- [Jenna] The President willfinally address Congress
and the American people.(protesters chant)
Promise made, promise kept.
We'll take a look at last year's address
and see how the Presidenthas followed through
on statements in that speech.
And we'll meet one of the guests
sitting with the First Lady tonight.
All that and more tonight on Faith Nation.
(rhythmic music)
- President Trump delivers
his second State of theUnion speech tonight.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm John Jessup.
- And I'm Jenna Browder.
As the President prepares toaddress members of Congress
and the American people,we are working to bring you
complete coverage of the speech.
- Abigail Robertson is on Capitol Hill,
but we begin tonight at the White House
where Ben Kennedy is standing by
with more on what thePresident will discuss.
Ben?
- Well John and Jenna, thePresident will hit on key issues
like immigration, healthcare,and national security.
He'll break down his visionfor safe and legal immigration,
reaffirm the stop of human trafficking,
illegal drugs, and crimefrom crossing the US border.
He'll talk aboutprotecting America workers
hurt by decades of bad trade deals,
call on Congress to replaceNAFTA with the USMCA,
or United States, Mexico,Canada trade deal.
Trump will also ask Congress
to pass the US Reciprocal Trade Act.
The President plans to discuss his vision
for rebuilding America andcall on lawmakers to produce
and pass an infrastructure package
to repair the nation's roads,railways, bridges, and ports.
The White House says theCommander in Chief will address
lowering the cost of healthcareand prescription drugs,
and his last big talking point
will be on protectingAmerica's national security,
reaffirm his determinationto protect American interests
and end foreign wars.
Now a senior White House official says
the President will be updating his speech
pretty much up until the very last minute,
but they did give us a bit of a glimpse,
a brief sentence to share.
The President will say:
Together we can break decadesof political stalemate,
bridge old divisions, heal old wounds,
build new coalitions, forge new solutions
and unlock extraordinarypromise of America's future.
Trump aims to strike a bipartisan tone
and the speech shouldbe about the same length
or possibly a littleshorter than last year.
John, Jenna.
- Ben, last year, the President,he called out North Korea.
Do you expect him to singleout any other countries
this year?
- Venezuela will bementioned in his speech,
and as you know, the WhiteHouse is blocking all US funds
to Venezuela's national oil company
in the latest move to forcePresident Nicolas Maduro
from power and pave apath for Juan Guaido,
who declared himselfinterim just last week
and was recognized bymore than 20 countries,
including right here in the US.
Now, North Korea could be another country
we expect him to talk about,
but the White House couldnot confirm that yet.
Jenna and John, we will find out together
in just a few hours.
- All right, Ben Kennedyfor us at the White House.
Thank you, Ben.
- Well it's not just thePresident's prerogative.
Members of Congress are allowed
to also invite guests into the chamber
for tonight's big event.
And this year, those receivinginvitations from Democrats
are meant to send amessage to the President.
- For more on that,
we turn to Capitol Hillcorrespondent Abigail Robertson.
Abigail, the 2020 candidates
seem to be especially strategicwith their guest choices.
- Yes, so many Democratsare definitely making
strong political statementswith their guests tonight.
They're bringing furloughedgovernment employees,
people who went without pay for 35 days.
Some are bringing families,parents and children,
who were separated at theborder earlier this spring.
And we will also seeCongresswoman Alexandria Cortez.
She's bringing one ofthe Kavanaugh protesters
who yelled at Senator Jeff Flake
as he was getting in the elevator.
So they're definitelytrying to make a statement
with their guests tonight.
- [John] What about theother side of the aisle?
Who are the notable gueststhat Republicans are inviting?
- Well, we're hearingthat a few Republicans
are going to bring victimsof the opioid epidemic,
people who've been really tryingto make legislative changes
in that regard.
They're going to bringsurvivors of sex trafficking,
border patrol agents, andalso noticeable, Pastor,
excuse me, also notable,Pastor Andrew Brunson
and his wife, Norine, will be in the crowd
as guests of Senator ThomTillis who worked really hard
to help secure his releasefrom Turkish prison.
- Abigail, what areyou hearing on the Hill
about what lawmakers aresaying and expecting tonight?
- Well, we're hearingthat a lot of lawmakers
are expecting the Presidentto talk about border security.
We are on the heels of potentially
another government shutdown.
That will certainly bea big theme of tonight.
They're also saying that theyexpect him to talk about,
a lot about foreign policy,
his decision to pull troops out of Syria,
but some senators likeSenator Richard Shelby
believes that the Presidentwill strike a bipartisan tone
and possibly try andreach out to some members
of the other side of the aisle.
Take a look at what he has to say.
- I would think he's gonnareach out to the Democrats,
probably talk about someof the achievements,
the economy's good, it's the hottest
I've ever seen in my lifetime.
- And many senators saythat they don't expect
any big surprises, but you never know
what you're gonna get with President Trump
so we'll know in just a few hours.
Back to you, John and Jenna.
- Yeah, you never know.
Alright, Abigail Robertsonfor us on Capitol Hill.
Thank you, Abigail.
- [Abigail] Thank you.
- Well the President was onTwitter today, surprising,
to strike back at some criticism.
He called out Senator Chuck Schumer
for criticizing the speechbefore he's seen or heard it.
Here with more insight on this
is CBN News Chief PoliticalAnalyst David Brody.
David, you know, PresidentTrump giving the speech tonight.
A lot of eyes will be on thewoman sitting behind him,
Speaker Pelosi, a lot of people wondering
what will her reaction be,
what will Chuck Schumer's reaction be.
What do you anticipate?
- Well, let the memes begin
because the eyerolls are going to happen.
There'll probably be a couple of eyerolls.
Look, the relationshipbetween Nancy Pelosi
and Donald Trump's very interesting.
Privately, she'll callhim, it'll be pretty nice,
and then she'll find some cameras to go to
and rip him on the wall.
And I think there's been afrustration in the White House
that it's been kind of back and forth,
especially because he'sbeen really nice to her.
I mean his nickname for her is
- [David and John] Nancy.
- It's like wait, what?
Anyhow, but as for Schumer,
I think there is more of that New York,
actually more frustrationas it's been going on.
They're both from New York
and I think that's gottenworse as time has gone on.
- [Jenna] Uh-huh.
- David, we certainly all imagine
the President will talkabout border security tonight
to push his plan for aborder wall with Mexico.
How likelly though isit that President Trump
will declare a national emergency tonight?
- Zero percent.
He won't do it,
and one of the reasons hewon't do it is it's leverage.
There's no reason for him to do that now
and use one of the bulletsin the gun, if you will,
and so, you know, he won't do it.
It'll be interestingthough to see how much
of an olive branch he gives to Democrats
on things like DACA.
He will talk about human trafficking
and I think he has an opportunity here
to make the moral argument
about human traffickerscoming across the border.
We understand, my sources are telling me,
he'll bring up abortion tonight as well.
You put all of that togetherand there is a moral component
to his speech for sure tonight.
- David, let's talk about the guest list.
There's a lot of talk aboutwho both sides are bringing.
The White House hasreleased a list of 13 names
they are taking to tonight's speech.
What do you make
of that list?- Well there's two
that stand out,
Elvin Hernandez who ispart of border patrol
and he deals specifically withhuman trafficking and drugs
and crime and so you'll see the President
point that out forsure, but here's the one
that could be the scenestealer tonight, Joshua Trump.
Joshua Trump, no relation to Donald Trump,
but a sixth grader who hasgotten bullied at school
for his last name, itwill be interesting to see
what Donald Trump doesnot just on prompter
but, oh my goodness, ad-libbing
because he'll point toJoshua, up there in the booth,
and then what is Donald Trump gonna say.
- You know, David though, a lot of critics
will say that's pretty richof President Trump to invite--
People will call him abully for some of the things
he puts on Twitter orsome of his rhetoric,
what do you make ofthat when he's bringing
a victim of bullying tothe State of the Union?
- Well, let's remember, Melania'splatform is anti-bullying
which, I know, insert joke here, I get it,
Donald Trump a tendency todo that on Twitter for sure,
so he'll get ripped forit by the mainstream media
but will he be able to talk about how,
look at all of the anti-Trumpresistance out there.
I think there's a dangerfor Donald Trump tonight
if he makes it about himselfby pointing out Joshua Trump,
I don't think that's good for him.
- Yeah, a little self serving.- Self serving.
I think he needs to keep itmore highbrow, we'll see.
Highbrow, Donald Trump, yeah he can do it,
he might be able to do it.
- We have about 30 seconds left,
how does the Presidentand the White House,
the administration, rate thisas a success or as a failure?
- I think he just wants to,the sources I'm talking to
basically believe that he hasto just get his message across
and make sure that peoplefeel that there is a
comfortability, that he'stalking from the heart,
and that he's sincere and authentic
and I think if that comes across,
they'll consider it a victory.
- Alright, David thank you.
- Thank you, guys.
- Well, while the Stateof the Union is often seen
as a chance for Presidents tooutline their future agenda,
it's also an opportunity to look back
at their past accomplishments.
Amber Strong has this lookat last year's address
along with the promisesPresident Trump made
to the American people.
- Promises made, promiseskept, during last year's
State of the Union address President Trump
made a lot of pledgesto the American people.
So, how'd he do?
- A typical family of four making $75,000
will see their tax bill reduced.
- [Amber] So far experts predict
that will be a promise kept.
Tax payers can expect to seethe full effect this year.
- We are appointingjudges who will interpret
the Constitution as written.
- [Amber] Put that in thepromises kept file too.
In fact the Senate confirmed
more than 60 judicialnominees in 2018 alone.
- I, Brett M. Kavanaughdo solemnly swear .
- [Amber] And added asecond Supreme Court justice
to the roster.
- We are totally defendingour second amendment.
- [Amber] Second amendmentadvocates might disagree.
Three pro-gun groups aresuing the administration
over it's recent ban on bump stocks.
(gunshots)
A device that gain notoriety
after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
- We are hiring talented people,
who love our vets, as much as we do.
- [Amber] Last year, thePresident signed the largest
budget in history for Veteran's Affairs,
funding mental health coverage
and private healthcareopportunities for vets.
Constant turn over andconfusing at the top, however,
helped define the year, andan IT glitch left thousands
of vets without benefits.
The President and congressfixed the issue in late December
but as of now the VAremains the holy grail
of the presidencies.
- These members have reacheda bipartisan agreement.
Did I hear the word "Bipartisan?"
(laughing)
- [Amber] And in perhapsthe most consequential
promise kept, all sides came together,
fulfilling that State of the Union vow
for criminal justice reform.
(laughing and cheering)
It was the kumbaya moment
the American people had been waiting for.
But there was also this moment.
- If we don't get what we want,
one way or the other,whether it's through you,
through a military, throughanything you want to call,
I will shut down the government.
- Okay, we're clearing out, we disagree.
- Absolutely, and I am proud.
- [Amber] The Presidentpromised immigration overhaul
but his dream for a 5.7billion dollar boarder wall
ran into a congressional brick wall
lead by Pelosi and Schumer.
- If he sticks to his position
for a five billion dollar wall,
he will get no wall andhe will get a shutdown.
- The result, the longestpartial government shutdown
in history and a promiseyet to be fulfilled.
Amber Strong, CBN News in Washington.
(dramatic tone)
- Well, Tony Perkins ofthe Family Research Council
joins us now for more,Tony great to have you,
thanks for being here.- Good to be with you all.
- You know, President Trumpgiven some of his past rhetoric,
one of the themes of tonight'sspeech is going to be unity,
but is he going to havetrouble doing that,
given some of the Tweetshe's put out there,
some of the insults that he's given?
- Interesting question,it was actually discussed
a little bit yesterday,I was at the White House,
in a meeting with some of his staff
and the President, the vice President,
discussing the State of the Union.
I think in part, this is me,based on the conversations
that took place, the Presidentdoes want to unify America.
He wants to go to the American people
and that's what the Stateof the Union address is.
He's able to go for 90 minutesunfiltered by the media
and talk about what thisadministration has accomplished
and yes some of it's beendone through bipartisanship,
but he's trying to buildunity with the American people
not necessarily thosehere in Washington D.C.
who spend their days tryingto tear down this country,
that despise what America stands for
and try to trip up his administration.
That's not where he's going for unity.
- That's a good delineation.
Now we're coming off thelongest government shutdown
in history, another onelooms in just about 10 days
if an agreement can't be reached.
How much do you think thathangs over the President
in his speech tonight?
- I think it's quite significant.
I think because the President realizes
and he's gonna make a casetonight for national security,
foreign policy's gonna be a key component.
But I think when you look at the border,
I mean, he's gonna continue,and he's done this very well,
I believe, in my conversations with him
over the last few weeks,during the shut down,
is drawing America's attention
to the humanitarian crisis on our border.
This is not just about a concrete barrier,
this is about the opioidsthat are destroying families
all across America.
This is about women and children
that are being traffickedacross that souther border
and putting a stop to it, and, I think,
he's gonna make that casevery compelling tonight.
- Tony, you know better than anybody else,
white Evangelicals are amonghis strongest supports,
it's his base, how willhe appeal to them tonight?
There's the abortion issue, we're kind of
looking to see if he might bringthat up, what do you think?
- Well, I think, I wouldbe surprised if he didn't
because he has talked aboutthat, he has Tweeted about it,
you've got the NationPrayer Breakfast this week,
he's certainly going totalk about it this week.
I think he's gonna talkabout religious freedom,
he's gonna talk about someof the administration's
accomplishments in these first two years.
Pastor Andrew Brunson isgoing to be in the audience
at the State of the Union,he would not be sitting there
if it were not for the diligence
and determination ofDonald Trump and his team.
So, look, Evangelicalsremain among his top supports
if not his top supportersbecause he has done
what he has said he was going to do.
They don't agree with everything,
we're working through some issues,
he's gonna talk about Syria tonight,
some Christians, Evangelicalsa little concerned
about too rapid of a pull out of Syria.
I know your Chris Mitchell of CBN
has been over there onthe ground looking at it.
I mean this is a remarkable turn of events
that we're seeing in Syria.
Since ISIS, we've gotthis little carve out in
northeast Syria wheredemocracy is taking root,
religious freedom, onlyplace outside of Israel,
so I think the administration gets that
and it's gonna be a planned phase out
that's not going tojeopardize that region,
but I think he's gonna talkabout that tonight as well.
- Tony Perkins of theFamily Research Counsel,
thank you so much for being with us.
- Great to be with you guys.
- [John] When we comeback we hear first hand
form one of the people benefiting
from the recently passedcriminal justice reform law,
who also just happens tobe a guest of the President
and Mrs. Trump tonight atthe State of the Union.
- One of the President andFirst Lady's guests tonight
at the State of the Unionwill be Matthew Charles,
he was one of the first people to benefit
from the criminal reformmeasure President Trump
signed into law late last year.
- Well, Amber Strong recentlytraveled to Tennessee
to meet with Charles and toget his story first hand,
and she joins us once again, Amber.
- That's right, Matthew Charles' story
captivated journalists for nearly a year.
He was released from prisonafter almost two decades
for a crack cocaine conviction.
Upon his release he found a job,
he volunteered at a food pantry,
kind of everything you wouldexpect from a redemption story,
but he was put back in prison
at no fault of his own butdue to a court technicality.
While the First Step Act madehis time served retroactive
and lead to his release.
Now after his release,Charles praises the President,
he praises Congress, hepraises his attorneys,
but most importantly he praises God.
Take a listen as he explains to me
the moment he got acall from his attorneys
saying he was a free man.
- I thought we was justgonna discuss the motion,
they were just gonna speak with me,
see how I was doing mentally,spiritually, and physically.
But when I got on the phone
and I contacted a Miss Mariah Wooten,
who was my lead attorney, andMr. Mike Holley assists her,
and she said, "Hold on,let me get Mr. Holley."
And once she got him in theoffice, then she was like,
"Are you ready," and I waslike, "Ready for what?"
And she was like, "You goin home."
- It was truly an amazingstory to hear, you guys.
- Well, Amber, other than being celebrated
by the President tonight,what is Mr. Charles doing now?
- John, when we met up in Nashville,
he was back at the oldpantry again volunteering
and he says working at that pantry
and then going back to prisontaught him that even he,
in that circumstance, hada lot to be thankful for.
You learned something during that time,
you compared the people you met here
with prison you had justleft, what did you learn.
- Well, in prison, like Isaid, people are people,
and there's always people in need.
Even in there, like I said,they provide us three meals
and a cot to sleep on ourbunk or a sial to sleep in,
where as here the people come to receive.
Some are maybe homeless,some are maybe poor,
some are maybe single parent families
and things of that nature,but they're still people.
- It was truly a remarkable story
and I'll have that fullinterview with Mr. Charles
later on this month on the 700 Club.
- Alright, looking forwardto it, thank you Amber.
We will be right back.
- It seems we've been left alone.
- [Male Voice] The law statesthat no person shall convert
any person from onereligious faith to another.
- Who is he?
- And yet not onemissionary has been charged.
- President Trump is expectedto hit on immigration
during his State of theUnion speech tonight.
- And ahead of that,correspondent Chuck Holton
traveled to Arizona to hear first hand
from locals and law enforcement.
- [Chuck] Warner Glenn'sfamily first settled here
along the Arizona Mexico border in 1896.
At 83 years old, Glennworks the ranch each day
and is well known throughout the area.
He says illegal immigrants
have always been part of the landscape.
- We moved down herein '62 and at that time
there would be two or threeillegals coming through
and looking for work andall the ranchers worked them
on and off, they were wonderfulfor especially hard labor
type work and good cowboys,if you needed a cowboy,
but I tell you, nowadays thefew that are coming through
are pretty hardcore,especially the drug guys.
- [Chuck] And now residents on the border
are seeing an overall rise in crime.
- When they come back,if they go by a residence
and there's nobody there,
they're gonna go in and look around.
And firearms, top of thelist, any kind of jewelry,
top of the list, cash, top of the list.
- We don't lock the doors
cause they'd just break the window anyway.
- [Chuck] Billy Grossman lives nearby
and illegals have enteredhis home a number of times.
He recently caught a smugglertrying to steal his truck.
- Well, I brought him back to the house
and my wife called the sheriff.
And the sheriff and border patrol come out
and got him and then wewent back to the pickup
and there was a bail of marijuanain the back of my pickup
and he had stole a lotof stuff from the house.
- [Chuck] But pettytheft isn't what worries
these old cowboys the most.
- And that would be nothing to a terrorist
from ISIS or these guys, andthat'd be just a cakewalk
for them to go up through these mountains.
- Well, if it's that easyfor an unemployed Mexican
to walk across here, ISIScould come in here plum simple.
- In fact, 3,755 knownor suspected terrorists
were prevented from traveling to
or entering the United States by
the Department of HomelandSecurity in fiscal year 2018.
(mooing)
This is one of theloneliest border crossings
on the US southern boarder.
It's on the Tohono O'odhamIndian Reservation,
which is about 4,000square miles of desert
on the US southern border in Arizona.
The Tohono O'odham people liveon both sides of the border
and they use to cross with impunity,
but it's getting harder now for them
to visit their relativesbecause of the incredible amount
of human smuggling and drug trafficking
that happens in this area.
Unemployment on the reservationssits at more than 25%,
while the average annualincome is only $8,000.
This makes smuggling anattractive proposition
when cartel members offerup to $5,000 per load.
Matt Thomas is a deputy in Pinal County,
just north of the reservation.
- That is all open desertand there's small villages
throughout the reservation,but no major towns,
no major cities, very minimal population,
very minimal law enforcement,
so they don't have a lot ofinterference to deal with
between Mexico and whenthey hit our county.
There's a huge area that the cartels use
to cross into the US,where they go undetected
and as they cross into thatarea then they start to funnel,
because of terrain, towards our county.
- [Chuck] That makescatching these smugglers
more and more challenging,
and this corridor has becomeknown for violence too.
Last year a border agentwas shot by smugglers
as he patrolled alone in thevast desert west of Nogales.
- Those that want to cometo this country and harm us,
terrorists, have the infrastructure
to get through here in Cochise county.
- [Chuck] Cochise countysheriff Mark Dannels oversees
a border county coveringmore land than Connecticut.
He says when the governmentfails to take a strong stand
on immigration, it onlymakes things worse.
- Anytime this administrationtalks about amnesty
or anything that does with the border
we have an influx of people coming across.
We sit back all the and just wonder why
won't they do somethingto fix this problem.
- [Chuck] President Trumphas so far had difficulty
making long term changesto truly stem the tide.
And while the politicians point fingers,
the cartels are ramping up their business.
Over the last ten years,the amount of cocaine
coming across the southernborder has more than doubled.
The amount of methamphetamine, fentanyl,
and heroin sized hasincreased as much as 4,000%.
While the 5,000 members ofthe US military currently
deployed along the borderbolster existing barriers,
the additional air assets they provide
are also giving border agentsa faster way to respond
when they get altered.
- It's been a great partnership,we've had extreme success.
Just the other day wewere able to apprehend
three different groupswithin a two hour window
and traditionally if wewere just on the ground,
that could take one agentabout four to five hours
to apprehend one group.
- [Chuck] With the cartelsrushing to take advantage
of the crisis, and withCongress and the White House
at odds about solutions,the troops on the border
are going to stay aslong as they are needed.
On the US Mexico border, I'mChuck Holten for CBN News.
- [John] Thanks Chuck.
Well, just another quick reminder,
you can see our special coverage
of the State of the Unionon the CBN News Channel
beginning at 8:30 tonight,
we'll carry the President's speech
and the Democratic response
as well as provide some live analysis.
- Yeah, big night in Washington,
one of the biggest of the year really.
- Big night indeed.
Well, that's gonna do itfor tonight's Faith Nation.
- We'll see you right back here at 8:30.
(upbeat music)
