship as politics. but it's far far bigger than that. this administration isn't just targeting the laws that protect us, they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection. for them, dignity isn't something you were born with but something i measure by your net worth, your celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size. not to mention the gender of your spouse, the country of your birth, the color of your skin, the god of your prayers. the record is rebuked our

highest american ideal, the belief that we are all worthy, that we are all equal and we all count in the eyes of our laws and their leaders, our god and our government. that is the american promise. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: today, ladies and gentlemen, today that promise is being broken by an administration that callously appraises our worthiness and decides who make the cut and who can be bargained away. they are turning american life into a zero-sum game where 412

when, another must lose. or we can guarantee america's safety if we/are safety net. or we can extend health care in mississippi if we got it in massachusetts. we can cut taxes for corporations today if we raise them with families tomorrow. where we can take care of sick kids if we sacrifice dreamers. we are bombarded with one false choice after another. coal miners or single moms. rural communities or inner cities. the coast or the heartland. as if the mechanic in pittsburgh, a teacher in tulsa, and a day care worker in birmingham are bitter rivals rather than mutual casualties of a system forcefully rigged towards those at the top.

apparent lies awake terrified that their transgender son or daughter will be beaten and bullied at school. if any more or less legitimate and apparent whose heart is shattered by a daughter in the grips of an opioid addiction. so here is the answer that democrats offer to make. we choose both. [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: we fight, we fight for both, because the greatest, strongest, richest nation in the world should not have to leave anyone behind. [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: we

choose, which was a better deal for all who call our country home. we choose a living wage and paid leave and affordable child care that your family needs to survive. which is pensions that are solvent, trade packs that are fair, does roads and bridges tt won't rust away. a good education that you can afford. which was a health care system that offers you mercy whether you suffer from cancer or depression or addiction. we choose an economy strong enough to boast record stock prices and brave enough to admit that top ceos making 300 times their average worker is not right. [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: we choose fall river.

we choose the thousands of american communities whose roads are paved with power or privilege, but with an honest effort, with good faith and the resolve to build something better for your kids. that is our story. it began the day our founding fathers and mothers set sail for a new world, fleeing oppression and intolerance. they continued with every word of our independence, the audacity to declare that all men are created equal, an imperfect promise for a nation struggling to become a more perfect union. it grew with every suffragettes steps, every freedom writers voice, everywhere he sold we to our shores. and to all the dreamers out there watching tonight, let me be absolutely clear.

[speaking spanish] you are part of our story. we will fight for you, and we will not walk away. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: america, we carry that story on our shoulders. you swarmed washington last year to ensure that no parent has to work so they can afford to save their child's life. thousands deep on the streets of

las vegas and philadelphia and nashville. you sat high atop your mom's shoulders and held a sign that read "build a wall in my generation will tear it down." [cheers and applause] >> representative kennedy: you bravely say me too. you steadfastly say black lives matter. you wade through floodwaters, battle hurricanes, brave wildfires and mudslides to save a stranger. you battle your own quiet battles every single day. you drag your weary bodies to that extra ship so your families

won't feel the sting of scarcity. if you leave loved ones at home to defend our country overseas, patrol our neighborhoods at night. you serve, you rescue, you help, you heal. that, more than any law or leader, debate or disagreement, that is what drives us towards progress. bullies may land a punch. they may leave a mark, but they have never, not once in the history of our united states managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defense of their future. [applause] >> representative kennedy: politicians can be cheered for the promises they make.

our country will be judged by the promises we keep. [applause] >> representative kennedy: that is the measure of our character. that is who we are. out of many, one. ladies and gentlemen, have faith. have faith. the state of our union is hopeful, resilient, and enduring. god bless you. god bless your family. and may god bless the united states of america. thank you. [cheers and applause] >> congressman joe kennedy live from fall river, massachusetts,

with the democratic response to the state of the union. live on fox. more coverage on your late local news on the spock station. i'm shepard smith, fox news capitol hill. ♪ sfx: tinny headphone music sfx: feet shuffling life can change in an instant. be covered when it does... ...with a health plan through covered california. we offer free expert help choosing the best plan for you. and all of our plans include free preventive care. financial help is available, so check for yourself to see what savings you qualify for. open enrollment ends january 31st, so don't miss out. because you never know when life... ...will change. get covered today.

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