And then deliver his first state of the Union Address before a joint session of congress. This is a moment of history and high drama here in washington. An embattled president under investigation. A congress mired in partisan conflict. A government that Many Americans believe is increasingly unable to function for the common good. Donald trump has now been in office for one year and ten days. Given the course his presidency has taken so far, there is high interest in what he has to say tonight on the economy, on immigration, on north korea, and so many other issues. Here with me tonight are my nbc news colleagues, savannah guthrie, chuck todd, andrea mitchell, megyn kelly joining us for the first time, great to have you here, and tom brokaw. Well all be watching closely tonight. Savannah, a year ago it wasnt the state of the union, but it was a new president addressing congress. There was so much talk about the bar, looking president ial. That was a year ago. What about tonight . A year ago it was bigticket items getting done and stylistically shocking. We saw some of that in the open to the show. The president has a story to tell. He has a good economy to talk about. Hes got the tax cuts he was able to get through. He has the Supreme Court justice sitting in that audience, that was incredibly important to his supporters. And yet he has an Approval Rating the lowest of any president at this moment in their tenure. And whats the disconnect . Its donald trump. He has to sell himself tonight. Now people have had a year to get to know him. Positions calcify. This is one of those rare moments in a presidency when you get a chance to reintroduce yourself. Chuck, you and i attended a largely off the record luncheon with the president and some other journalists today. On the record, he talked about the difference, what hes learned over the last year. Right. That the businessman is always trying to win, win, win. Hes learned that theres heart, im paraphrasing him now, the need for heart. Right. Do you think well see a different President Trump tonight . We might. Im trying to figure out how he can make tonight seem different than any other night. We get a lot of President Trump. President trump is constantly communicating with the American Public himself, via social media, on television all the time. He is a very omnipresent person in a way weve never seen before. So i think the difficult for him is how do you make tonight special, to make people that somehow it penetrates in a way that other stuff doesnt. And so i dont know if hes going to have that. Part of it is just the era we live in, that no single event lasts a very long time. Look, i think if he uses this, and hes realistic about it, and he realizes as well, a lot of my supporters will be watching, me hate watchers, i dont know if the middle is watching, if they are, ill use it to try to tout my tax bill. At the end of the day, if he gets more people to like his tax plan, then this is a good speech for him politically. Beyond that, i dont know how much he can accomplish tonight. State of the unions havent been as special as they used to be, and this president is so omnipresent. Were waiting for the president to enter the room. Megyn kelly, give us your thoughts, what do you expect from the president . I expect very little because these events tend to be utterly forgettable and this one will be too. Donald trump makes things more exciting, for good or bad. Well see what he can do in his first state of the union which other president s have failed to do, which is make it interesting and exciting and get people talking about it. The Campaign Slogan let trump be trump, will that happen tonight, or will we get teleprompter trump who just reads and is far less memorable . Theyre talking about being conciliatory tonight, and what does that look like . How can he come out and be conciliatory . And will that disappoint some of his faithful . To whom, the 3 of democrats who approve of him right now . Who will he be reaching out to . Here is the sergeant at arms of the house of representatives, paul irving. The president of the United States. [ applause ] operating on time and greeting those along the aisle, people stake out for hours for a position where they can greet the president as he walks in the room. Savannah. Kasie hunt is our capitol hill correspondent who has the best seat in the house. Kasie, we cant see you but we hear you, what are you seeing . Reporter savannah, good evening. There are members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are remaining seated as the president walks into the house chamber. He is coming slowly up the aisle, which is a dramatic scene, im sure, that our viewers are able to look at even though i cant see the same thing theyre seeing. But we were watching to see if there would be some sort of protest from democrats in what really is such a divided era. A year ago there were some democrats who came into this speech hopeful. It was of course not a state of the union, it was a joint address of congress. But they hoped he would talk about joint priorities and ways they might work together. And over the last year they have been sorely disappointed. And its very difficult to overstate the emotional anger that some member of this house of representatives feel towards this president. And nancy pelosi, the House Minority leader, had urged her members not to walk out of this speech, not to make it about them instead of about what the president was going to say tonight. And it appears that they have found something of a middle ground in this sign of some level of disrespect, savannah. Kasie hunt on the hill for us, thanks, kasie. We saw some of the women democratic members wearing black, noting the me too movement. Youll see a lot of statements, some subtle, some notsosubtle in this Chamber Tonight. Andrea mitchell, your thoughts as we await the president. Its noteworthy that the democrats have been advised not to do anything that is rude. Remember that joe wilson moment when he shouted out you lie at president obama, which was so notable. You see there Supreme CourtJustice Stephen breyer, who has among all the Supreme Court justices attended most often these events. They dont have to attend. Its a matter of personal preference. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is up in rhode island at an appearance tonight, so shes not here. But he always makes sure that he is here. As we see the president approaching the podium, this is a big question. Hes got Foreign Policy challenges and a domestic policy to sell, tax cuts and the economy. Four members of the Supreme Court attending tonight. Tom, as we await the president to take the podium, shell have a short amount of time on this laundry list in a year of midterm locations. Ive been watching him since he was 34 years old. He considers himself one of the great salesmen in the world. The fact that he sells sizzle more than substance doesnt get in his way. He has utter confidence in what hes saying. Thats how he got to be president , even in the ups and downs in all of this, he has not lost faith in himself. There is never selfdoubt. This speech is expected to be different than what weve been hearing from him. Well see how he carries out that speech in the days to come. Thats the important part. And relishing the applause there, a lot of invited guests here, each telling a story of their own. First Lady Melania Trump has a number of guests who will be referred to as we await the president s remarks. I think it could be a rowdy gallery. Theres a lot of invited guests. And the gallery is i know where everybody is talking about nancy pelosi warning House Democrats not to do anything. But the gallery, they dont listen to leadership. Theyre not members of congress. Theyre there as political activists. Its an activist audience tonight. And some have boycotts, some not attending. You can already tell, it feels like its a loud we just saw nancy pelosi also quieting her troops. She was marshaling them, next to steny hoyer. Lets not forget as we see attorney general sessions, this is a president who is under criminal investigation right now for obstruction of justice with regard to the russia investigation. So a lot going on in the backdrop. I have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the United States. [ applause ] there is a missing major figure in this hall tonight that we ought not to forget about, and that is the special prosecutor of the United States, who is at this hour probably meeting with his team. Hes not there, he sort of hovers over the chamber. That is an extraordinarily important part of whats going on in washington, d. C. And despite all of the grandeur of this setting and the television photos and the members of the Supreme Court, members of the cabinet, out there is a highly regarded investigator who is looking into whether or not he broke the law. 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 forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission, to make America Great again for all americans. [ applause ]. Achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected and others we could never have imagined. We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship. We have endured floods and fires and storms. Through it all, we have seen the beauty of americas soul and the steel in americas 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 Ashlee Leppert who is here tonight in the gallery with melania. [ applause ]. Ashlee was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene 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. Hes here with us also. David faced down walls of flame to rescue almost 60 children trapped in 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 3 1 2 months later. The legend from louisiana, congressman steve scalise. [ applause ]. I think they like you, steve. Were incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capital Police officers, the alexandria police, and the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who saved his life and the lives of many others, some in this room, in the aftermath 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 out common ground, and to 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 lets 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. A tremendous number. [ applause ] after years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. [ applause ]. Unemployment claims have hit a 45year low. [ applause ]. And something im very proud of, africanamerican unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded. [ applause ]. And his panpanicamerican unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history. [ applause ]. Small Business Confidence is at an alltime 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 the great news for americans, 401 k , retirement, pension, and College Savings accounts have gone through the roof. 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 ]. 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 taxfree. [ applause ]. We also doubled the child tax credit. 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 takehome 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 simply because they couldnt afford governmentordered health plans. We repealed the core of the disastrous obamacare, the individual mandate is now gone, thankfully. [ 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. [ applause ]. 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 of staub manufacturing, a small, beautiful business in ohio. Theyve just finished the best year in their 20year history. Because of tax reform, they are handing out raises, hiring an additional 14 people, and expanding into the building next door. Good feeling. [ applause ]. One of staubs employees, corey adams, is also with us tonight. Corey is an allamerican 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 hardworking americans, corey plans to invest his tax cut raise into his new home and his two daughters education. Corey, please stand. [ applause ]. And hes a great welder. I was told that by the man that owns that company thats 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. Its 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 youve been or where youve 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. [ applause ]. Tonight i want to talk about what kind of future were going to have and what kind of a nation were 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 mountain toe 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 12yearold 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 ]. 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 y