right now on a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports," president biden prepares to make his first state of the union address to a divided congress and a divided nation, frustrated or inflation, concerned about policing at the brutal beating of tyre nichols and china's brazen balloon incursion across the united states. now the calamity in turkey where that massive earthquake is responsible for more than 5,000 people who have died. this hour, i will talk to senate foreign relations chairman bob menendez, former obama attorney general steve holder and steve kornacki with his take on

memorable state of the unions in the past. welcome back. we begin this hour with the breaking news in turkey and syria where tens of thousands of emergency workers continuing the frantic search for survivors from the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake responsible for killing more than 5,000 people already. more than 23,000 people have been injured. turkey's president erdogan saying that ten cities within his country are disaster zones and declaing a three-month state of emergency. countries pledge their support. matt bradley is in turkey. turkish officials say they have made 8,000 rescues. what are you seeing there today? >> reporter: yeah, we have not seen anyone taken out alive from this building, one of 6,000 here in turkey that the government says have been completely

levelled by those twin earthquakes, some of the most devastating, most powerful this region has ever seen. this neighborhood is reeling from this event, even though this appears to be one of the only buildings within a couple of blocks that was completely levelled. that has still left a lot of people very shaken. a lot of people knew people in this building. i spoke with one man who lives across the street here, just right here over my left shoulder. he described how he has seen people here. they used to be his neighbors. he mentioned something a bit alarming. he said that the guy who built this building is the same guy who built his building. even though he survived, even though his building was completely destroyed, he is very worried about the structural integrity of his own home. he is staying with relatives. he doesn't want to go back. here is what he told me. >> all my neighbors, my friends.

i don't know who living here. that day, in the morning, i didn't sleep. i was watch film. around 4:00ish i was going to bed. my son did run to me, daddy, daddy, quick. i did wake my wife and my other son. it was shake and then go stronger and stronger and stronger. we just pray to god. >> you must have been terrified. >> i was in my life -- i'm 49 years old, almost 50. never afraid like that. all my family was going to die. >> reporter: you can imagine, he wanted to flee from the top, from his apartment at the top of his building. he felt he didn't have time. the earthquake was over almost as soon as it started. he and his family had to endure the shaking and the sight of the building across the street completely falling down. they were powerless to do anything until the tremors stopped.

>> just terrifying. matt, thank you so much. here in washington, the president's speech tonight will be the informal kickoff of his anticipated re-election campaign. this is a chance to tout bipartisan legislative victories and try to reverse polls that show voters still do not give this president credit for a stronger economy and noteworthy legislative achievements. joining me now, peter alexander and peter baker. the two peters. we are told he is expected to say, finish the job. what are you expecting to hear? what did you hear from north carolina voters? you were down there talking to them. >> reporter: i will tell you about my visit to north carolina, i will tell you about that in a moment. finish is what we will hear during the speech. re-emphasizing what he came to

office with. the idea of rebuilding the backbone of the country, trying to unify the country. beyond that, trying to basically restore the soul of america. he will focus on the idea that now he needs to complete that job, finish that job. the bottom line for this president, one of his biggest challenges tonight is to bridge this gap between what are strong economic numbers, the lowest unemployment rate in more than 50 years, eaing inflation, though still too high for many americans, and the covid pandemic, which is not nearly as bad as it was, with the sense that most americans have right now, which is that they are not satisfied with president biden's handling of the economy. they don't think he has done all that much. they are not feeling the economy, his economy is working for them right now. it really is one of the biggest challenges the president faces tonight. the parents of tyre nichols will be in attendance. the president will focus on police reform.

the man who disarmed the shooter in monterey park, california. the president will push for gun reform. he will need bipartisan help for any of these things to happen. i was in north carolina just last week, had a chance to speak to voters. they are not talking about classified documents. they are talking about inflation and how things are still costing them too much. i was struck by how most of those i spoke to were frustrated with the idea that president biden could run. >> gene: -- here is a working mom of four. here is what she told me. do you want to see president biden run again? you are pausing. >> no. >> reporter: why don't you? >> i think we need -- we need more younger, passionate, innovative, community-driven people in office. i think we have to get these old

guys out. i'm sorry. and i'm an older person. i'm almost 50 years old. but what i do know, the younger future, they think bigger. they think brighter. they are more inclusive. >> reporter: that does reflect what we found in the latest nbc news poll. two-thirds of americans say they have reservations or are very concerned about president biden running again in 2024. in many ways, this could be the unofficial kickoff of that campaign. >> and peter baker, while the president can't change the fact he is 30 years older than that lady in north carolina, but what can he do to try to engage republicans on the economy? they are looking at the polls that show that he is not getting credit for the good jobs numbers, at least the moderating of the economy in terms of inflation. how does he communicate to them when all they can see is political gain?

>> i think you are right to high highlight, this is the fact to the new divided government. two things. he is going to present himself as the adult in the room, the one who is going to reach out across the aisle and say, look, we can do things in a bipartisan way. we did them in the last two year years. at the same time, he will put out things he knows republicans will not accept. he will challenge them on areas where he thinks he can gain support from the public and the republicans will reject, like higher taxes on the wealthy, like more aid for those who need health care and so on. he will score a mix of looking conciliatory even as he is challenging this new republican majority. he is not like other presidents who came out of a bad midterm, who felt repudiation and a need to move to the middle. he feels emboldened by the

midterms, even though democrats lost the house, because they didn't lose nearly as many seats as everybody had expected. it's an interesting balancing act he will try to accomplish tonight. as peter said, the larger audience is the american public that he is trying to sell on a second term if he chooses to run again. >> thanks to both of you. new jersey democratic senator bob menendez is on the banking and finance committee. what do you want to hear on china tonight? let me play, first of all, what the president said on the south lawn when he was asked, will this hurt or change u.s./chinese relations, let's watch. et's wath >> no. we made it clear to china what we're going to do. they understand our position. we're not going to back off. we did the right thing. there's not a question of weakness or strengthening.

it's reality. >> how can this not weaken relations when we have postponed a very important trip that secretary blinken was to take last weekend? >> well, andrea, look, this was a brazen and unequivocal violation of u.s. sovereignty and international law by a country that supposedly claims to be a responsible actor. i think the administration has acted correctly with strength by suspending secretary blinken's visit to china, by the president downing the balloon in accordance with how his military said he should, getting off the coast of the country, being able to collect all of the debris and material for intelligence analysis and by sending a very resolute message. either this was a huge mistake by some entity of the chinese communist party or if it was a test by xi, he has a clear

answer. there was bipartisan uproar. the president took military action against the balloon. the secretary of state canceled his visit. if it was more than a surveillance balloon, if it was a trial balloon, he got his answer. that, i think, is the way you have to deal with xi. we can continue to move forward. we move forward from a position of strength. >> let's talk about the economy, which is a big argument tonight. the debate over raising the debt ceiling, that's going to be a major factor. the president's not getting credit for the improvement to the economy, according to the polls. how does he handle the republicans? >> first of all, i think the president, as he legitimately touts, this president has created more jobs than the last four presidents combined, over 12 million jobs. unemployment is as an all-time

low. he must show empathy and understanding of the challenges american families have and paint a picture of how what he has done and what he seeks to do will help them overcome their challenges and provide for a brighter day. as it relates to republicans, you know, he can challenge them. do you want conflict or do you want progress? do you want investigations or investments in the future of the american people? do you want to be mired in the past or look forward to a brighter future? certainly, a 30% sales tax on the american people as they are buying everything across the spectrum from clothing for their children, food on the table, meeting the other challenges isn't a way to ultimately meet the challenges of the american public. i think that as he talks, for example, the inflation reduction act that will create over 100,000 high-paying jobs, while

improving our environment, cap out of pocket expenses for seniors, and no senior pays more than $35 for insulin, how we are more competitive as the results of the chips and science act and a supply chain where we never have to worry about what happened to us during the pandemic. this president did a fantastic job coming into a once in a century pandemic. as he lays out those things, he has to also show that he understands there's still a challenge. there's more we must do, including on gun violence in our country, which is when i return to washington today, i will introduction legislation to limit high capacity magazines, which are all about high capacity killing. >> that's a big agenda. senator bob menendez, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. to protect and serve. amid calls for social justice, how is the president going to balance supporting law

enforcement and the need for police reform? we will talk to the former attorney general eric holder. you are watching a special state of the union edition of "andrea mitchell reports." this is msnbc. eports." this is msnbc. get a private 5g network. so you can do more than connect your business, you can make it even smarter. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. and where it's going. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. (foreman) nice work. (vo) and retailers can get ahead of the fashion trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. with a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security. giving you more control of your business. we call this enterprise intelligence. from the network america relies on. get refunds.com powered by innovation refunds can help your business get a payroll tax refund, even if you got ppp and it only takes eight minutes to qualify. i went on their website, uploaded everything, and i was blown away by what they could do. getrefunds.com has helped businesses get over a billion dollars

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and stress-related weight gain, i recommend golo to you. this is a real thing. this is not a hoax. you follow the plan, you'll lose weight. we should all agree the answer is not to de-fund the police. it's to fund the police. [ cheers and applause ] fund them. fund them. fund them with resources and training. >> president biden did draw a mix of criticism and applause there that last state of the union with that remark, insisting the nation should not choose between safety and equal justice. tonight, the parents of tyre nichols will be in a place of honor as guests of the first lady as the nation continues to grapple with police reform. antonia hylton is in memphis. you have covered this

throughout. this has been heart wrenching for everyone in the community, for you and others covering it. what are residents wanting to hear from the president tonight? >> reporter: andrea, what they tell me is they want to hear a clear action plan, a solution, a path forward to a bipartisan deal that looks -- whether it's the george floyd justice in policing act, they want to hear there's a commitment to get something done. many of the people who have been mourning the loss of tyre nichols have really talked about this pain, this realization that they have come to, that some of the technology that they took for granted, that they thought would lead to change or reform, body cameras and other cameras in neighborhoods all over this country right now, that what we have seen in this tyre nichols case is those technologies, they haven't led to the change in behavior, reduction in violence that communities wanted to see. what they are focused on now is

changing at the structural level and they want to see new training for officers. listen to a conversation i had with one resident here. >> police reform, you also have to make sure you have enough boots on the street to deal with the true crime that's out there. to me, it needs to be reeducation of the law enforcement personnel. when they go look at somebody, they look at them as a human being and don't look at them as less than what they are. >> reporter: in addition to that cultural reform you just heard him talk about, most of the people i talked to here, they are talking about qualified immunity. they want there to be a path for parents like tyre nichols' parents to hold officers accountable for their actions on the scene, the same way other people can be held accountable for errors or harm done to others while they are on the job. that's a lot of the conversation happening here on the ground. they want to see president biden acknowledge all levels of this tonight.

>> a big challenge. antonia hylton, thanks so much. several members of the congressional black caucus are going to wear black 1870 buttons. that's a reference to the first known instance of a police officer killing an unarmed free black person in the u.s. he was 26 years old, henry trueman, in philadelphia in march of 1870. the constable who shot him was found guilty of manslaughter. joining me is eric holder, chairman of the national democratic redistricting committee. thank you for being with us. it's good to see you. you have been working on police issues for so long when you were attorney general and since. let me ask you about this. at tyre's funeral, vice president harris called police reform non-negotiable. how does that become non-negotiable in this divided congress? how does the president get anything like this done? >> what she was trying to say is this is something that has to be a priority. we have seen too many instances of people of color being treated

inappropriately by members of law enforcement. this is something where i think the need for legislation. but this is a more complicated question than that. the last gentleman being interviewed hit something that i think is important. too many people get dehumanized in that process, that interaction with people in law enforcement and get treated in a way that somebody who is thought of as a human being, as an equal, would not have been treated. there are cultural things we have to deal with in addition to the statutory mechanisms that i think we have to put in place. >> how do we deal with that? how do you change the minds and hearts of people? >> that's a question that we have been wrestling with almost as long as we have been a republic. it's a big question. it's a big thing that we have to do. i think we have to dedicate ourselves to doing it. it's not only a question of what happens in law enforcement. i'm struck by the fact that people are surprised that we have negative racial

interactions in law enforcement when we have as a society greater -- substantial numbers of negative racial things that are still occurring. why wouldn't you expect to see it in law enforcement? these are things we have to work on. we have to face some hard truths. we need to ask ourselves some difficult questions. we can get to that place. certainly, one of the things we don't need do is to turn our back on our history, both bad and good. we need to learn from that history. >> another enormous issue is voting rights. these are things that were not accomplished by president biden in the first two years, as much as he did accomplish, mostly on economics and health care. the george floyd bill and also the john lewis bill. there doesn't seem to be any hope in this congress with this house to getting that done. >> i think we have to push for it. i think we have to be realistic.

i would not expect to see this house, this dominated by republicans vote in favor of what really are just fairness measures in connection with our voting system. i think the republican party -- too many in the republican party have made peace with the notion they will be a minority party that has majority power. they are okay with fewer votes as long as they hold on to the power they have. >> let me ask you about democracy. these are the -- this is the first state of the union since the january 6th hearings. it will again have a fence for security reasons, understandably, around the capitol, which has been built already. where do we stand as a democracy after watching those hearings and people waiting for the accountability of the top people, the president and his immediate circle? or former president. >> i think our democracy took some serious hits around january

6 and the lead-up to january 6, when there was the conspiracy to subvert the will of the people and overturn the results of the election. our institutions held. but barely. i think that our democracy is still at risk. we should not think that because we had a fairly good result in the last election that everything is fine. there are still people who are determined to through gerrymandering, voter suppression, attacks on the electoral infrastructure in our nation to come up with ways in which they can hold on to tower, to which they are not entitled. >> talk to me about that focus. what you are trying to accomplish with your movement. >> trying to make sure that the redistricting process is done in a fairway. that people -- parties are not drawing lines in such a way they can guarantee a result. when you have people who serve

in these safe districts that they are not going to get defeated in a general election, their only concern is about a primary. as a result, that pushes people further and further to the right and to the left. it makes compromise, something seen as a sign of weakweakness. it means that government doesn't get things done. it breeds cynicism in the people of the country around the ability of government to solve problems. it has a negative impact overall on our democracy. that's why we have been fighting to make sure the process is fair. here is the deal. if the process is fair, democrats will do just fine. we will do just fine. >> we will have to leave it there. the president probably won't address that as much as some people might hope for tonight. >> i suspect and i hope we will hear something about the state of our democracy, the need for passage of something consistent with the john lewis provisions in the bill that was considered.

even if it's something that's only put before the american people without a realistic hope it will get through a republican house of representatives. the focus on protecting our democracy must remain. >> thank you so much for everything you are doing. eric holder, it's great to see you. the road show. after the speech tonight, the president will hit the road trying to sell his policy to the voters. he is heading to wisconsin. are the voters going to buy it? we will talk to three former presidential advisers about what his strategy should be coming up. this is a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." you are watching msnbc. you are watching msnbc

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[ imitates trumpet playing ] and we wanted to thank america's number-one motorcycle insurer -for saving us money. -thank you. [ laughs ] mara, your parents are -- exactly like me? i know, right? well, cherish your friends and loved ones. let's roll, daddio! let's boogie-woogie! president biden is going to be heading to wisconsin tomorrow to deliver his state of the union message in person to the heartland. nbc's shaq brewster is madison, wisconsin. what are they saying to you? >> reporter: hi, andrea. these are voters who are part of president biden's base. they say they voted for president biden and they plan to support him again if he does announce a re-election run. last year, our conversations were through masks. they said covid was the top priority. this year, other priorities have reached the top of the list.

things like the economy. they say student loans and making sure the debt cancellation goes through. also, things like education, reforming entire systems. those have reached the top of the priority list. one thing i continued to hear is that while folks are familiar with president biden's legislative accomplishments, they do want him to speak to some of those other progressive priorities in his speech tonight. listen to a little bit of my conversation. >> i would want to hear an understanding of what it is really like to be an american in the middle class, in the working class and what people are really facing and real solutions from the most powerful person in the united states. >> reporter: there's also a recognition of the reality in d.c. right now, the fact that president biden is going to be dealing with a divided congress.

when i kept asking whether they wanted to see more compromise or more fight from president biden, almost universally, they want to see the priorities fought for. they want to hear that message tonight from this president during his speech. >> shaq brewster, thanks very much. joining us now, jen psaki and stephanie cutter and robert gibbs. i can't think of more political expertise in one space here. jen, you were part of the administration. what shaq is reflecting a progressive community in madison, wisconsin, which is not reflective of all of wisconsin. it's a diverse state. what does president biden have to say tonight to try to address both of those audiences, or the multiple audiences politically? >> as stephanie and gibbs can speak to, writing these speeches

is one of the biggest challenges in the white house. it's so important. it's also hugely challenging. you are packing about 50 pounds of ideas and policies and contrasts into a one-point bag. i think the woman will be happy. what i understand from white house officials i have spoken to is the president's going to speak to people who feel invisible, who don't feel heard, seen by washington. he will speak to his fight for them and how he is going to continue that moving forward. telling that story and not getting into a data list of all the things he listed. it's my view what he should be doing. >> stephanie, our latest poll shows 36% of americans approve of president biden's handling of the economy, which is startling considering the recent numbers and the way the economy is so far avoided the recession cliff. they are not feeling it, like

that woman in wisconsin. >> i think it's -- there's still an enormous amount of economic anxiety out there as a result of going through covid, hitting record inflation, prices are coming down. if you look at the metrics, the metric shows an economy that is growing and booming. as my former colleagues know, both robert and jen, there is a big difference between listing out statistics that aren't attached to people. you have to relate to people. there's nobody better than president biden -- i almost said obama -- president biden in talking about what it is like to live in middle class, what it's like to be in the working class and living paycheck to paycheck. i think you will hear him talk about how a job is more than a paycheck. listen how -- not just the programs he has passed, but his job is not -- the job is not

done about what more needs to be done to build the economy, as he says, from the bottom up and the middle out. >> robert gibbs, this is going to be joe from scranton. >> yeah. i hope so. if we get joe from scranton, it will be a good night for joe biden and the american people. i think the voter that shaq talked to wanting to hear more about how life can be better and more affordable for the middle class is exactly what joe biden needs to talk about. look, this is an incredibly important moment. there's probably not a biggest audience he will speak to this year. does he it in front of the republican-controlled house. he needs to set up a contrast and this story he will tell and continue to tell over and over again this year. let me point out one thing that i think jen said that is really important. that is, you are at this stage in constructing a speech where everybody is calling, everybody

is emailing, everybody is texting to get their issue and their line in the speech. i didn't always win these fights. stephanie and jen didn't always win these fights when we were doing states of the union. what happens is, you can end up with a lot of words and not saying anything. i think that would be a really bad thing for this white house. a story, an outline of where this president wants to take this country over the course of the next two years and set out that vision for what you are going to hear in the re-election, that's the most important thing. not measuring it by minutes or words. >> jen, you sat down with former speech writers in a special state of the union preview streaming on peacock. what did they tell you? >> first, we talked about the process and what robert gibbs mentioned, which is that at this point in the process, everybody wants their idea, their thing in the speech. you have to kind of be the protector of the story. they also talked about speaking in moments of trauma.ing former

obama, has been in those moments. president biden is giving this speech tonight weeks after the death of tyre nichols, weeks after multiple mass shootings across the country. i know from speaking to former colleagues, he is going to address those tragedies. it's also about having that empathy, exuding that. when joe biden is at his best, it comes out of his pores. that's one of the things they talked about. i think it will be a good night if he does that tonight as well. >> stephanie, there's something unique to this president, which "the new york times" wrote about on the front page today, katie rodgers, the first president who had a stuttering issue. how does he cope with that in speeches? he has all these mechanisms. >> you know, i grew up with a member of many i fam my family bad stutter. every person has their own tricks.

certain letters you don't start sentences with, construction of sentences. at this point in president biden's life, he has those tricks down. he is able to give a speech in a way that works for him. i'm looking forward to watching him. >> robert gibbs, this is going to be a debut for kevin mccarthy sitting on that stage next to the vice president, behind the president. he has said, you will not see him tearing up the speech, one of nancy pelosi's most dramatic acts. what's his demeanor going to be? >> i think people will be watching. one of the things that spectators love to do in the state of the union is, who stands up and when? what are the things that get bipartisan reaction? what are the things that ought to get bipartisan reaction? my hunch is that one of the things we will be watching for -- i have no doubt president biden will outline the next set of steps this country and our allies must take in defeating russia in ukraine. i think a lot of eyes will be on

kevin mccarthy and others in the republican party to see what happens when those lines come up. >> among the guests of the first lady up in the gallery as well as tyre nichols' family is the ambassador from ukraine who has done such an incredible job here in washington in really understanding how to bring people behind this horrific war. that's certainly going to be one of those moments. stephanie, robert, jen, thanks to all of you. for more of jen's insight into the state of the union address, watch the preview streaming now on peacock. it's terrific. call and response. how will the new republican majority react to the president's speech? this is a special state of the union special edition of "andrea mitchell reports." we are very special on msnbc.

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america's #1 lotion tissue. it's one of the toughest jobs in politics, responding to the president's state of the union address. republicans have chosen newly elected arkansas governor sara huckabee sanders, donald trump's combative former white house press secretary to give the response. she's expected to go after the president on his age as well as the border. the former president and 2024 candidate will release a video response of his own. joining me now, ryan nobles and michael steele. ryan, what are we expecting to hear from governor sanders and the congressman who deliver the spanish language response? >> reporter: the most stark difference between these two republican leaders who will be given the responses to president bide p's speech and the

president himself is they are both basically half biden's age. this is what republicans very directly are making a different between president biden on the verge of running for re-election at the age of 80 and what they would like americans to believe is the new generation of republican leaders. sara huckabee sanders, the youngest governor in america. she's the first female governor of arkansas. she said in a statement earlier today, quote, i'm honored to have the opportunity to address the nation after the state of the union on tuesday. what america needs and what republicans are offering is a return to common sense and a commitment to the ideals that made america the land of the free and the home of the brave. when she's talking about common sense in this tweet, andrea, this is republicans hitting on the culture wars about battles over curriculum in schools, the role of parents in schooling and things along those lines, religious freedoms, things you have seen republicans talk about

time and time again. that will be part of what she talks about in her speech tonight, making the argument it's the republicans that are on the side of common sense. obviously, that interpretation of the current culture wars is in the eye of the beholder. that's what sanders will hit on tonight. >> michael, what are the pluses and minuses of them choosing governor sanders to deliver the response? >> well, number one, she's not a threat for the vice presidential or presidential ticket. that's number one. they cleared that. they didn't have a problem putting someone up who has a potential to run for president against trump. this idea of playing the age card is laughable when they are going to line up behind a guy who say year or two behind donald trump. i mean, behind joe biden in donald trump. i get the culture war piece. that's really the angle here. it's going to be playing on a lot of the concerns that

americans have around issues related to culture, whether it's transgender, whether it's abortion, whether it's how you raise your kids, how you educate them. those will be the themes. there will not be a governing principal here. common sense, that's just not going to be the key narrative point here. it's going to be about what scares america and why they should be scared of the rest of the term and why we should take power back in 2024. it's the set-up pitch for what's to come. >> speaking again about tonight, at last year's state of the union, the president was interrupted by congresswoman boebert while speaking about veterans and his son. it was about the 13 soldiers who died at the kabul airport during the withdrawal from afghanistan. >> they come home. many of the world's best trained warriors in the world, never the same. headaches, numbness, dizziness.

a cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin. i know. >> ryan, what is the speaker telling his fellow republicans, his caucus, about the state of the union today? >> reporter: my colleague reporting that mccarthy warmthed his fellow republicans that the mikes will be hot and video will be live. anything they say or do will likely be picked up and disseminated and picked apart for many years to come. it's very rare that these outbursts end up being productive for the people who make them. mccarthy warning his colleagues not to let something like that happen again tonight. >> michael steel, we will hear from donald trump. he will release a video. supposed by a response, but it's most likely pretaped already. what are you watching for there?

>> just the game on. i think donald trump is now ready to engage. you have republicans who are beginning to position themselves to run potentially for president on the republican side. you have democrats lining up, somewhat reluctantly behind biden but ready to go. i think trump is going to play right into that. here we go. presidential politics 101 at the start. let's go. >> with that, we will go. ryan nobles, michael steele, thanks to both of you. we will be watching and working together. the oral tradition, a look how presidents handled their speeches over the years. steve kornacki is at the big board with his take. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. a mitchell reports" only on msnbc. age is just a number, and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health versus 16 grams in ensure® high protein.

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ahead of the president's address tonight, steve kornacki is looking at some of the unique state of the union moments from past years and including how the tradition of presidents inviting guests began. joining us now nbc news national political correspondent steve kornacki. steve, take us back to how this tradition started. i was there for this one. >> this is quite a story. we all know how this goes, right? it will probably happen tonight at some point during the speech, the president will recognize somebody sitting up in the gallery, maybe an everyday american, maybe a prominent person, but somebody whose story dove tails with the president's message, with the president's agenda, with the policy proposal, or maybe just designed to sort of lift the national spirit a little bit. where that began, what it all goes back to was january of 1982, ronald reagan's state of the union address, just two weeks before this state of the union address, there had been a tragedy, an air florida jetliner crashed into the potomac. there were dozens who were killed.

there was a bystander who dove into the water and did rescue a woman, though. it got national attention, that bystander's name was lenny skutnik and president reagan, the former hollywood actor with a bit of a flair for showmanship and his team saw an opportunity in that and two weeks later at the state of the union address, here's what happened. >> just two weeks ago in the midst of a terrible tragedy on the potomac, we saw again the spirit of american heroism at its finest. the heroism of dedicated rescue workers saving crash victims from icy waters and the heroism of one of our young government employees, lenny skutnik, who when he saw a woman lose her grip on the helicopter line, dived into the water and dragged her to safety. [ applause ] >> and with that, andrea, a

tradition was born. we have seen every president since find some way to incorporate the story of a guest in the gallery, into the message of this speech and we'll see what president biden has planned for tonight. >> a snowy and icy night and definitely heroic and, of course, as you point out, you know, ronald reagan did a lot of things with great showmanship, that's not the strength of this president, and a lot of presidents stumbled in the speeches. how important do you think this speech is for joe biden given he's going into a re-election, we understand, of course, and his poll numbers don't reflect the reality of his achievements, frankly. >> it is a unique political situation biden finds himself in, because whether it is i had his approval rating, some specific numbers in our most recent nbc poll about traits and attributes he has or doesn't have, he has some very weak and troubling polling numbers from a political standpoint.

and yet we just saw in a midterm election, in the face of those numbers, his party held up pretty well in the midterm election, and i think the conclusion of the midterm election is what biden is benefitting from and what democrats are benefitting from still right now is that is as unpopular as biden is, his predecessor on the political stage, donald trump is even less popular and that certainly i think propped up democrats in the midterm and we'll see if it continues to in 2023 and 2024. >> steve kornacki, we'll all be watching you tonight as well. thank you. and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tonight, i'll be part of the coverage on the state of the union on your local nbc station and streaming on nbc news now. and you can join rachel maddow, joy reid and nicolle wallace for special coverage, president biden's state of the union address. watch right here on msnbc at 8:00 eastern and streaming on peacock. remember, follow our show online on facebook and on twit

twitter @mitchellreports. a special edition of "chris jansing reports" right after these messages. "chris jansing reports" right after these messages

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good day. i'm chris jansing live in washington, d.c. where hours from now president biden has a rare opportunity for a reset. how does he convince millions of pessimistic americans they should be optimistic about the future of the country and how does he conviehe