i think that's what stacey abrams represents. there's other who are not just people of color and women who represent the contrast, but they are more uncompromisingly progressive. i think that's what democrats want. they also face a challenge moving forward about whether they can get elected. >> if we can circle back to the president for one second, mark, and his message. he talked about the economy a lot. >> yeah. >> which he does occasionally but not all at once in an as organized a fashion. >> right. >> and he laid that case out and you could hear or feel republicans in that room and around the country who want to get reelected in 2020 saying more, please, more of this. talk like this more. and he also contrasted that with what he called socialism on the democratic side. but it seemed to me that that is a curtain raiser on 2020, on the re-election campaign. >> i don't know that it is, john. i think it does set a strong platform. i think it was start of him to start there as well in the state of the union. that's what he was say

and stacey abrams' remarks. she showed those remarks to amy this morning, here's her response. >> i thought she had some good points about what she thinks we should do as a country to come together. i still think some of the comments she made regarding our healthcare system when she said the republicans won't do something about it. we need to stop being about republican and democrat and be about we the people. >> reporter: we heard a lot of that. folks are saying they want to find a way that the democrats and republicans can come together and make some changes in this country. bridge the divisions that they're seeing. because so many people were saying they do have strong comments about what the president was saying last night but they also had strong comments about stacey abrams. more than anything they want to see the government move forward. particularly on stacey abrams, when i asked do you think this woman has a future in politics? to the person, every one i spoke to says absolutely yes, she does. >> all ri

what does stacey abrams say now? >> "firing line with margaret hoover" is made possible by... corporate funding is provided by... ...and by... >> stacey abrams, welcome to "firing line." >> thank you for having me. >> you have just completed a run for governor of a historically, at least in recent terms, historically red state, where a democrat has not held that office in decades. what is it that made you think that there would be a pathway to victory for you? >> i have been a member of the general assembly for 11 years. i became the democratic leader of the house caucus in 2010, and my first legislative session was a redistricting session. and what i learned from the numbers really reflected the fact that georgia was changing fairly dramatically and very quickly. and i could see that there was a pathway for democrats to surge and to start to reclaim more power in the state. i believe that we are a purple state. i like to say we're blue and just a little confused. but the notion being that, as we continue to change demographically, our politics are gonna keep changing. and 201

and i think the democrats got a great start with stacey abrams tonight. i actually found myself missing barack obama tonight, particularly tonight because i think the democrats are still missing a fuller vision of what is the vision for the country. >> you think he was not available to give the rebuttal? he's not constitutionally prevented from giving the rebuttal. >> no, but truly they can't just offer piecemeal rebuttals to donald trump. they're still going to have to think about what is the alternate future of the country under democratic rule. and, you know, striking a positive tone is the right way to go. but you have to win over some of those trump voters who are no longer with him. >> and she clearly in tone was being inclusive. he would argue he was at times and question whether people believe that. john hardin as our economics gu guru, what do you say to the president touting some of the economics, some of which are true but was this a triple or third? >> he landed on third. the president claimed he launched an unprecedented economic boom. that's

and i think the democrats got a great start with stacey abrams tonight. i actually found myself missing barack obama tonight, particularly tonight because i think the democrats are still missing a fuller vision of what is the vision for the country. >> you think he was not available to give the rebuttal? he's not constitutionally prevented from giving the rebuttal. >> no, but truly they can't just offer piecemeal rebuttals to donald trump. they're still going to have to think about what is the alternate future of the country under democratic rule. and, you know, striking a positive tone is the right way to go. but you have to win over some of those trump voters who are no longer with him. >> and she clearly in tone was being inclusive. he would argue he was at times and question whether people believe that. john hardin as our economics guru, what do you say to the president touting some of the economics, some of which are true but was this a triple or third? >> he landed on third. the president claimed he launched an unprecedented economic boom. that's no

stacey abrams talked about voter suppression. she talked about the idea there was going to be gun right issues. she was someone laying out the platform of the democratic party. saying as a black woman, i'm not only interested in criminal justice, but all these other issues. it goes to the point that the democrats are finally starting to understand, they can't just talk about diversity, they actually have to have diversity and stacey abrams was the face of that tonight. >> you know what? i think she should run for governor again. everybody's talking about the senate. the trouble with the is in et is ideological. >> right. >> if you represent a purple or more conservative state, even a red state, you end up conflicting with the people. you can be a really good executive and run a state like that without a lot of ideological arguments. >> it's working for doug jones. >> we'll see how long that voting record hangs up. >> i spend the weekend talking to a lot of the abrams campaign team and how this speech was being put together. the t

stacey abrams doesn't see it that way. if sta stacey can win the next election, it's possible this will work one more time. >> elections in this country used to be based on issues. that was the common agreement anyway. what would happen it a country in which power isallocated on yourgeyour gender and identity. what happens to a country that is run with identity politics? >> in the short term, it kind of works because the majority group doesn't play language with taken keeps quiet. in the long run, it's untenable. how much longer i'll until whites say why don't we have identity. you'll get groups fighting against one another. i don't see how you can have a country in long run with identity politics. it may well create namely white nationalism what they claim to oppose today. >> tucker: have you ever seen stacey abrams, i don't mean to represent stacey abrams, she represents much larger group, which work we must embrace it. you studied this question extensively, you're a scholar. is there a country in that produce stable nat

he moved the time so it didn't conflict with stacey abrams, and i respect that. and again, i'm very excited about it. i think people who haven't met stacey abrams tonight are going to understand why she is such a star. because her smarts,her humilit humility, her passion for justice for everyone, opportunity for everyone, is why we were so proud to invest in her campaign, and i think she has an exceedingly bright political future. >> it is such a high pressure position to be in, so it's going to be very interesting to watch. thank you so much, chairman. >> always a pleasure to be with you. >> thank you for staying. we really appreciate it. >> it's always a pleasure to be here. >> of course. >>> the stunning cnn exclusive that's getting major reaction on capitol hill and around the world today. u.s. weapons originally sold to saudi arabia and the uae ending up in the hands of terrorists. shouldn't mean going back to the doctoro just for a shot. with neulasta onpro patients get their day back... to be with family, or just to sleep in. strong chemo can put you at ri

. >> stacey abrams says she's for medicare for all as a starting point. single payer, medicare for all, is a starting point. if that's not socialism. you have kamala harris saying -- >> her name is kamala. >> sorry. kamala saying we'll eliminate whole segments of the health care system. >> she pulled back from that. >> but, chris, people will run back from that. listen, it's not like -- >> is social security socialism? >> we're talking about something completely different. don't get off the topic. single payer, medicare for all, is a socialism form of government. yes, it is. >> my question to you, david, as we move forward, a lot of these ideas are not new. the fact is, people pay into social security. >> i'm not talking about social security. stay on the topic. stay down the middle here. it's not the same. it's not the same. >> don't talk over each other. one point at a time. >> they are the same type of program. but what democrats are talking about, when you talk about increasing the tax rate, going to a 70% marginal tax rate, none of these things are a

stacey abrams did a good job with it. it is a hard stage to stand on. stacey abrams an unusual choice in that she is not currently an elected official. she was a formidable democratic gubernatorial candidate. this year she lost a narrow race against the states serving secretary of state in a controversial race marred with voter fraud and a block to the polls. you saw that when she got to that portion of her speech, talking about access to the polls. she is holding an unusual position in politics right now. she holds no current office, but she is playing almost a little bit sort of a minor kingmaker role, and she is a very sought-out endorsement and i think is going to continue to be a high-profile person in the party, even now without an electoral office. >> i put her in that category as well. >> i think she makes a good point, and i don't differ with anything she said, although i have to confess i have written out phonetic words of politicians in their speeches. >> we do it all the time. >> what nancy pelosi was by telling her members, hey, hey, hey, s

do you think stacey abrams is that person? >> i think she can bring not only the democratic party together but she can reach across the aisle to other parties as well and bring those parties to the conclusion that we do need to be a unified country in order for us to suck sa succeed, in order for us to prosper. there are aspects that we need to work together, work across the aisle, exchange ideas and concepts, and have a happy medium where we can meet our differences and come together for the country. >> reporter: so many people, andrea, are looking for a way for the country to come together instead of identifying our differences, and find the things that say we are more alike than different. >> rehema ellis, so great to hear from you. thanks for that very refreshing point of view from a diner in atlanta. >>> coming up, breaking news from virginia. the state's attorney general admitting he has his own blackface controversy. he's the third in line. details are next on "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. . whooo! want to ta

. >> -- in stacey abrams' response. that's a textbook example of writing the response before you've seen the speech. it was very partisan, hard-hitting, a completely different tone than the tone the president put forth in his hour and a half long speech. so i really do think he caught the democrats off guard. trish: the reality is they're just not that good. and i get it that it's difficult to suddenly stand in front of a teleprompter like that and deliver a response, but if you were or that good, you might be able to actually incorporate some of what happened and and work that into your speech which she couldn't, as you point out. and even the mindset there of alexandria ocasio-cortez, i mean, this to me, caylee, is what is dangerous about american politics. when people are not willing to walk into the room and have an open mind and listen. >> right, that's exactly right. i totally agree with the statement that stacey abrams did not plan if appropriately. her response very much out of touch with the call for bipartisan

<stacey abrams/-d- fmr georgia governor candidate: "in these united states, when times are tough, we can persevere because our friends and neighbors will come for us. our first responders will come for us. it is this mantra, this uncommon grace of community, that has driven me to become an attorney, a small business owner, a writer, and most recently the democratic nominee for governor of georgia. my reason for running was simple. i love our country and its promise of opportunity for all."> ( robin ) senator kamala harris took at jab at president trump ahead of his state of the union address. she delivered a pre- rebuttal on facebook live. senator harris... who is running for president in 20-20... also called for unity and better opportunities for middle and working-class americans. (robin) coming up on the kron 4 morning news ... an uber driver is killed in a wrong-way crash... and now more support is being given to help his family. (robin) and... could san jose be getting hyperloop pods? details on a possible partnership with elon musk and the city. (robin) and... an accused robber

singh stacey abrams showed president trump what real leadership looks like. she was compelling and warm and caring about people. she knocked it out of the park. thette barragan saying president made no mention of climate change or how it is literally putting our health and environment at grave risk. the energy commerce committee will hold its first meeting on climate change where i will address its impact on communities of color. some of the twitter reaction from last night date of the union. you can participate and make your reaction known on twitter feed that c-span2 bj. the house comes in at 10:00 and we will take your calls up until that point. from jupiter, florida. john is next. independent line. caller: such an eloquent speech he had last night and enumerated all of his great accomplishments and i find it difficult to believe that a true american could actually be a democrat today. it's just unbelievable to me. and i have as now long perspective of many decades to see what has been happening and i just can't see these democrats. they are just nasty, ru

stacey abrams is an historic figure, and i thought her words were tremendous. she is a bright light in our party, and i think has energized a lot of the hope that we can make an america that works for everybody. the state of the union address was disappointing on many fronts. he spoke a lot of words of bipartisanship, but this is a guy whose teleprompter is very different than his tweets, than his constant rhetoric and is demeaning ask degrading, a lot of things he talked about finding common ground on-- lowering prescription drug costs, the issues around making health care more affordable-- he's had legislation that's been in front of him for a long time-- some of which i've written about-- lowering frisk drug costs. democrats have been saying let's try to make premiums go down. there's a lot of nice-- skews me, talk tonight, some of it very disturbing the way he described many of the aspects of america, or the tax break that he talked about being a middle-class tax break which was, frankly, blew trillion-dollar holes in our budget giving the wealthiest of the

i am, here is stacey abrams giving the democratic response. listen. >> compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders. democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. but we must all embrace that from agricultural to health care, to entrepreneurshi entrepreneurship, america is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls. >> ed: that is the democratic case, but why is it -- you make of their interesting point, as well -- democrats over the last few years were saying we have to do something about the daca recipients. the president is now saying i want to do something, i want to get you eventually on a path to citizenship, the democrats aren't coming to the table. >> i did not hear daca at all in her speech, coming out of her mouth, and that is very disappointing on behalf of the democratic party. especially since nancy pelosi stood for eight hours and still chose not to address it this time around. it is very disappointing, and i tell you the dreamer community are no longer going to take this.

stacey abrams ran for governor of georgia. she will be delivering the address in the greater atlanta area. that will come five minutes after president trump concludes his address and leaves the house chamber. there's a spanish-language response delivered by javier becerra. speech, and the democratic response, our phone lines will be open. we look forward to hearing from you. if you support or oppose this president and his policies. we welcome your participation. we have less than an hour to go before the president arrives here in the u.s. capitol. the diplomatic corps in attendance. i turned to my colleague greta brawner. greta: it's expected to be about 5000 words. the president practiced over the weekend at his mar-a-lago resort. yesterday he practiced with a handful of senior aides. he's expected to do another teleprompter and lectern practice session today. the aides in attendance, mick mulvaney, jared kushner, sarah huckabee sanders and bill shine. abrams won't -- this will be her first time appearing on c-span. crowd3, s

two yea >> woodruff: chris buskirk, what did you take away from stacey abrams? >> i thought two things, style and substance, i thought she was a really interesting choice to do the rebuttal. i was sort of expecting before e was announced maybe somebody like kamala harris or something linehat and then the political context struck me and i thought there were so many democrats kamala harris being one of them running for president, they almost had to go wiy someb who wasn't in office, and so there is this backdrop which i keep thinking how does this night play into 2020 both for the president and also for democrats who obviously will be seeking the presidency, and so that is sort of the style, the political part of it, on the substance, i thought it was, you know, very up in the air, you know, it was very --l a ot of sort of glib talk about, you know, the shiroff my back and this sort of thing, great, i mean those things sound good but then you have to sort of come up with policies to put behind that. you know,, there is the rhetoric and then there is the action, an

and now you have got people like stacey abrams saying we should allow illegals to vote. what happened and do you run the risk in the democratic party of not being electable because you have become to out of touch with the everyday folks? >> no, trish, i don't think that's the case at all. i think the issue is the president in deep political peril. a president who staked his entire presidency on a border wall that the majority of the american people don't want. trish: that's another conversation. i'm asking you specifically about the likes of stacey abrams and you can throw alexandria ocasio-cortez in there. those people who are so extreme and out of sync with where the center of the country is and where the democratic party once was. how will you get elected with people like that. >> i don't sight as the crisis you do. i think that this is a country that welcomes immigrants. we are a pro immigrant nation and i don't think this is dragging the democratic party to the left in any real way. i think you see more diversity in the democratic party than you ever have. the count

abrams just four weeks ago said

followed by the democratic response by former georgia gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams. the state of the union live tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span, c-span.org or listen ith the free c-span radio app. >> on thursday, a house panel host holds a hearing to discuss -- hold as hearing to discuss legislative proposals related to presidential and vice presidential tax returnses. live coverage of the ways and means committee starting at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3, online at c-span.org and on the free c-span radio app. later this week, acting attorney general matthew whitaker testifies on the special counsel investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. that's live from the house judiciary committee friday at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2. c-span today spoke with members of congress earlier about tonight's state of the union. we sat down with congresswoman bonnie watson coleman, a democrat from new jersey, who is bringing an undocumented immigrant who once worked as the trump national golf club in new jersey. after that, we'll hear from congss

democrats gave the launchpad to stacey abrams, your thoughts on the pick of the democratic candidate for governor in georgia as the one to respond to president trump? > over the last few years, the state of the union response has become a way to spotlight up and coming talent in the opposition party. i found it odd that they chose someone who is not currently holding any elected office, and has not announced for president and doesn't seem to be in that group of people that are the p-and-coming talent. i found it a mystifying pic, but it made me curious, i want to see what she has to say. i'm rooting for her, in general, women tend to do better at the state of the union response than the men do. i believe she will do a good job. host: why is that? >> i don't know why. but if you look at joe kennedy last year with the chapstick issues, marco rubio with the drinking of the water, bobby jindal didn't do well. but you think about nikki haley, jodi herz did fine, for some reason the women seem to avoid all of the pitfalls. 'm sorry to tell you this. we will see what happens tonight. host:

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stacey abrams showed such leadership and strength. here is the president talking that the economy is great. it is a great if you're into stock buybacks. it's great if you're the wealthiest in america. the average american doesn't feel they have a great future. stacey talked about that. the president acted like everything is great. means he is only talking to people who are doing well. >> leader shuman, great to see you. a lot of americans watched that last night and when they said americans will never be a socialist country, a lot of people were sitting on their hands and not applauding that. schumer. what's your drift on socialism? >> we all believe strongly in democracy. there are people in the democratic party who want more government intervention, i wouldn't quite call it socialism. >> democratic socialists. >> yeah. the bottom line is all of us believe that when you look at the state of the union on the economy, it's not good for middle class families. they're worried, even more worried about their children, look at the state of

stacey abrams in 4 minutes proposed 40 things. in an hour and a half, donald trump proposed eight domestic policies. eight the entire night. and two of those eight were child cancer and aids. so this was not a big speech. this was not a we're going to change everything. this was i've got my targeted things, a couple for the base, a couple for the other side, and this is what i want to do. >> my heartbreak in this speech was simply this. those beautiful moments where he recognized miss alice johnson, where he recognized the -- you saw a hunger in that crowd, i felt it in myself. people want to come together. people wanted to feel that sense of unity. and then he would go right into something else that would just pull people apart. so when i say -- there is some struggle happening in that building. i don't know if it's happening in his heart, but there is some struggle happening in that building. that's where two completely -- if you could literally take out those positive inspirational moments and nobody could criticize that speech

tonight -- john mulaney, founder and chair of voting rights organization fair fight, stacey abrams, a performance from "documentary now!" featuring the 8g band with fred armisen. ♪ [ cheers and applause ]em ladies and gen, seth meyers. >> seth: good evening. i'm seth meyers. this is "late night." how's everybody doing tonight? [ cheers and applause ] that's fantastic to hear. in that case, let's get to the news. the white house confirmed todaye that pre trump will sign a bipartisan spending deal passed by congress, and then will declare a national emergency in order to fund his proposed border wall. wait, you're declaring a national emergency? [ laughter ] this is like one of those news stories where a crazy guy callss 911 bemcdonald's ran out of nuggets. [ laughter ] ere's nothing wrong with mcdonald's. you're the problem. [ laughter ] during a speech yesterday, president trump claimed that migrants hoping to illegally enter the country through the rn soutorder would, quote, "have to be in extremely good shape" to get over his proposed border wall. [ laughter ] and that makes sense

stacey abrams in four minutes proposed 40 things. in an hour and a half, donald trump proposed eight domestic policies. eight the entire night. and two of those eight were child cancer and aids. so this was not a big speech. this was not a we're going to change everything. this was i've got my targeted things, a couple for the base, a couple for the other side, and this is what i want to do. >> my heartbreak in this speech was simply this. those beautiful moments where he recognized miss alice johnson, where he recognized the -- you saw a hunger in that crowd, i felt it in myself. people want to come together. people wanted to feel that sense of unity. and then he would go right into something else that would just pull people apart. so when i say -- there is some struggle happening in that building. i don't know if it's happening in his heart, but there is some struggle happening in that building. that's where two completely -- if you could literally take out those positive inspirational moments and nobody could criticize that speech

i want to talk about stacey abrams excerpts but first the theater that will be tonight. nancy pelosi sitting there behind the president is going to be enjoyable to watch. >> well, of course. and for many reasons, first of all, it is going to be a visual representation of a different washington than donald trump has had to inhabit before as president, so just having the democratic opposition leader literally sitting over his shoulder and keeping watch on him is a completely different visual, but also obviously, here was the first female speaker of the house of representatives has now returned to that position. i remember when george w. burn gave his state of the union address in 2007 after the democrats won and nancy pelosi became speaker last time, paul was referencing bill clinton, george w. bush did a magnanimous nod to the moment in history that nancy pelosi had. this is a particular position for her. i don't think you're going to see nancy pelosi take advantage of this position in some way. she has been here before. she knows what she's doing. i agree with you, somet

one, back to the stacey abrams speech. that's a very difficult job. that's the best response democrat or republican i can remember in some years. it's a very difficult job. it's a thankless job. also, you learn about the differences between the two parties. she talked about voting rights. she talked about climate change and she talked about guns. well did not hear any of those subjects from the president of the united states. democrats believe that animates their coalition. they believe it helps them, and they believe especially on the issue of climate change, especially on the issue of voting right, it helps them to talk about things the president won't talk about. you can shrug all you want. >> the republicans don't support any of those things. why would you talk about them? >> well, all americans should want our president, whatever the disagreements are, just look at his own national security review. every leader, whatever his party should be talking about climate change. the president of the united states at this moment in the world did not mentio

it's why they put someone like stacey abrams in to give the rebuttal. she has nothing to lose. she does 10 minutes of liberal sound bites then goes off the air. this is going to hurt the democrats. the economy is booming. it will help republicans. i think people are smart enough to figure out this is because of president trump's capitalist free market policies. and if we stick with him, we'll brand-new fit as a nation. liz: the wall treat journal reporting that inspectors at that dam run by the big mining company. valet got early warning it would collapse and posed a high risk of failure. at least 150 people were killed when that dam burst. tesla cutting the price again on the model 3 sedan. this is the second time this year. they are cutting it down by $1,100. elon musk is racing to sell more cars. he wants to get that sticker price down to $35,000. he wants to sell more cars. an has big bond payments coming up. united airlines adding $1,600 premium seats to 260 domestic and international flights. delta and player can both recently added premium seats. ibm is developing new te

tonight -- john mulaney, founder and chair of voting rights organization fair fight, stacey abrams, a performance from "documentary now!" featuring the 8g band with fred armisen. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ladies and gentlemen, seth meyers. >> seth: good evening. i'm seth meyers. this is "late night." how's everybody doing tonight? [ cheers and applause ] that's fantastic to hear. in that case, let's get to the news. the white house confirmed today that president trump will sign a bipartisan spending deal passed by congress, and then will declare a national emergency in order to fund his proposed border wall. wait, you're declaring a national emergency? [ laughter ] this is like one of those news stories where a crazy guy calls 911 because mcdonald's ran out of nuggets. [ laughter ] there's nothing wrong with mcdonald's. you're the problem. [ laughter ] during a speech yesterday, president trump claimed that migrants hoping to illegally enter the country through the southern border would, quote, "have to be in extremely good shape" to get over his proposed border wall. [ laughter ] a

i'm stacey abrams and i'm honored to join the conversation about the state of our union. growing up, my family went back and forth between lower middle class and working class. yet, even when they came home weary and bone-tired, my parents found a way to show us all who we could be. my librarian mother taught us to love learning. my father, a ship yard worker, put in overtime and extra shifts, and they made sure we volunteered to help others. later, they both became united methodist ministers, an expression of the faith that guides us. now, we only had one car so sometimes my dad to had hitchhike and walk long stretches during the 30-mile trip home from the shipyards. one rainy night my mom got worried. we piled in the car and went looking for him and we found my dad making his way along the road soaked and shivering in his shirt sleeves. when he got in the car my mom asked if he left his coat at work. he explained he had given it to a homeless man he met on the highway. we asked why he had given away his only jacket, my dad turned to us and said, i knew when i left that

i'm stacey abrams and i'm honored to join the conversation about the state of our union. growing up, my family went back and forth between lower middle class and working class. yet, even when they came home weary and bone-tired, my parents found a way to show us all who we could be. my librarian mother taught us to love learning. my father, a ship yard worker, put in overtime and extra shifts, and they made sure we volunteered to help others. later, they both became united methodist ministers, an expression of the faith that guides us. these were our family values -- faith, service, education, and responsibility. now, we only had one car so sometimes my dad to had hitchhike and walk long stretches during the 30-mile trip home from the shipyards. one rainy night my mom got worried. we piled in the car and went looking for him and we found my dad making his way along the road soaked and shivering in his shirt sleeves. when he got in the car my mom asked if he left his coat at work. he explained he had given it to a homeless man he met on the highway. we asked why he had giv

and having stacey abrams is supposed to send a really strong message. women, minorities. the second thing is the message and the message democrats want to send is that we can govern. this is what we would do if we were governing, if we had the white house back. gabby is right that this is leaning into 2020. think about the democratic party. here is what we would deliver. mentioning things trump does not mention often. health care is one thing we will hear more about. steve: alexis, national political correspondent for the hill newspaper. gabby orr who covers the white house, thank you both for being with us. > thanks, steve. >> coming up, senator lamar alexander who cares the health, education, labor and pensions committee. he will talk about higher education the cost of college tuition. live from the american enterprise institute at 2:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. and then this evening, senate democratic whip dick durbin will talk about the senate agenda at 7:00 p.m. eastern. also here on c-span. >> over the last year, the world has seen what we always knew, that no pe

that will be stacey abrams. she was the democratic leader of the house in georgia, ran for governor of georgia this year and lost and donna brazile, i said it was an unusual choice. why are the democrats doing it? >> because she's an inspiring choice. while she's not in public office right now, she represents the future of our party. she embodies everything that not just the party believes, but the country, inclusivity, as well as expanding opportunity for all people. >> she will be speaking from atlanta, georgia, going to be speaking in an auditorium of the international brotherhood of electrical workers down there, surrounded by georgia residents. this was a choice made by nancy pelosi and chuck shoer. stacey abrams, speaking to us from georgia tonight. she'll be giving the democratic response. >> good evening, my fellow americans. and happy lunar new year. i'm stacey abrams, and i'm honored to join the conversation about the state of our union. growing up, my family went back and forth between lower middle cl

stacey abrams is seen as a rising star among the democrats. she received quite a bit of attention when she ran for governor last year, lost to republican brian kemp. she will talk about reaching across the aisle, doing the right thing for the constituents you serve, and making the case that the things happening here in the nation's capital. she's expected to talk about success not being guaranteed in this country, but we live in a nation of great opportunity. bottom line, democratic leaders think she is a rising star, that she'll deliver a great speech tonight. democratic leaders, by choosing her, also avoided any controversy as seen as playing favorites with one of the 25 or so democrat is expected to run for president. >> martha: thank you. >> bret: let's bring back our panel. chris, quickly, your thoughts before we hear from miss abrams? >> i will reserve sometimes after ms. abrams. i thought it was a very well-written speech. i agree with you, some very moving moments. i think it was quite effective as an opening speech for the 2020 campio

're going to hear the democratic response a bit later by stacey abrams. she, you'll recall, made national headlines, herself, as she lost the georgia governor's race last november. >> we've got our team in place to break it all down f. insight and analysis throughout the evening. our own chuck todd and area mitchell with us in our new york studios. we see good evening to you. this was the state of the union that almost wasn't, chuck. also there's a deadline bearing down in a couple of weeks. if there's not a deal reached, we could have another shutdo. >> you know, that's kind of how i'm watching the state of the union tonight. i mean, i sort of look at it this way, if the president spends his time litigatingnd relitigating what we spent 35 days shutting down the government for and that' swhat thech is about, then it tells me he's worried about 2020 and it's a very political speech. if he is more conciliatory about what happened in the 35 days, and suddenly he's, like, call it a wall, call it whatever you want, and oh, by the way, here's other things i wan

. >> and stacey abrams, a rising star in the party. she blasted the trump administration for the government shutdown. >> making livelihoods of our federal workers a pawn for political gains is a disgrace. the shutdown was a stunt engineered by the president of the united states. one that defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people, but our values. >> abrams said she's disappointed by the president but does not want him to fail. >> all right. let's talk about all of this with nathan gonzalez who is live in washington this morning. he's the editor and publisher of "inside elections" a cnn analyst. >> good morning. >> let's talk about the president's calls for unity to heal old wounds, build new coalitions. did you see that coming? >> you know, on the one hand, i think the president said a lot of the right things, inciting new journeys and choosing coalitions. i think it was a lot of the right words, but he came into the speech with 2 1/2 years -- we came into the speech with 2 1/2 years of partisan baggage. i think i

capitol and stacey abrams following that our phone lines are open. we'll get to your calls and comments on the president's speech and the democratic response as our coverage continues on the c-span networks. ms. abrams: good evening my fellow americans and happy lunar new year. i'm stacey abrams and i'm honored to join the conversation about the state of our union. growing up, my family went back andor

amy: as democrats pick stacey abrams to respond to president trump's state of the union, we will speak with the former georgia gubernatorial candidate on voting rights, the rise of female lawmakers, trump's military trans ban and more. then as a documentary about the women's march premieres here at sundance, we air a dialogue addressing accusations of anti-semitism within the movement. >> we don't attack trump directly. video saying the she did not show up for one man. racism,up to fight anti-black racism, homophobia, transphobia, islamophobia, patriarchy, anti-cement is him. after donald trump is out of office, there'll still be all of those things here. amy: we will hear from women's march cochairs linda sarsour and tamika mallory, as well as nancy kaufman, head of the national council of jewish women. then we will speak to julie cohen, the director of the academy award nominated dr. in about ruthocumentary bader ginsburg as well as actress and activist tessa thompson. >> in the last decade, elastic it, 10 years of filmmaking, the top 100 films, only 4% of those have been directed by

the power politics by nancy pelosi and the live rebuttal by stacey abrams. we will look ahead to that and why law makesers like aoc making more arguments bringing special guests. it's a part of the night. i'll be fact checking later on during our special coverage at 8:00 p.m. if you are up late, a whole hour of coverage anchoring also with jason johnson. it's a big night. you are watching a special edition of "the beat" on msnbc. c to make you everybody else... ♪ ♪ means to fight the hardest battle, which any human being can fight and never stop. does this sound dismal? it isn't. ♪ ♪ it's the most wonderful life on earth. ♪ ♪ because they let me to customize my insurance,rth. and as a fitness junkie, i customize everything. like my bike and my calves. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ and the kids chose... medieval faire. it's only 15 dollars to get in, per person. then you pay to throw an axe, and you pay to ride a fake horse. it's like they think you're ma

stacey abrams stands for those things. that's why she almost the perfect voice to be responding. >> shepard: thanks, jerry. ruth bader ginsberg made her first public appearance since her cancer surgery. she went to a concert that her daughter-in-law held for her last night. justice beginser is had surgery for lung cancer and been recovering at home in washington. she's missed all of last month's court arguments. before the concert started, her son said she's been walking a mile a day and meeting with her personal trainer twice a week. last year, she was one of five justices to skip the state of the union address. we don't know which ones may or may not attend tonight. coming up, how a day at the ballpark reportedly turned deadly for a grandmother. plus, the man that fought off and killed a mountain lion with his own hands. but first, the political firestone in the commonwealth of virginia where the governor is refusing to step down and the lieutenant governor is facing accusations of his own. that's coming up as reporting

democratic leaders have chosen former georgia gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams to deliver the party's response to the president's address. we expect the speech will last about an hour.the white house has also invited several guests whose stories will be weaved into the speech..includi ng survivors of opioid addiction and people who've benefited from the recently passed criminal justice reform. (vicki) reform.criminal justice passed criminal justice reform. (vicki) (vicki) joining us now to provde some early thoughts on the state of the union address-- to my left-- tom del becarro-- author of the divided era and former chair of the california republican party. (grant) and to my right-- michael yaki., former san francisco sueprvisor, and who currently serves on the u-s comission on civil rights. president donald on civil rights. president donald trump will call on congress to "break decades of political stalemate" in tuesday night's state of the union speech. trump will tell the american people that the country is "winning each and every day," but has "a moral duty to create an immigrat

the former georgia candidate for governor, stacey abrams gave the democratic response. she ended with a call for unity as well... saying eve >> we don't have the audio from that speech but stacey abrams is the first african-american woman to deliver the rebuttal and ended for a call for unity. she said even though she does not like the approach from the president that she does not want him to fail. lawmakers have until february 15 to strike a deal on border security or we could face yet another government shutdown. >>> the bay area leaders took the twitter with presidential hopeful kamala harris says that politicians should not tell women what to do with their bodies. nancy pelosi said it would take days to fact check all of the misrepresentations that donald trump made during the state of the union address. >> melissa came studied the room and breaks down the live reactions to the speech. >> overall the president jumped around quite a bit. he called for unity at certain points and took aim at democrats at other points in complemented democrats and other points. he talk

stacey abrams will deliver the official democratic response. she narrowly lost the governorship in virginia last year. it is a risky endeavor matched by elegance or blunder. here is a shadow for you from the past. >> like many american hometowns, fall river has faced its share of storms. but the people here are tough. >> i'm a proud democrat. but first and foremost, i'm a proud republican and democrat and mostly american. >> nothing has frustrated me more than false choices like the one the president laid out tonight. the choice isn't just between big government or big business. >> good evening and happy mardi gras. >> families in the gulf coast see that as they wait to rebuild their lives. americans who lose their jobs see that as they look to rebuild their careers. >> joining me at the table, chris watts, national security analyst. jeremy, i read your piece so i'll start with you. leet start with the response, the selection of stacy abrams who ran for governor. >> don't do it, stacy. >> what are the perils of this? tim cain was raised to anot