0 you don't -- but the chief justice has often said that he doesn't really like to come to these things because they're political. but he's come to many of them. i think he has one -- >> he has come to every one. >> one of the records. something like 18. >> even during the covid year when almost nobody came, he was the only supreme court justice who came. we see there the secretary of transportation, pete buttigieg, secretary of energy. you're joining us, you're one of the preeminent biographers of joe biden. what is going through his mind in this very unique landscape with a new republican-led house and this newly-heightened challenge from china, not a new challenge, but newly-heightened? >> you know, there are moments for a political speech. we heard some of thoiz recently from him during the midterms and may, in fact, be hearing more of that kind if he does run for re-election. that's not what tonight is about. tonight is about being president of the united states. and i heard from one of his advisers the other day who said, you know, we're at this point of transition where we've gotten it done legislatively and now we have to make it real. you know, that is the idea. make it tangible. put it into people's lives, the idea that you're building these chip factories in the united states, the idea that you're building bridges and tunnels. you saw the president go to kentucky, stand with mitch mcconnell and talk about bridges that are going to be built. he went to arizona talking about a semiconductor factory. that is -- you'll hear more of that tonight about him saying to people out there, i see you. you're not invisible. you're not left behind. we're coming up with an economic strategy that can meet you where you are and that tries to bring you back into this economy. >> i think as we watch the pictures they're about to bring the president into the room. this is his night obviously. just looking you at the floor reminds you of the uncertain moment we're at politically for both parties. kyrsten sinema is with two republican senators. she is a bit of a pariah many her own party yet they may need her in the 2024 election. 18 republicans in this house chamber who represent districts joe biden carried. they're a little worried about the marjorie taylor greenes in their party and a whole bunch of trump state democrats, john tester of montana who have to be on the ballot in 2024. and running in state. is joe biden going to be a strong democratic nominee for him? it's the president's night. jake, you made such an important point early about the house chamber, the insurrection, the history of the chamber every single time the chief justice is there because he respects the institution. kevin mccarthy has begged his members respect the institution. 130 of these members, including speaker of the house did not respect the institution back on january 6th. so, we're still in this remarkable moment of transition in american politics as we go from the last campaign which the democrats did surprisingly well in into the next campaign with all the questions. a lot of the republicans on the floor here think trump is going to fade away. are they right? they're hoping he does. but are they right? >> i've seen that movie before. >> yeah. >> we have all lived that movie before. and he has not. is joe biden strong enough? you know, the tepid response shows you that a lot of democrats have those doubts. the uncertainty in american politics right now is everywhere. >> and if -- >> if you see all these individuals sitting by the aisle and you're wondering, wow. did they just luck into these good seats? no, no, no, no, no. they had been sitting there for hours. these are the seats in which you get to shake the hand of the supreme court justice, chief justice, et cetera. but mainly so you can shake the hand of the president of the united states. this is a big moment for a lot of these house members. we are waiting for president biden, who is not generally the most punctual president in the world. i would say george w. bush was probably the most punctual. >> george w. bush was fanatical about it. if a meeting was supposed to start at 8, at 9:00 -- 8:58, why isn't everybody in here? >> here we go. let's listen in. mr. speaker, the president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ]. [ cheers and applause ]. >> mr. president. how are you, my friend? [ cheers and applause ]. >> mr. president. >> mr. president, good to see you again. >> sir, how you doing? [ applause ]. >> how are you doing, buddy? good to see you. [ applause ] . [ applause ]. >> how are you doing? >> welcome back, mr. president. >> how are you doing, mr. president? >> how are you, man. [ applause ]. >> how are you doing? >> good to see you. all right. we're watching president biden making his way down the aisle. if you are wondering who the gentleman on the left side of your screen and the woman in front of president biden are, they are the house sergeant at arms. and the senate sergeant at arms. the house sergeant at arms was just appointed to that position by speaker kevin mccarthy. the senate sergeant of arms was appointed in march, 2021. both of their predecessors, shall we say, were shown the door after january 6th, 2021. the president is making his way past the joint chiefs of staff. there is pelosi and steny hoyer, former house democratic leader, now he's joining and meeting and greeting his military leadership, members of the joint chiefs. traditionally i do not believe the president greets the u.s. supreme court. it is often considered to be a bad mixture of the judiciary and the executive branchs. john, looks like a pretty happy guy. it's important for him to show the pep in his step, that people remember from watching joe biden since he arrived here in washington in early '70s. >> people for years say why do we have this speech? why does it go on for more than an hour? any politician can speak to millions of people uninterrupted -- >> there he is with house speaker kevin mccarthy shaking hands. [ cheers and applause ]. >> part of the tradition. hand a copy of your speech to the vice president, the speaker of the house. that's a big moment there. we'll see. this is a relationship, jake, that has started off relatively cordial, despite huge policy differences. we'll see if that continues. >> let's listen in. >> thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> members of congress, i have the high privilege and the distinct honor to present to you the president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ]. >> mr. speaker. >> thank you. you can smile. it's okay. thank you, thank you, thank you. thank you. please. mr. speaker, madame vice president, our first lady and second gentleman, good to see you guys up there. members of congress. [ cheers and applause ]. by the way, chief justice, i may need a court order. she gets to go to the game tomorrow -- next week. i have to stay home. got to work something out here. members of the cabinet, leaders of our military, chief justice, associate justice and retired justices, supreme court and to you, my fellow americans. you know, i start tonight by congratulations 118th congress and the newest speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy. [ cheers and applause ]. >> speaker, i don't want to ruin your reputation, but i look forward to working with you. i want to congratulate the new leader of the house, democrats, the first african-american minority leader in history, hakeem jeffries. [ cheers and applause ]. i campaigned for him. congratulations on the longest serving leader in the history of the united states senate, mitch mcconnell. where are you, mitch? and congratulations to chuck schumer, another, you know, another term senate minority leader. you know, i think -- this time you have a slightly bigger majority, mr. leader. you're the majority leader, about that much bigger? well, i tell you what. i want to give special recognition to someone who i think is going to be considered the greatest speaker in the history of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi. [ cheers and applause ]. folks. the story of america is a story of progress and resilience. of always moving forward. of never, ever giving up. story unique among all nations. we're the only country that has emerged from every crisis we ever entered stronger than we got into it. look, folks, that's what we're doing again. two years ago the economy was reeling. i stand here tonight after we created with the help of many people in this room 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any president created in four years because of you all. because of the american people. two years ago -- two years ago covid had shut down, our businesses were closed, our schools were robbed of so much. today covid no longer controls our lives. and two years ago, democracy faced its greatest threat since civil war, today though bruised our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken. as we gather here tonight, we're writing the next chapter in the great american story. a story of progress and resilience. when world leaders ask me to define america, they do believe it or not, i can define it in one word. i mean this, possibilities. we don't think anything is beyond our capacity. everything is a possibility. you know, we're often told that democrats and republicans can't work together. but over the past two years we proved the cynics and nay sayers wrong. yes, we disagree plenty. and yes, there were times when democrats went alone. but time and again democrats and republicans came together. came together to defend a stronger and safer europe. came together to pass one in a generation -- once in a generation infrastructure law building bridges, connecting our nation and our people. we came together to pass the most significant law every, helping victims exposed to toxic burn pits. and in fact -- this is important. and in fact, i signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming president. from reauthorizing the women's act, electoral count reform act, respect for marriage act, protects the right to marry the person you love, and to my republican friends, if we could work together the last congress, there's no reason we can't work together and find consensus on important things in this congress as well. and thank -- folks, you all are informed as i am, but i think the people sent us a clear message. fighting for the sake of the fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict gets us nowhere. that's always been my vision of our country. and i know it's many of yours. to restore the soul of this nation, rebuild the backbone of america. america's middle class and to unite the country. we've been sent here to finish the job in my view. for decades middle class has been hallowed out. and more than -- not one administration but for a long time. too many good paying manufacturing jobs move overseas. factories closed down. once thriving cities and towns many of you represent became shadows of what they used to be. and along the way something else we lost, pride. our sense of self worth. i ran for president to fundamentally change things. to make sure our economy works for everyone. so we can all feel that pride in what we do. to build an economy from the bottom up and middle out, not from the top down. because when the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. we all do well. [ applause ]. i know a lot of you always kid me for always quoting my dad, but my dad used to say, joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. really would say this. it's about a lot more than a paycheck. it's about your dignity. it's about respect. it's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay and mean it. well, folks, let's look at the results. we're not finished yet by any stretch of the imagination, but unemployment rate is 3.4%, a 50-year low. [ cheers and applause ]. near record. near record unemployment. near record unemployment for black and hispanic workers. we've already created through help 800,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs, the fastest growth in 40 years. and where is it written? where is it written that america can't lead the world in manufacturing? i don't know where that's written. for too many decades we imported projects and exported jobs. now thanks to what you've all done, we're exporting american products and creating american jobs. [ cheers and applause ]. folks, inflation -- inflation has been a global problem because the pandemic disrupted our supply chains and putin's unfair and brutal war in ukraine disrupted energy supplies as well as food supplies. blocking all that grain in ukraine. but we're better positioned than any country in earth right now. but we have more to do. but here at home, inflation is coming down. here at home, gas prices are down 1.50 from their peak. food inflation is coming down, not fast enough, but coming down. inflation is falling every month for the last six months. while take-home pay has gone up. additionally, over the last two years, a record 10 million americans applied to start new businesses. 10 million. and by the way, every time -- every time someone starts a small business is an act of hope. and madame vice president, i want to thank you for leading that effort to ensure the small businesses have access to capital and the historic laws reenacted that will come into being. standing here last year i shared with you a story of american genius and possibility, semiconducts rers. power everything from cell phones to automobiles and so much more. these chips were invented in america. let's get that straight. they were invented in america. we used to make 40% of the world's chips. the last several decades we lost our edge. we're down only producing 10%. we all saw what happened during the pandemic when chip factories shut down overseas. today's automobiles need 3,000 chips each of those automobiles. but american automobiles couldn't make enough cars because there weren't enough chips. car prices went up. people got laid off. so did everything from refrigerators to cell phones. we can never let that happen again. that's why -- that's why we came together to pass the bipartisan chips and science act. [ applause ]. folks, i know i've been criticized for saying this, but i'm not changing my view. we're going to make sure the supply chain for america begins in america. the supply chain begins in america. we've already created -- we've already created 800,000 new manufacturing jobs without this law, before the law kicks in. with this new law, we're going to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country. and i mean all across the country. throughout not just the coast but through the middle of the country as well. that's going to come from companies that have announced more than $300 billion in investment in american manufacturing over the next few years. outside of columbus, ohio, intel is building a semiconductor factory on 1,000 acres, literally a field of dreams. it's going to create 10,000 jobs with one investment. 7,000 construction jobs. 3,000 jobs in those factories once they're finished. they call them factors. jobs paying an average of $130,000 a year. and many do not require a college degree. j jobs -- because we worked together, these jobs where people don't have to leave home to search for opportunity. it's just getting started. think about the new homes, the small businesses, the big -- the medium size businesses, so much more that's going to be needed to support those -- those 3,000 permanent jobs and the factories that are going to be built. talk to mayors and governors, democrats and republicans, and they'll tell you what this means for their communities. we're seeing these fields of dreams transform to the heartland, but to maintain the strongest economy in the world, we need the best infrastructure in the world. and folks, as you all know, we used to be number one in the world in infrastructure. we've sunk to 13th in the world. the united states of america, 13th in the world in infrastructure, modern infrastructure. but now we're coming back because we came together and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law. the largest investment in infrastructure since president eisenhower's interstate highway system. and folks, already we funded over 20,000 projects, including major airports from boston to atlanta to portland. projects that are going to put thousands of people to work rebuilding our highways, our bridges, our railroads, our tunnels, ports, airports, clean water, high-speed internet all across america. urban, rural, tribal and, folks, we're just getting started. we're just getting started. and i mean this sincerely, i want to thank my republican friends who voted for the law. and my republican friends who voted against it as well. but i'm still -- i still get asked to fund the projects in those districts as well, but don't worry, i promised i would be a president for all americans. we'll fund these projects. and i'll see you at the ground breaking. look, this law -- this law will further unite all of america. projects like bridge in kentucky over the ohio river, built 60 years ago. badly needed repairs, one of the nation's most congested freight routes carrying $2 billion worth of freight every single day across the ohio river. and folks, been talking about fixing it for decades. we really finally going to get it done. i went there last month, democrats and republicans and from both states to deliver a commitment of $1.6 billion for this project. while i was there, i met a young woman named sara who is here tonight. i don't know where sara is. is she up in the box. i don't know. sara, how are you? well, sara for 30 years -- for 30 years i learned she told me she had been a proud member of the iron workers local 44 known as -- known as the cowboys in the sky. the folks who built, built cincinnati's skyline. sara said she can't wait to be ten stories above the ohio river building that new bridge. god bless her. that's pride. and that's what we're also building, we're building back pride. look, we're also replacing poisonous lead pipes that go into 10 million homes in america. 400,000 school and childcare centers. so every child in america, every child in america can drink the water instead of having permanent damage to their brain. look, we're making sure -- we're making sure that every community, every community in america has access to affordable high-speed internet. no parent should are v to drive by mcdonald's parking lot to help do their homework online for their kids. many thousands were doing across the country. and when we do these projects, and again i get criticized for this but i make no excuses for it, we're going to buy american. we're going to buy american. folks -- and it's totally -- it's totally consistent with international trade rules. buy america has been the law since 1933 but for too long past administrations democrat and republican have fought to get around it. not anymore. tonight i'm announcing new standards that require all construction materials use federal infrastructure projects to be made in america. made in america. i mean it. lumber, glass, dry wall, fiberoptic cable. and on my watch, american roads bridges and american highways will be made with american products as well. folks, my economic plan is about investing in places and people that have been forgotten. so many of you listening tonight, i know you feel it. so many of you felt like you just simply been forgotten. amid the economic upheaval of the past four decades, too many people have been left behind and treated like they're invisible. maybe that's you watching from home. remember the jobs that went away. you remember them, don't you? folks at home remember them. you wonder whether the path even exists anymore for your childr