Bret alive look at the u. S. Capitol a beautiful evening in washington as we are Just Moments Away from President Biden and tonights state of the Union Address, good evening from washington i am bret baier. Martha i am Martha Maccallum in moments we will be on the house floor from the familiar call of the sergeant at arms will make his way down the aisle greeted by lawmakers along the way. Bret you can see mitt romney talking to joe mansion it seems like they are pretty engaged in some conversation that can happen on the sidelines as you have a lot of lawmakers waiting a long time in the chamber, a lot of folks expressing themselves, different ways, republican some of them wearing buttons about the border, others dressed in white on the democratic side in solidarity, we set the stage now with White House Correspondent with a preview of the president s speech good evening. Good evening officials at the white house think that most people who will watch it tonight have not been very politically active so far this cycle, they see it as a clean slate to tell what they described as an american comeback story where President Biden will talk of how many jobs have been created since 2021, you he will blame republican sport Border Problems and suggest his agent should not be an issue because donald trump is roughly the same age, the president also practicing dealing with hecklers when he talks about gaza potentially from progressives in his own a party. Bret we will wait from for President Biden to get into position, thank you, we have walked down and they have timed all of this out but we also have the walk out after the speech and we expect the speech to be about one hour, with these wings you never know, the state of the Union Address i do know who knows, around the block coanchor of americas newsroom and cohost of the five, former tennessee congressman john roberts not formally host of the five coanchor of America Reports and chief political analyst britt hume joins us remotely, we have covered so many of these what do you think about site . I think unlike a lot of these speeches where we are preoccupied with what the president will say about this issue are that issue or what programming they will announce or what steps they will announce they are taking to deal with for example the border, what the Big Focus Tonight is on really is on his demeanor, how does he seem, does he seem energetic and authoritative and will he be smooth and polished. We have seen so many stumbles and so many awkward moments falling down getting caught in the middle of sentences losing his train of thought, all of that, i would not discount the possibility at all that the president will come here tonight being a very well rehearsed and well prepared, very well rested and will deliver a speech with a lot of energy and clarity after which of course we can watch while the democrats and their allies in the media will ring down saying that that puts the age and acuity issue to rest, it doesnt but that is what i suspect we will here. Bret one of the things died is a contrast to the white house is saying between President Biden and his likely challenger former President Trump who is taking to truth social already saying that quote the president is very substantially late not a good start but lets give him the benefit of the doubt im sure he had very important thanks to do but now just getting into the car and will have to drive very quickly, you just dont want to be late to the state of the union, they need Mario Andretti to be at the wheel of the limo. I think it will be a playbyplay all night long on truth social. Martha we will wait for the commentary. One of the things we are watching for is that president bush used to remind us that every speech you have multiple audiences, one of the audiences for President Biden tonight is his own party the disaffected members of his own party those who voted not willing to commit or those who wanted to maybe see him do Something Else in israel although what more could he do in terms of bending over backwards for ten voters in michigan, and they still protest him tonight and want to disrupt his speech. But the speech might tell us if the concerns about the problems within his own party are a Minor Annoyance or a journeyman crisis. Bret it is always an interesting storyline, one of them is expelling gop congressman George Santos was on the floor, a privilege that former members have and he decided to take it, a bizarre thing that is happening, but your thoughts on the speech tonight. I think a bit of a minor story in this overall, i think tonight we will see an opening salvo in the main general election campaign. There is indications that the democrats will be fighting this around abortion very hard, we have a couple of gaps guests in the first lady spot, and ivf patient in alabama who is just about to go to her Embryo Transfer and had to delay because they shut down ivf, and there is kate cox who had a baby and could not get an abortion in texas, she had to go out of the state and in his speech, this is from an excerpt so we are okay talking about this, this is what the president will say that clearly there is bragging about overturning roe v. Wade and no clue about the power of women in america, this will be a fiveminute applause line, but they found out when reflective freedom was on the ballot and one in 2022, 2023, and they will find out in 2024. So while the republicans may be putting immigration front and center watch for the democrats to put roe v. Wade and the president pledged against the second term and again the Democratic Congress to instill federal protections for abortion. Martha an issue he does not like to talk about a whole lights lot, President Biden, but basically wedged into having to speak about this tonight, he doesnt flee usually use the word abortion when he talks about it he is catholic, all those issues around this but that is something that he needs to dig in on this issue. One of the contrast that you speak up between the two parties. I think overarching in all of this, people around the country people are frat fed up with the rancor and division, the most recently democrat elected and George Santos the dystrophy was elected to and shows all across the same people want to Work Together and i hope that President Biden tonight, we have said it all along, be cheerful not contentious, be optimistic and not ominous, the american, people want their president to talk about how they will get things done. And finally to those in the chamber someone who had the blessing the privilege to serve in that chamber, i hope that members of congress and chamber guests show the respect that the presidency deserves and show the respect that the country deserves thats not deal with the gimmicks and outbursts but let the speech play out and let katie britt give her speech and if President Trump wants to say some afterward he will do that as well. People do look to these speeches they are opportunities to lift up the country, what we see in these numbers is 70 percent of think the country is going the wrong direction, it is really astonishing how down people are, down about the economy, very down about what is going on at the border they feel like there is a loss of control in the country. And we talk about the low bar, just getting through the speech but there is an opportunity here, if he seizes it and is able to do it,. Interesting that you say that because the mood in the country is pretty dark and if you like in a way people kind of tuned out washington, they dont think it will help them, they dont see or hear from washington about how things will get better for them and the chaos that President Biden talks about from the trump years i think that when you see people say 72 percent of people say the country is going in the wrong direction they feel like their lives are chaotic now. We bring in former House SpeakerKevin Mccarthy who joins us, mr speaker you have been in this position and in that chair behind the president as he delivers speeches and you have to control your facial remarks and how you react to thanks. Your thoughts on this night, do you miss this moment . I miss any opportunity to be there, it is a unique moment because for members themselves it such a great privilege but very seldom do you get the house and senate and Cabinet Members and joint chiefs and the Supreme Court, it is a time to interact with one another but the part that the listeners and viewers really dont know is that whenever someone says in that Country Chamber you can hear but it doesnt necessarily get picked up on television if you sit behind the president is actually hard to hear him when he is speaking and it is a moment in time for whoever is president to really have a bully pulpit, to lay out and speak to the American Public. If i am going to talk to my former members of the Republican Congress i will say dont take the bait if he wants to Say Something negative to get you to react. Be polite, listen to him go through because it never plays well on television. What is interesting is before this night starts there will be a whole group of republicans and democrats who will go greet the president before hand from the chambers to the side and escort him in and then as the speech begins you will see whether he will lay out, and this is an Election Year so i know this is going to be an election speech with election guests and four republicans listen. Be respectful. Get through it. Bret you can see the Chief Justice is there and other see in the back round of all of this art legal cases, some of them at the Supreme Court including immunity which will be decided soon. I think we have the First Lady Jill Biden arriving. Martha arriving in the chamber she is joined as we pointed out before by two women who have had expenses with ivf and abortion, also a cancer nurse isnt joining her this evening, several guests, this tradition used to be maybe one or two people but now the list from the white house is about 20 people along there is Nancy Posey The former Speaker Of The House, it is hard to say how much of an impact these guests have but thats listen in. Mr speaker the president s cabinet. [ applause ] bret so the cabinet walks in, Speaker Mccarthy and Secretary Blinken behind Him Second A Austen the Defence Secretary and all of the controversy about not telling the president when he was in the hospital, this cabinet has been around the block here with a number of different controversies but also dealing with war in ukraine and israel, how much of the speech do you think will be aimed at the goals of the election and playing out a vision for the next term . I think it will be talking to his own bass, he wants to motivate them to get them behind him because that is a place that President Biden currently has a real problem, he wants to talk about success and it would be start smart of him to talk about where they can Work Together this is one chance to have a very big audience in america, control exactly what they will say without being asked a question and to lay out why you deserve to be reelected again. And the process, what have you achieved . This election is different when he ran for the office it was open but now it is a report card on the job he has done, so he will try to check off and say i kept this promise and this promise and this promise and if you elect me again then this is a further i will be able to go. Martha pete booted judge entering the room, veterans affairs, a difficult week over the famous world war ii Kiss Photograph which some underling hoped to cancel from all of the va hospitals and get rid of that photo, there is mayorkas, obviously the man who is the head of the department of Homeland Security and here is the message from former President Donald Trump theres nothing he can say tonight that will solve him from letting 15 Million People into our country legally they will probably blame me but i have the safest border in the history of our country so that will not go very far he says. All kinds of different numbers over how many people have gotten into the country, that is a very high number. Bret one of the Cabinet Members always the designated survivor its not Kiefer Sutherland in the shallow. Martha its not . Bret is the Education Secretary Tonight who is not in the chamber in case the contini you need continuity of government sum place else. Well wait as the Cabinet Members come through and we will get the announcement from William Mcfarland the house sergeant at arms, harold your thoughts on this night as we sit at the table here, the former president is right, the president is behind schedule here usually these things are to the minute but this is a big moment for President Biden. President biden may be saying that everyone thinks i am old and i joked about how i go to bed early well i will show them and show up a bit late and speak a bit longer and ill stay in the chamber a bit longer than some do, i think that we have all framed it right he has a couple of thanks he can deal with you can talk about the issues or the things that he wants to do and the one thing that he cant do is reverse his age. He has to show strength tonight, he has to show he is in command tonight , and he also cannot be debated by some of the things that some in the chamber may say and how they may heckle him and i think you will be up to the task of the bar is a bit low for him or i should say lower then for most president s so i think you will exceed it and i think what Speaker Mccarthy was saying he has to not just reach out to the base but show that he is seeking answers not accurate money and has to seek a Little Common ground on some of the important issues. If he is able to express that he will be a big success tonight. Martha one area where Common Ground wood be helpful is on the border and we heard earlier today that we should not expect any Executive Order that he will pull the levers that are at his disposal as president of the United States to end catch and release, he is not going there. Standing by his proclamation that he has done all he can and there is nothing else that he can do, whereas anybody will tell you that President Trump got the lowest Immigration Numbers in recent history. Premuch totally through Executive Orders. And i think someone is watching because he mentioned a second ago that the democrats are going to fight this election on abortion and repelled dickens will fight it on immigration, donald trump to put out on truth social that there is nothing he can say to biden that would absolve him from letting 15 Million People into our country illegally, you will probably lay me but i had the safest border history. Bret if the former president wants to call and we are happy to put him in set of just reading truth social posts. He just might. Bret he might. But an indication that it will be immigration against abortion as the main issue. Bret a lot of it is how this is delivered, a lot of stories about his age and what things look like what about what harold talked about low expectations, lobar essentially he says. I think there has been a lobar set, we have all witnessed, i dont think it will be hard for the president to clear it, he will be greatly aided i think in terms of how the public reacts if Marjorie Taylor greene, who has already said i think today to us here at fox that she feels that a quorum is not an issue because the quorum was broken by what joe biden did about this or that or the other thing and she yelled at him last time he was in the chamber and she or someone else on the republican side may do that again i dont think that it will go down well with the audience if a republican or anyone does that it will probably be of help to him. Martha last time he felt that he carried quite well with Margaret Taylor green, she was bringing up basically accusing the harlequins of adding rid of Social Security or medicare and she called him a liar in that