'He nailed it': Republican strategist reacts to Biden's speech

Last night not everything was very serious. One of the president's other goals last night, of course, was arguably the main goal, which everyone I talk to says he accomplished: proving that he's fit for a second term. I know he may not seem like it. , but I have been for a while now where, being my age, certain things become clearer than ever. Alright. Our panel joins us now. Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is back with us, along with New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos and Republican

strategist

Sarah Longwell. Evan, I want to start with you. Just because you spent a lot of time profiling the president.

What did you see of him last night? He was clearly enjoying the moment and came to perform a task. He looks like he executed it. Yeah, I think from the moment he left the White House, you saw him skipping a step a little bit. He reached the camera. The first thing he did was greet everyone on two feet, including the congresswoman, including Congressman King. You know, look, he draws energy from a room like that. He sort of picked up some speed over the course of the evening, he gave a long

speech

, he did it well, and he probably stayed longer than anyone expected.

Look, the bar, as we knew last night, was to tell Americans, "I can do this, I have the stamina, I have the precision." And look, there are mistakes along the way that are inevitable. But it's about giving. There were many Americans who weren't sure what they were going to see last night. And I think a lot of people left there feeling calm. Congressman, what do you think he told independent voters? I mean, they're a smaller and smaller portion, but a lot of them came out and voted for Nikki Haley. Clearly, there are people in her state of Michigan and other swing states.

What do you think the president gave those voters last night? Well, first of all, I agree with 70. He did a great job. And I, as you know, told them last night that I thought he would do a great job. That public is his element. And he didn't surprise me how long he stayed because, you know, he lives in a bubble and they don't let him talk to people. And he had all of his friends there. So he was happier. But I think he also presented a vision. He laid out his vision for the future. He did.

You know, I think one of the things we haven't done a good job of is talking about what we've accomplished in the last three years. He reminded people of all the things we've done, calls to Republicans, about some of them, like reducing prescription drugs and the infrastructure bill and the money available. And well, most of you didn't vote for it, but you're taking credit. Now. That was one of my favorite lines. But he laid out his vision. And I think it's a very difficult choice between another four years of Joe Biden, what he wants to do, how he's going to support the middle class, how he's going to protect people's freedom, starting with women's rights and freedom of expression. women and, to a large extent, that democracy was at stake and made them not afraid to report.

You're right. You didn't use Donald Trump's name, but he told people that and reminded them that they were proud to have defeated Roe versus Wade. They won a national ban on abortion, who wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, that his boot, his friend and I could move forward. I think it was an excellent

speech

. And the clear, stark contrast the country needs to see. Sarah Longwell, you've talked to a lot of Republican voters and voters in general about what they want from President Biden. And yesterday we were talking about how they had set the bar incredibly low.

What's your take on his performance last night and how will it be received by some of these voters? Well, you can see how well he did by how upset Republicans are this morning and last night. You could see how upset they were. And I think a lot of voters believe the stakes are high. And I think the fear has been that Joe Biden can't pull it off, you know, he can't handle what's at stake and he won't be good enough to get us through this moment. And last night, what he said was for the Democratic base, but the way he said it was for the swing voters who needed to see that this guy was there, that he could do the job.

And I told you yesterday, when I was on the show, that the Republicans made a mistake because they set the bar at dementia. And look, if that's what dementia is, I hope that's how I have dementia. When I got older, because he was into his game, the energy and he did what I think Joe Biden is particularly good at, where he took on the Republicans and somehow made it incredibly political. He managed to go straight to the Republicans, but he also often joked with them, smiled at them, and goaded them a little. And he gave that balance to the speech that I think worked very well for him.

And it was an offense. It was an offense. He has been leading this change in tone. And I think he achieved it. You could see Lindsey Graham at one point, you know, laughing at him in the audience. Good. It's like he's almost forgotten that they were friends for so many years before Lindsey Graham suddenly became very close to Donald Trump. There was one moment in particular where he basically improvised because of something that happened on his way to the altar. He met Marjorie Taylor Greene wearing a hat that said Make America Great Again and a button with Lincoln Riley's name on it.

She, of course, was there, the nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant. She took the button and then did this from the stand Lincoln, Lincoln, Riley, an innocent young girl who was murdered by an illegal. That's how it is. But how many thousands of people are being murdered by illegals? To your parents, I say my heart goes out to you for losing my children, I understand, I've even heard several Democrats this morning say that they didn't like the way he used the language, that he said it was illegal. You've known him there for a long time.

Is that authentic to him? What was he doing there? You know, in a way, that was a moment that could have gone in a lot of different directions. He used a word that upset people. Immigration advocates don't want to hear you use the word illegal. However, what he did do was take a moment and recognize the suffering of that family. He put it in personal terms. He said: I know what it means to lose children. And you will notice that it was all over in a matter of seconds. It wasn't ceding ground to Marjorie Taylor. Greene did not lose control of that space, which is really important.

You know, in some ways, the measure of a moment like that is if you turned off the TV and turned off the sound on your TV, and you were just looking at the people in that room, who would you think walked out of there confident? and in control? And I think, ultimately, Joe Biden was able to manage what could have been a very volatile time. I mean, and Sarah, we know that the Speaker of the House had basically told everyone to behave. Do you think that actually happened? I mean, how do undecided voters perceive what Marjorie Taylor Greene did there?

Well, like I said yesterday, look, any time Joe Biden gets the opportunity to do a split screen with Marjorie Taylor Greene, he should take it because these swing voters, these kind of soft, independent, right-wing Republicans, they don't do it. I don't want to be in a political coalition with Marjorie Taylor Greene and people like her and I think the trick that she was doing, wearing a hat like he did, was that he met her at her trick and he called her out. And I think it was a little unclear what he was saying. And I think it actually matters less about the specific word to use than the fact that he got into it with Marjorie Taylor Greene and did something where he acknowledged her family and put it in personal terms.

And I think he overcame it very well. Congressman, can you talk about how, frankly, our politics have divided us so deeply? I mean, last night we had reports here on CNN that there were members of the president's escort committee who refused to take pictures with him on the way to his entrance. Increasingly, those types of divisions have been seen on display. How does it feel different? I mean, you've seen a lot of these now. I'm not someone who's talked to Marjorie Taylor Greene yelling coincidences with the debate on the Capitol steps once or twice. But I think you talk about this.

I mean, I think I should talk to everyone who hit me last night. I have never seen the Republicans win. They behaved well. I mean, other than Marjorie Taylor Greene. And I wasn't quite sure what the dissident in the gallery said. Yeah, that didn't look quite square. They just said they were very careful. There were a couple of moments where they were talking about IVF and some of the women quickly got up and sat down. And I've never seen such a disciplined group of Republicans who didn't respond to anything. I felt like I was in the hallway talking to those guys the whole time and it wasn't because they were uncomfortable last night.

It was very clear that they were uncomfortable. There were people who agreed with some of the things he said then. And I'll tell you what I've never seen. You know, normally safes can't be lifted off the ground. The publicans left there in 2 seconds, so the president stayed another hour. There was a Republican on that floor. It's - I mean, I'm glad you put it that way because, I mean, I've covered State of the Union addresses since George W. Bush. And honestly, there are usually many moments in speeches where both sides rise up to lift up the country as a whole.

Truly a sign of the times. Congressman Dingell, thank you very much for spending some time with us this morning. I really appreciate it.