coverage of the state of the union address. >> we will cover what comes next every day at 6:00 pm on special report. >> day to and for continuing coverage on the fox news channel. >> the president of the united states. >> the state of the union is strong. >> that sounds so good. there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. it just doesn't work that way. where walls go up illegal crossings go way way down.

we must also ensure our economic resurgence continues at a rapid pace. this is our future. our faith and our choice to make. i am asking you to choose greatness. heather: this is "fox and friends first". what a night. donald trump calling for unity pushing his robust agenda in his second state of the union address. we are live in washington. "fox and friends first" starts right now. ♪ heather: you are watching "fox and friends first" wednesday morning, it has been a long night for a lot of folks. thanks for starting your day

with us? big night for the president, the presentation on everything from the economy to foreign policy and the crisis at the border. doug mcelway joins us from washington to break it down for us. >> reporter: the president came face-to-face with the party that has been his fierce opposition and regained power in the house and pleaded with democrats not to stall the great economic boom that has taken place since he assumed office. >> economic miracle is taking place in the united states and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations. >> reporter: he made the case that women have benefited more from the trump economy than

anyone, filling 58% of newly created jobs last year. >> the us economy is growing almost twice as fast as when i took office and we are considered far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world. we added another 304,000 jobs last month alone, almost double the number expected. we have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens. i am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and our country.

>> on the international front he touted progress made with the caliban and the prospect of peace talks and after 19 years of war it needs to come to a end. and progress with north korea, pursuing nuclear development, launch no new missiles and tested no new nuclear weapons. >> much work needs to be done but my relationship with kim jong un is a good one. we will meet again on february 27th, and 28, in vietnam. >> reporter: the president took no blame for the hateful political climate in washington and beyond and since no signal for a compromise agenda that would appeal to democrats who are intent as we know on reclaiming the white house in two years. heather: we will talk about the folks in the audience.

stacy abrams delivered the democratic response to the state of the union, the former georgia gubernatorial candidate, the president to recognize the country's diversity. >> even as i'm disappointed on the president's approach to our problems i still don't want him to fail but we need him to tell the truth and respect his duties and respect the extraordinary diversity that defines america. heather: bernie sanders gave his own response calling on donald trump to unite the country. >> when you are president, you bring our people together. that is what president is supposed to do. but in an unprecedented way, that is not what this president is doing. he is trying to divide us up. heather: sanders, possible 2020 candidate slammed donald trump

for failing to address the middle class. the president calling for bipartisan solutions, addressing the strength of the country. >> there is a new opportunity in american politics. we have the courage, together, to seize it. victory is not winning for our party. victory is winning for our country. heather: joining me with reaction, kaylee mcinerney, thank you for joining us. you had a long night as well. >> i'm excited to be here with you. heather: let's begin with what you thought about the president's state of the union. >> what a remarkable speech. it struck the right chord, the perfect interweaving, threading of the needle between calling for bipartisanship and compromise and working together

and all the things americans want to see but exposing the radical left agenda, the infanticide, the idea that socialism and single-payer and really radical proposals, to thread the needle is a hard task but when the president achieved. heather: it was amazing the guests he had, the stories he had to share, it was really emotional and remarkable. these initial polls that are coming out specifically the cbs poll, 76% approval rate for his state of the union speech, it was remarkable and he touted many of his successes. let's see about the record unemployment rate. >> african-american, hispanic american and asian american unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded. heather: with numbers like that you would think people would

have to stand and clap. >> you would think so but the democratic women did not. a remarkable display and he went on to say americans are disabled, there level are historic lows as well as alexandria ocasio-cortez sat firmly planted but they can take away from the president's list of achievements, i got a chance to sit down with the president, vice president, chief of staff, very clear, a long list of accomplishments, a lot to fit in. a lot of americans have heard those numbers, the media tends to hide them. heather: the number of jobs created, 5.3 million added 600,000 manufacturing jobs and everyone standing up multiple times, that was remarkable as well. delivering the state of the union is front of potential 2020

candidates. >> the group of democratic women wearing white, forced to stand when he praise the fact are 70 women in congress and you are right to say some people were forced to stand but other times it was severely disappointing when he talked about how babies shouldn't be ripped from the womb to not see people stand for that basic proposition was sad. heather: late-term abortion when they can feel pain, people overwhelmingly agreed with him when you take polls in the general public. it was really disturbing. >> ocasio-cortez not standing until prodded by someone next to her when the president was saying it is a good thing sex traffickers are being locked up at the border, ocasio-cortez was forced to stand, forced to clap.

heather: thank you for joining us. i wonder what it is like inside the white house because they have to be proud of the job they have done. we want to know your thoughts, the president was praised on bipartisan policy victories, let's stand firm on into obstruction. are you more hopeful for a break in the gridlock we've grown accustomed to in the last few years? tell us what you think on facebook, instagram oraccustome years? tell us what you think on facebook, instagram or email us@friends1flibblefoxnews.com. thousands of migrants were lining up at the southern border trying to enter the us. griff jenkins live with the caravan in mexico. >> legal elements enrich our nation and strengthen society.

heather: the president calling -- a legal daca recipient, says the speech gave him chills.

..

heather: donald trump demanding tough border security during the state of the union address, thousands of migrants wait to cross into the us. >> the lawless state of the southern border, i have ordered another 3700 troops to the southern border to prepare for this tremendous onslaught. >> live on the ground in mexico with the caravan.

>> reporter: migrants settling in in the shoulder, the security footprint continues on my left shoulder and right. federal, military, police presence. we are able to go in the shoulder yesterday and you see what the city is doing to treat these migrants in the most humane way. a pad to step on, they separated one side, the women and children from the individual men. the mayor says he worries what the resources drain will be. at the end of the day donald trump, the mexican officials, and solve the problem.

>> the us government, the mexican government, hunter and government, anybody went together, something that will resolve this, that would help me much better. >> border patrol along the rio grande river getting ready for all sorts of exercises, as prepared as they can be. we got a rare visit from the sheriff, he talks about what concerns him. >> you have a criminal element taking advantage. we are getting ready for that. >> we are hearing from tijuana's

mayor, he says they are continuing to shelter migrants over there. >> reporter: what are those people doing behind you? >> reporter: you are seeing the military go through the motions coming in, you have a new ship coming in but they are keeping their presence to contain migrants in the shoulder. heather: thank you, working hard. donald trump praising legal law-abiding immigrants in the state of the union address. >> we have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens. this includes our obligation to the millions of immigrants living here today who followed the rules, legal immigrants, strengthen our society. heather: will his speech bring

democrats and republicans together and fix the immigration system and avoid another government shutdown? a daca recipient who attended last year's state of the union joins me with more insight. thanks for joining us, great to have you back. what did you think of the president's be? >> it was incredible. as someone who loves this country and believes in free market and the economy, and i loved his speech and more hopeful than ever and proud to be part of the country. heather: did you hear what you wanted to hear why would you want to hear more? >> he set out the message, we heard it over and over, putting america first, of law back in place. when stacy spoke i did not hear anything on behalf of the democrats, nothing on daca.

heather: stacy abrams gave the democratic response. let's listen to know response. >> this administration chose to cage children and tear families apart. compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders, america is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls. heather: the president said america is made stronger by immigrants, people coming here early. >> democrats have been very quiet about this and let's not forget last year nancy pelosi stood for eight hours for the dreamer community and chuck schumer's shutdown the government. it surprises me they don't mention daca at all.

heather: it was on the table and is not on the table anymore. do you blame him for that? >> the country is looking at democrats, and they don't want to see get fixed. and the american people -- >> bipartisan tone continues for the rest of this week. >> time is running out. heather: thanks for joining us. 20 minutes until the top of the hour. many are calling this the moment of the night, donald trump congratulating female members of congress, leading cheers and chants on both sides of the aisle. it was something to see. carly shimkus has the top trending moments. i know what it means to have reliable support.

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we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. heather: donald trump praising the historic number of women in the workforce in his state of the union address. >> don't fit yet, you're going to like this would all-americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before. [chanting] heather: a rare moment of unity. carly shimkus with serious xm 115 with the online reaction. we needed more moments like that. >> one of the most energetic state of the union address as i have ever seen.

most say the president would only get applause from one side but couldn't help it, the speech was intended that way. they had to stand up. >> i agree. folks at home were tweeting up a storm about that usa moment. trump got alexandria ocasio-cortez to stand, clamp and even chant usa. this was a rare unifying moment in fran rights love him off script. great sense of humor, self-deprecating, nancy pelosi behind him to see his reaction. heather: she did a good job applauding, she applauded more than i thought she would and also -- >> i don't know what she was reading, she was reading ahead. a lot of twitter conversation what she was reading. i think she was reading a copy. >> every time she got a little nervous or frazzled.

>> to pretend she was looking at something. this happy birthday, that never happened before during the state of the union. >> what a fabulous moment, he survived the holocaust and the tree of life synagogue shooting, he turned 81 years old yesterday. watch this. ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> they wouldn't do that for me. >> self-deprecating, off script as well. >> don't know what lawmakers started that happy birthday chant but i'm glad they did. hearing the chamber say saved my day, good to see everyone together like that. tammy says amazing story of survival and strength not once but twice. got to celebrate his life, 81 years old.

>> someone not on the positive spectrum of tweets, this i role by kristin gillibrand. >> we have a video of it. >> we are considered far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world, not even close. unemployment has reached the lowest rate in over half a century. >> she is now fundraising off of that i role, sent out a tweet saying chip in $5 so we can put a end to this. interesting moment to roll your eyes. >> he didn't seem happy for much of the speech, kept cutting to her and she had that sour look. >> the democratic reaction, although scowls. not all rainbows and sunshine but more --

>> they started coming together more and more and with the guests he had, the world war ii veteran and all that. that was remarkable as well. let us know your opinion. keep sending them to us, half past the top of the hour, stacy abrams, bernie sanders giving their own rebuttal to the state of the union, but were they effective or did they miss the mark? donald trump bringing some special guests to capitol hill. how he thanked each wondering his speech up next. ♪ (voice) you know what you're doing right now?

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heather: donald trump vowing to keep america first at home and abroad, the state of the union address highlighting our booming economy and overseas trade but also calling on congress to come

together for border security. doug mcelway joins us with more on the night's biggest moment. >> reporter: the president out of his america first agenda looking for common ground with the party that has regained control of the house at least in areas of sentencing reform and rebuilding the kremlin infrastructure. he won no democrat conference on border security. >> we have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protect the lives and jobs of our citizens. we will always support the brave men and women of law enforcement and i pledge to you tonight that i will never abolish our heroes from ice. >> reporter: democrat women turned out in white, a single of the women's suffrage movement but they are plotted when the president out of the booming economy, 5 billion americans off of food stamps, the outsized benefit from the growing jobs market.

>> no one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women who have filled 58% of the newly created jobs last year, nearly 5 million americans have been lifted off food stamps. [applause] >> reporter: he said no one address the growing and unfair trade imbalance with china until his administration and he plans to address the china problem with respect to the tough demand. >> i have great respect for president xi jinping, we are working on a new trade deal with china, but it must include real structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit and protect american jobs.

>> reporter: more harmful, a new trade deal that greatly benefits us workers. >> our new us/mexico/canada agreement, the usmc a will replace nafta and deliver for all-american workers. and manufacturing jobs in greater numbers, expand american agriculture, protect intellectual property and ensure that more cars are stamped with beautiful words, made in the usa. >> reporter: with the state of the union address over it is back to reality, that living deadline to fund the government and avoid another shutdown, democrats holding firm in their opposition to a border wall, republicans are fearful of taking blame for another shutdown, no easy way out as we get back to reality.

>> getting closer to declaring the national emergency, we shall see. donald trump and the first lady welcoming 13 special guests at the state of the union address. world war ii hero, former prisoner and department of homeland security special agent, acknowledging all of them for their contributions to the nation. >> private first class joseph riley, staff sergeant irving locker. and sergeant herman zaizcak. buzz aldrin. [applause] >> please. thank you very much. thank you very much.

matthew is the first person to be released from prison under the first step act. deborah, heather madison. please stand. view can understand your pain. thank you for being here. mendez. heather: one of the biggest points was immigration at the border wall. mixed in with calls for unity, calls for democrats to step up and secure the border. >> complete put, walls work, walls save lives. work together, compromise, reach a deal that would truly make

america safe. >> is that a realistic request? here is chris, former bernie sanders surrogate chuck rocha. long night. i want to explain for everyone at home. you saw deborah bissell, her daughter and granddaughter just three weeks ago, they were burglarized and shot to death in their reno, nevada, home by illegal immigrants. that is one of the examples donald trump was using to explain why it is necessary to secure the border and at the same time called out the hypocrisy of those who don't need to secure the border. i want you to respond. heather: no issue better illustrates the divide between

america's working class and america's political class than illegal immigration. wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards. heather: how do you think he did in making the argument for increasing border security? >> we all heard the story. there's nothing new here. he had some great moments but he had to moments just donald trump. if you have djt tattooed on user you love everything that happens but most of america are living in a little, not hard right or hard left and looking for something new. he spent his entire campaign talking about mexico building the wall and a huge part of the speech last night talking about needing to build the wall and shut the government down and put american workers out of work for the wall. people here one thing but see

another. heather: people do tend to be down the middle in terms of who they blame for the government shutdown. if you are a republican you blame the democrats, if you are democrat you blame the republicans and the president. what did you think about his immigration argument last night? >> emotions do not lie. seeing the faces to me was an emotional thing. the great-granddaughter and numerous other people involved in having to do with immigration it was very emotional. you cannot put on a show because democrats, republicans, the guys -- look at the hard-core truth, that was an emotional moment that was important to them. that was not to do with politics but reality. donald trump mentioned moving on to something new. the reality is a lot of things, until we get this wall accomplished and finished, that is going to be a fight he will not give up easily. he campaigned about it, still talks about it on a daily basis.

we want to build this wall, have to build this wall, need to build this wall to secure the borders. heather: chuck schumer supported it in the past. let's listen to the democratic rebuttal and i want you to respond to this as well. >> making livelihood of our federal workers a pond for political gain is a disgrace. the shutdown was a stunt engineered by the president of the united states. >> our government belongs to each and every one of us, not just a few. heather: your response. >> democrats are going to build the momentum we had three or four months ago in the midterm election when a historic amount of democrats wept into office running on what donald trump was talking about. he is saying these things but not doing the other. instead of me talking about a poll the best poll that was taken was the midterm election. if he wants to win and if i was his strategist, i've been doing this for 30 years, you've got to

talk to the people not just about a wall or some wall fantasy, people are hurting out there and in search of real solutions. heather: not a fantasy to families like the this whole family, who were listening to the president. final word. >> the reality, the president talked about choosing greatness, democrats had done and lightly applauded. you can applaud when it comes to choosing greatness. when you have people like alexandria 15 who has to be told to applaud who looked like she was being coached, we have to get back to the peoples agenda and what people in america went. democrats showed that last night. i don't think when they made a polarizing issue of marking things the president said it is ridiculous. time to come together as a nation. >> people elected her, keep that in mind. heather: there will be much discussion throughout the day on both sides. thank you.

time is 20 minutes until the top of the hour and donald trump doubling down on his pledge to end america's longest war. >> great nations do not fight endless wars. heather: our next guest, brigadier general anthony toscana knows what it is like on the ground in afghanistan. he calls this a blockbuster speech. building a better bank starts with looking at something old,

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hour has come to at least try for peace. heather: donald trump using his state of the union address to double down on his call to bring a end to america's longest war. it away in deputy commanding general of us forces in afghanistan, anthony tater. great to have you with us. you said great nations do not fight endless wars. what is your response to hearing everything last night in terms of isis, syria, afghanistan, etc.. >> i thought it was the best state of the union speech i personally ever heard. certainly in the modern era. it was a very unifying speech, one that started out with the theme of when the world hung in the balance between freedom and those that were oppressed

freedom, the nazis and others, recognizable world war ii heroes upfront, that was the theme throughout his speech, unifying to fight the enemies, to better compete in the world and military is a part of that. has been adept at leveraging the elements of national power, economic, information, and getting out of afghanistan after 18 years. i spent 11/2 of those years in afghanistan. it is time for us to find a solution. he is exactly right. heather: you can speak to this, how you believe the message was received by the nation's generals. >> general sounds of the private sector are ready for some kind of solution.

you learn the conflict and war is politics by other means. a political solution is always the expected outcome for military engagement so it is time for the taliban and, time for all factions to come together and find a solution. it will be ugly for sure, we do not need to be there managing a civil war. our goal is to prevent terrorism, al qaeda and isis and the taliban doesn't want al qaeda and isis there because they blame us for our involvement in afghanistan. heather: it keeps repeating but you are so. it was quite a moment.

general, thank you for joining us, appreciate it. 10 minutes until the top of the hour, the president delivering a message of unity in front of a divided congress. ned ryan knows about presidential messaging and he joins us next. ♪ ♪ hoo - want to take your next vacation to new heights? tripadvisor now lets you book over 100,000 tours, attractions, and experiences in destinations

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willy davis, who has alzheimer's. i decided to make shirts for the walk with custom ink. the shirts were so easy to design on the site. the custom ink team was super helpful and they just came out perfect. seeing my family wearing my shirts was such an amazing reminder of all the love and support that everyone has for my dad. - [narrator] check out our huge selection of custom t-shirts and more, for teams, businesses, and every occasion. you'll even get free shipping. get started today at customink.com. >> we must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good. heather: donald from delivering a message of unity during his

state of the union speech and joining me is the president's call for compromise, a former presidential writer for george w. bush, ned ryan, thank you for joining us. your overall take of the speech itself? it is getting rave reviews from what i hear. >> i keep comparing it to babe ruth, he steps up to the plate, points to the fence and hit it out of the park. last night was no different. a very good message, very strong, highlighting the idea of unity but choosing greatness. i love that theme. we have been told by previous administrations we have to manage our decline. we said no, we can choose greatness, greatness is a choice, which is not to decline, we choose to be great. he opened up his message by

looking at congress and saying do not govern like two parties but try to govern like one nation. this is not about republican or democrat but common sense americanism. how do we have policies and the government of the benefits the american people. heather: so many memorable lines. this was a very good line, listen to this one. >> there's going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. heather: a pretty good line. what do you think? >> it was a great line i was going to highlight to you. you cannot have legislation and policies that benefit the american people if you are devolving into hyperpartisan investigations, nothing but investigation so you can't focus on legislation. it is this call to say let's focus on what benefits the american people. 157 million americans are now at

work and he got the white clad brigade of democratic women to stand up and applaud. heather: that was the goal, whoever group of people who wrote this speech their goal was to put these things in where they had to stand up. >> how can you not stand up and applaud with 50% of new job openings last year filled by women, the fact that you have record unemployment for blacks and hispanics. this is a great economy, i remind people this isn't about trump's agenda but policies that benefit all americans regardless of race or gender. heather: he weaves stories of different guests, from the little girl who was a cancer survivor to the world war ii veteran, couldn't help but get tears in your eyes. thanks for joining us, appreciate your insight and we will be right back.

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than democrats congressperson but the republicans ain't doing what they promised either. that wraps up this hour of "fox and friends first," thank you for joining us. send is your opinion on the state of the union, "fox and friends first" continues, goodbye. >> madam speaker, the president of the united states. [applause] >> the state of our union is strong. >> that sounds so good. there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. it just doesn't work that way. illegal crossings go way way down.