analysis of how russia is doing right now in its ongoing, unrelenting war on ukraine. ana. >> so colonel, the president presenting this $225 million aid package today in addition to his meeting directly with the president, meant to give a little bit of a boost or wind in his sails there, including the air defense interceptors, artillery, ammunition, and other capabilities. how crucial is this aid package right now? >> it s vitally important both for ukraine. it sounds like a cliche in that i guess it is because we use it all the time, but ukraine is in an existential conflict with -- >> and russia s been making more advances recently. >> they have at least partially for a wide variety of reasons. one of them is because there s been an insufficient amount of munitions and weapons been delivered to ukraine, so that has to keep up and the amount that you re talking about is just the beginning.
there is some weainess about the war in ukraine, also the war in israel and gaza, and certainly republicans on capitol hill were slow to get on board with supporting that additional funding for ukraine. ana. >> we know the president is close by, not quite there yet, looks like a beautiful day, though, in normandy at the pointe du hoc. and david, what effect can this speech have, do you think, both for allies and enemies in the international community? >> i think it will be a galvanizing speech, pointe du hoc is a symbol of bravery, the commitment of the united states to its allies in europe. i think going to a place where president reagan spoke so forcefully is a two-edged sword, comparison will enhance biden s stature. in one sense he s giving the same message that captivated the
we ve seen what he s done to revive nato toward the liberation of ukraine from russian aggression. so this becomes an enormously important speech for president biden to sound that message, to show that america is still an emblem of democratic values and freedom in this world, ana. >> kelly, how high are the expectations internally for the white house that they ve set for this speech? >>. >> reporter: from the advisers that we have been speaking to and the coverage of this trip so far, i think there is a strong sense that the weight of history that surrounds this trip is something that touches americans because so many have in their families and in their communities remembrances, if not direct lines to world war ii, so it is a setting which evokes perhaps a willingness to talk about issues like democracy. we know that the president is expected today to make that
the defense witnesses. the defense attorney abbe lowell indicating that he would call naomi biden. she used the car that the gun was found in on the day prior to it being discovered. we may hear from one of the president s brothers who is a mentor of sorts to hunter biden, suggesting the need potentially here forsome character witness as well. one of the questions is will we hear from hunter biden himself. that has not been ruled out f. we do, that would be on monday before we could hear closing arguments from both sides as this case moves to the finish line. >> quickly, president biden was asked about the possibility of pardoning his son yesterday. what did he say? >> reporter: yeah, as we see the president obviously undergoing his significant overseas trip. we know he s been very focused still asking aides for updates about his son s trial at home. as the president of the united states, he does have the pardon power. he could spare his son of this, and he was asked whether he might do that in that interview. let s listen to his answer. >> as we sit here in normandy,
dramatic testimony from star witness hallie biden, the widow of hunter s brother beau who had a relationship with hunter after beau s death, and she detailed hunter s drug use, how he introduced her to drugs and explained why she threw out his gun. let s go to the courthouse and nbc s mike memoli. mike, the prosecutors say they should finish today, and then the defense says it could be done by monday. so what do prosecutors have left, and what do we know about the defense witnesses? >> reporter: yeah, ana, after that emotional at times difficult testimony yesterday from hallie biden the prosecution is wrapping things up with expert and technical witnesses. hearing from a chemist who is describing discovering some drug residue on the pouch in which the gun was found and thrown into the garbage, and now a dea agent who is talking about some of the lingo that was used in text messages from hunter biden that suggests that he was trying to purchase and purchasing illegal drugs. then the prosecution says it will wrap and the focus turns to
today. >> we re just now getting a look, at least a glimpse at what he may say and how he ll lay out that message specifically. our peter alexander standing by there at pointe du hoc as we await the president s arrival. peter, what are we learning in these excerpts that were just released? >> reporter: well, ana, first, let s just take you to this venue. it is really one of the most stunning, breathtaking backdrops where a president could ever deliver remarks, certainly given the backdrop of the conflicts that we re witnessing today, most notably russia s aggression toward ukraine. as you note, we did just from the white house receive some excerpts of what president biden s expected to say in the next few minutes. he will say as we gather here today, it s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day, june 6th, 1944. it s to listen to the echo of their voices, to hear them because they are summoning us, president biden will say. they re asking us what we will do. they re not asking us to scale
made 80 years ago to fight for democracy, to stand up to tyranny, saying these rangers put mission and country above themselves. these rangers who scaled these cliffs didn t know they would change the world, but they did is what we just heard president biden say. mark, this place where he delivered this speech is so special to multiple administrations, to the world, to this country, the united states of america. what stood out to you in those remarks? >> well, certainly the dramatic background there. it is so stunning, it is so beautiful, it is almost difficult to summon words that are as dramatic and as beautiful as the setting itself. i think the president did an admirable job. what stuck out to me, ana, is when he said that we talk about liberty and democracy, what we don t talk about is how hard it is, and i think that s the difficult task that president
arriving a matter of days later, which is why the president says none of the rangers from that day are still living. you see him saluting some of those in attendance. mr. president, this is quite a stunning spot, is it not, sir? have you ever seen anything like that before? thank you. >> mr. president, what is the message -- >> had a chance to speak to the president quickly, brief exchange, if he s seen anything like the sheer cliffs here. he said he s been here before, but it is always overwhelming to witness those cliffs and the bravery, the courage, the commitment of the rangers who arrived at this place. the president really trying to harness the heroism of that day to make a key -- deliver a key message about the need for americans today to help support the fight for freedom and democracy. ana? >> spoke about the choice, the decision that those army rangers
biden has now, talking about why we need to preserve democracy and freedom at a time when authoritarianism and totalitarianism and isolationism is on the rise in the world. colonel jacobs talked earlier about the fact that we were isolationists before the war. it took the bombing of pearl harbor to draw us into the war. nine out of every ten americans were resistant to the idea of intervening in world war ii before that. so, joe biden at this time has to show an important reason for america to continue to be engaged in the world and i think he did a good job today, ana. >> colonel jack, we talked about how your father served during world war ii. he was among those who were resistant to engage, but ultimately you say after many, many years, he felt incredible pride for being part of that shared mission. >> we have to remember, we had something like 19 or 20 million people in uniform during the
adversaries can inflict enormous damage on the united states through both old traditional means, but also by electronic means, and we re having a very hard time coming together just to defend ourselves let alone our interests overseas, ana. >> and mark, president biden we know chose the location of this speech, pointe du hoc very carefully because of reagan s famous remarks 40 years ago there, amid a struggling re-election campaign, and the new york times put it like this, quote, if there is something audacious about mr. biden, a staunch democrat who was no friend of mr. reagan s in the 1980s, summoning the spirit of the republican legend, it speaks to the up is down, black is white nature of politics in today s america. mark, remind us why reagan s 1984 speech was so impactful and what it means for president biden today. >> ana, one of the central