on. >> michael, we're just watching the cabinet come in now. we're told that the president is probably a couple minutes off the schedule that he's supposed to be on. usually they start 90 seconds off the top of the hour. we think it may be a little pushed back from there. this cabinet has been itself a source of difficulty for this president in his first year. he lost a cabinet secretary to scandal helping him seven as a secretary having to step down amid circumstances that never resulted in any sort of congressional inquiry, which i always thought was interesting. rex tillerson, secretary of state is a remarkably controversial figure at that incredibly difficult position and the state department has been transformed under his leadership. nicole? your eyebrows are doing the talking now. >> this is the normal conversation you have before states of the union and i'm wrestling with my own -- we're arching toward normalcy. this is so abnormal. every time donald trump gives a

teleprompter speech, he freaks out afterwards. he's trashed almost 90% of the cabinet on twitter every time he's given a speech on a teleprompter within 48 hours he says something bat bleak crazy. the last one to congress, two days later he said my wires were tapped. the teleprompter speech about charlottesville, took him 17 hours to give john kelly the face where he said there were good people on both sides. he had a measured statement after bob mueller was announced in 12 hours he was tweeting. what we're about to watch will look normal, but it isn't. >> when you put it that way -- [ laughter ] >> it's like going to a wedding for a couple you know there is bad stuff going on and you're going to sit there at ceremony and watch the toasting and vows and watch all that and you know there is a lot going on. >> and object when that moment

comes. >> still, there is going to be a speech, right? the first five minutes is going to be holy moly donald trump is giving a state of the union speech. >> and it's pretty good because somebody else wrote it and he doesn't mean any of it. >> that's a thing outside of the normal timeline. donald trump giving the state of the union. however, we'll have to listen to the speech, right? he'll announce something. he's going to say something. >> let me reset here for a second. it is just after 9:00 in the east coast. the president is due momentarily. i want to thank you for joining us for the special coverage of the president's first state of the union address. the state of the union is fun and exciting for a politics' geek. on this night it is probably edge of your seat viewing for any american who is a citizen if you don't care. whether you like this president or you don't or if you are one of the 0.0% of americans who have no opinion about him, this is an important night for the country. other presidents -- >> speaking of sentiments. aren't you impressed we have a

secretary of defense, a pentagon chief with the nickname mad dog who is seen as a restraining influence on our president? that is a fact. >> other presidents have given this address in the middle of serious scandals. no president has done it facing this kind of scandal with these approval ratings. no president has done this facing the largest day of street protest the day after his inauguration and overseeing the shutdown of the government after his one-year anniversary taking the oath of office while his party controlled the congress and white house. it is a profound challenge for this president, which i think s is -- looks like anything can happen. it's hard to gauge expectations because so much about this moment in history has never happened before as we watch to your point what looks like a have familiar chamber. >> the point about this speech, it is usually, if you back up from state of the union, most

presidents i'm sure obama did this and bush did this, they have policy meetings around issues they want to be -- >> absolutely. >> so for president obama, i mean, he was so moved after sandy hook so they probably crashed a policy process on gun control so he was able to in the state of the union announce legislation. this president spent the last three weeks in a war against his own fbi and doj. there is no evidence from the people at this network and news organizations that cover the white house he's been an all-nighter to discuss it. >> when you put it that way. >> sorry. >> we're waiting the speaker of the house who will recognize the sergeant at arms. the president is in the holding room just on the other side of the double doors. still a lot of socializing going on on the floor of the house chamber. we just don't want to miss this

moment here. >> we should mention as this speech unfolds, what we expect thereafter is the democratic response from joe kennedy. that will be five minutes after the speech tonight. >> the president of the united states. [ applause ] one of the last rituals of american politics is watching the president come down the main isle. >> watching people with isle

seats hours in advance because they get to be on tv in this moment of the shot of the president. >> i wonder if that is the congressman from new york city where i grew up. he was one of the early birds, always, always, always in that shot. i think given his constituents and given the way that district goes, he probably is not angling to get in the shot but will be interesting to see if certain traditions and norms proceed. >> he's a particular looking gu guy. >> he's got to protect. i don't know. >> chris? >> sheila jackson lee is almost inevitably on the right side. >> democrats and republicans. >> same question. she's been very bipartisan. >> you know, there were a few years particularly after the -- >> that's louie on the left. >> after the shooting of gabby giffords when members of congress made an effort to alternate and sit together and have republican democrat, people

declared their bipartisan buddy for the night and that lasted for a few years and then boy, did that not stick. at times like this and nights like this, sort of wish you could impose that almost. >> you guys remember when your kids and high school and you have the first time that june like you haven't seen each other in two weeks? [ laughter ] >> we're meeting at a new place. this is so cool. >> the president was four members of the supreme court, four out of the nine are there tonight. >> you got -- given the obstruction of justice investigation of the president, seeing him talking to supreme court justices makes s me feel different. >> see, i said it wasn't normal. >> yeah, i mean, we should also mention that not every member of the supreme court is there and that is not something that is necessarily specific to this president. that has also been an increasing tradition where some members of the court stay away.

[ applause ] [ applause ] still one more introduction and gavel swing before the speech is set to begin.

[ applause ] members of congress, i have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. [ applause ]

[ applause ] mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, first lady of the united states and my fellow americans, less than one year has passed since i first stood at this podium in this majestic chamber to speak on behalf of the american people and to address their concerns, their hopes and their dreams. that night our new

administration had already taken very swift action. a new tide of optimism was already sweeping across our land. each day since, we have gone followed with a clear vision and a righteous mission to make america great again for all americans. [ applause ] over the last year we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. we've faced challenges we expected and others we could have never imagined. we've shared in the heights of

victory and the pains of hardsh hardship. we have endured floods and fires and storms, but through it all, we have seen the beauty of america's soul and the steel in america's spine. each test has forged new american heroes to remind us who we are and show us what we can be. we saw the volunteers of the cajun navy racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a totally devastating hurricane. we saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the las vegas strip. we heard tales of americans like coast guard petty officer ashley leopahelp leppert who is here i gallery with melania.

[ applause ]leppert who is here gallery with melania. [ applausegallery with melania. [ applause ]leppert who is here gallery with melania. [ applause ] [ applause ] ashlee was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene in houston during hurricane harvey. through 18 hours of wind and rain, ashlee braved live power lines and deep water to help save more than 40 lives. ashlee, we all thank you. thank you very much. [ applause ]

we heard about americans like firefighter david dahlberg. he's here with us, also. he faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children trapped at a california summer camp threatened by those devastating wildfires. to everyone still recovering in texas, florida, louisiana, puerto rico and the virgin islands, everywhere, we are with you, we love you and we always will pull through together, always. . [ applause ] thank you to david and the

brave people of california, thank you very much, david. great job. some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally. with us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this house, a guy who took a bullet, almost died and was back to work three and a half months later, the legend from louisiana, congressman steve scali scalise. [ applause ]

i think they like you, steve. we're incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the capital police officers, the alexandria police and the doctors, nurses and paramedics that saved his life and the lives of many others, some in this room. and the aftermath -- yes. yes. [ applause ] in the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together, not as republicans or democrats but as representatives of the people but it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy. tonight, i call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to

seek outcome mo common ground a summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. this is really the key. these are the people we were elected to serve. [ applause ] thank you. over the last year, the world has seen what we always knew, that no people on earth are so fearless or daring or determined as americans. if there is a mountain, we climb it. if there is a frontier, we cross it. if there is a challenge, we tame it. if there is an opportunity, we

seize it. so let's begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our union is strong because our people are strong. [ applause ] and together, we are building a safe, strong and proud america. since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs including -- [ applause ] including 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone. tremendous numbers. [ applause ] >> after years and years of wage

stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. [ applause ] >> unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. [ applause ] and something i'm very proud of, african american unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded. [ applause ] and hispanic unemployment has also reached the lowest

levels in history. [ applause ] small business confidence is at an all-time high. the stock market has smashed one record after another gaining $8 trillion and more in value in just this short period of time. the great news -- [ applause ] the great news for americans, 401 k retirement pension and college savings accounts have gone through the roof and just as i promised the american people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in american history. [ applause ]

now our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small business to lower tax rates for hard-working americans. we nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone. [ applause ] now, the first $24,000 earned by a married couple is completely tax free. [ applause ]

we also doubled the child tax credit. [ applause ] the typical family of four making $75,000 will see their tax bill reduced by $2,000 slashing their tax bill in half. [ applause ] in april, this will be the last time you will ever file under the old and very broken system and millions of americans will have more take home pay starting next month, a lot more. [ applause ]

we eliminated an especially cruel tax that fell mostly on americans making less than $50,000 a year forcing them to pay tremendous penalties sumimp because they couldn't afford government-ordered health plans. we repeal the core of the disastrous obamacare, the individual mandate is now gone. thank heaven. [ applause ] we slashed the business tax rate from 35% all the way down to 21% so american companies can

compete and win against anyone else anywhere in the world. these changes alone are estimated to increase average family income by more than $4,000. a lot of money. [ applause ] small businesses have also received a massive tax cut and can now deduct 20% of their business income. here tonight are steve staub and sandy keplinger from a beautiful business in ohio. they just finished the best year in their 20-year history. [ applause ]

because of tax reform, they are handing out raises, hi highering an additional 14 people and expanding into the building next door. good feeling.an additional 14 p expanding into the building next door. good feeling. one of staub's employees, corey adams is also with us tonight. corey is an all american worker. he supported himself through high school, lost his job during the 2008 recession and was later hired by staub where he trained to become a welder like many hard-working americans, corey plans to invest his tax cut raise into his new home and his

two daughters' education. corey, please stand. [ applause ] and he's a great welder. i was told that by the man that owns that company that's doing so well. so congratulations, corey. since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses. many of them, thousands and thousands of dollars per worker and it's getting more every month, every week. apple has just announced it plans to invest a total of $350 billion in america and hire

another 20,000 workers. [ applause ] and just a little while ago exxonmobil announced a $50 billion investment in the united states. just a little while ago. [ applause ] this, in fact, is our new american moment. there has never been a better time to start living the american dream. so to every citizen watching at home tonight, no matter where you've been or where you've come from, this is your time. if you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in

america, then you can dream anything. you can be anything. and together, we can achieve absolutely anything. plap . [ applause ] [ applause ] >> tonight, i want to talk about what kind of future we're going to have and what kind of a nation we're going to be. all of us together as one team, one people and one american family can do anything. we all share the same home. the same heart, the same destiny and the same great american flag. [ applause ]

together, we are rediscovering the american way. in america, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy are the center of american life. the motto is in god we trust. [ applause ] and we celebrate our police, our military and our amazing

veterans as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support. [ applause ] . here tonight is preston sharp, a 12-year-old boy from redding, california who noticed that veterans' graves were not marked with flags on veterans' day. he decided all by himself to change that and started a movement that has now placed 40,000 flags at the graves of our great heroes. preston, a job well done. [ applause ]

[ applause ] young patriots like preston teach all of us about our civic duty as americans, and i met preston a little while ago, and he is something very special that i can tell you, great future. thank you very much for all you've done, preston. thank you very much. [ applause ] preston's reverence reminds us for why we solute our flags and put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of alliance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem. [ applause ]

[ applause ] americans love their country, and they deserve a government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return. for the last year, we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government. working with the senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the contusion as written including a great new supreme court justice and more circuit court judges than any new administration in the

history of our country. [ applause ] we are totally depending our second amendment and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty. [ applause ] and we are serving our brave veterans including giving our veterans choice in their health care decisions. [ applause ]

last year congress passed and i signed the landmark v.a. accountability act. since its passage, my administration removed more than 1,500 v.a. employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do. [ applause ]

and i will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of, which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey. [ applause ] all americans deserve accountability and respect and that's what we are giving to our wonderful heroes, our veterans. so tonight i call on congress for every secretary to reward good workers and federal employees that undermine the public trust or fail the american people.

[ applause ] in our drive to make washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in the first year than any administration in the history of our country. [ applause ] we have ended the war on american energy and we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal. . [ applause ]

we are now exporting an in detroit i halted government mandates that crippled america's great, beautiful auto workers so that we can get motor city revving its engines again and that's what is happening. [ applause ] many car companies are now building and expanding plants in the united states, something we haven't seen for decades. chrysler is moving a major plant

from mexico to michigan. toyota and mazda are opening a plant in alabama, a big one and we haven't seen this in a long time. it's all coming back. [ applause ] very soon auto plants and other plants will be opening up all over our country. this is all news americans are totally unaccustomed to hearing for many years companies and jobs were only leaving us, but now, they are roaring back. they are coming back. they want to be where the action

is. they want to be in the united states of america. that's where they want to be,. [ applause ] . [ applause ]. [ applause ] exciting progress is happening every single day. to speed access to breakthrough cures and affordable generic drugs, last year the fda approved more new and agageneri drugs and medical devices than ever before in our country's history. [ applause ] we also believe that patients with terminal

conditions, terminal illness should have access to experimental treatment immediately that could potentially save their lives. people who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure. i want to give them a chance right here at home. it's time for congress to give these wonderful, incredible americans the right to try. [ applause ] one of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs.

[ applause ] in many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the united states and is very, very unfair. that is why i've directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of the high drug prices one of my top priorities for the year. [ applause ] and prices will come down substantially. watch. america has also finally turned

the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and chipped away our come pa companies, our jobs and our wealth. our nation has lost its wealth but we're getting it back so fast. the era of economic surrender is totally over. from now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and very important lly reciprocal. [ applause ] we will work to fix back trade deals and negotiate new ones and they will be good ones, but they will be fair and we will protect american workers

and american intellectual property through strong enforce theme ment of our trade rules. as we rebuild the industries, it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. [ applause ] america is a nation of builders. we built the empire state building in just one year. isn't it a disgrace that it can now take ten years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road? [ applause ]

i'm asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reliable and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve. [ applause ] >> tonight i'm calling on congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs. every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and where appropriate tapping into private sector investment to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit and we can do it.

[ applause ] any bill must stream line the approving process getting it down to no more than two years and perhaps even one. together we can reclaim our great building heritage. we will build new roads, bridges, highways, rail ways and waterways all across our land and we will do it with american heart and american hands and american grit. [ applause ]

we want every american to know the dignity of a hard days' work. we want every child to be safe in their home at night, and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we all love so much. we can lift our citizens from welfare to work, from dependence to independence and from poverty to prosperity. as -- [ applause ] as tax cuts create new jobs, let's invest in work force development and let's invest in job training, which we need so badly.

[ applause ] let's open great vocational schools so our future workers can learn a craft and realize their full potential. [ applause ] and let's support working families by supporting paid family leave. [ applause ] as america regains it's strength, opportunity must be extended to all citizens. that is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have

served their time get a second chance at life. [ applause ] struggling communities especially immigrant communities will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of american workers and american families. for decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. they have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest americans. most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives. here tonight are two fathers and two mothers evelyn rodriguez,

fredy cuevas, their two teenage daughters kayla cuevas were close friends on long island. but in september 2016, on the eve of niece's 16's birthdth bi such a happy time. neither of them came home. these two precious girls were brutally murdered while walking together in their hometown. six members of the salve members of the ms-13 gang were charged with kayla and niece's murders. many of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as illegal unaccompanied alien minors and wound up in kayla and

niece's high school. evelyn, elizabeth, fredy and robert, tonight everyone in this chamber is praying for you. everyone in america is grieving for you. please stand. thank you very much. [ applause ] [ applause ]

>> i want you to know that 320 million hearts are right now breaking for you. we love you. thank you. we cannot imagine the depths of that kind of sorrow, we can make sure that other families never have to endure this kind of pain. tonight i am calling on congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed ms-13 and other criminal gangs to break into our country. we have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws and support our i.c.e. and border patrol agents. these are great people. these are great, great people that work so hard in the midst of such danger.

so that this can never happen again. [ applause ] the united states is a compassionate nation. we are proud that we do more than any other country anywhere in the world to help the needy, the struggling, and the underprivileged all over the world. but as president of the united states, my highest loyalty, my greatest compassion, my constant concern is for america's children, america's struggling workers, and america's forgotten communities. i want our youth to grow up to

achieve great things. i want our poor to have their chance to rise. so tonight i am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, democrats and republicans, to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed. [ applause ] my duty and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber is to defend americans, to protect their safety, their families, their communities and their right to the american dream. because americans are dreamers too. [ applause ]

here tonight is one leader in the effort to defend our country, homeland security investigation special agent celestino martinez. he goes by d.j. and c.j. he said call me either one. so we'll call you c.j. sir, 15 years in the air force before becoming an i.c.e. agent and spending the last 15 years fighting gang violence and getting dangerous criminals off of our streets. a tough job. at one point, ms-13 leaders ordered c.j.'s murder, and they wanted it to happen quickly. but he did not cave to threats

or to fear. last may, he commanded an operation to track down gang members on long island. his team has arrested nearly 400, including more than 220 ms-13 gang members. and i have to tell you what the border patrol and i.c.e. have done, we have sent thousands and thousands and thousands of ms-13 horrible people out of this country or into our prisons. so i just want to congratulate you, c.j. you're a brave guy. thank you very much. [ applause ]

and i asked c.j., what's the secret? he said we're just tougher than they are. and i like that answer. now let's congress to extend to you and all the people in this great chamber, we have to do it. we have no choice. c.j., we're going to send you reinforcements and we're going to send them to you quickly. it's what you need. over the next few weeks, the house and senate will be voting on an immigration reform package. in recent months, my administration has met extensively with both democrats and republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to immigration reform. based on these discussions, we presented congress with a

detailed proposal that should be supported by both parties as a fair compromise. one where nobody gets everything they want, but where our country gets the critical reforms it needs and must have. [ applause ] here are the four pillars of our plan. the first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age. that covers almost three times more people than the previous administration covered.

under our plan, those who meet education and work requirements and show good moral character will be able to become full citizens of the united states over a 12-year period. the second pillar fully secures the border. [ applause ] that means building a great wall on the southern border, and it means hiring more heroes like c.j. to keep our communities safe. [ applause ]

crucially, our plan closes the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country, and it finally ends the horrible and dangerous practice of catch and release. [ applause ] the third pillar ends the visa lottery system that hands out greencards without any regard for skill, merit, or the safety of american people. it's time to begin moving toward a merit-based immigration

system, one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country. [ applause ] the fourth and final pillar protects the nuclear family by ending chain migration. under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. under our plan, we focus on