2018 State Of The Union: Recapping President Trump's Big Night
Cheddar's special post State of the Union show is a wrap-up of President Trump's big night: what were the highlights, what was the reaction, and most importantly, what's next for the GOP?
In his first official State of the Union address, President Trump said the country is strong, and that now is the beginning of a "new American moment." He touted tax reform success and a surging stock market. Republicans cheered, while most Democrats remained seated. Congressman Joe Kennedy III gave the official Democratic response, rallying Americans unhappy with President Trump's harsh rhetoric.
On Capitol Hill, Cheddar's J.D. Durkin spoke with numerous Democratic lawmakers moments after the speech, including Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA). He asked each of them how they view the state of America right now.
Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said President Trump gave a "great speech," but Democrats are against his personality, and therefore, his policies.
Matt Hayden, vice president of govtech solutions at Exiger and a former assistant secretary of cyber at Department of Homeland Security, joined Cheddar to discuss the surprise phone call initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Joe Biden, ahead of January security talks about the rising tensions over Ukraine. "We're hoping to hear that we're able to talk about the aggression and the leadup of the Ukrainian militarization," Hayden said. "But we're also looking to hear is how the Kremlin leveraged their talking points to try to test their negotiation stance with the United States leading into this January 10th meeting."
The No Surprises Act begins implementation on January 1, 2022. The legislation is meant to curb the practice of unexpected billing for care from providers the patient was unaware were out-of-network from their insurance. Patricia Kelmar, director of health care campaigns for U.S. PIRG joined Cheddar to describe the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars charged to unsuspecting patients and how things will change under the new law. "If we are picking an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, we should not see those added costs from anesthesiologists, radiologists, scrub-in surgeons," she said. "The other area it protects you is in air ambulances — not ground ambulances, unfortunately — but the helicopters or the airplanes you might need to transport you in an emergency situation."
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin are expected to have another conversation surrounding escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the ongoing tensions and why Putin's request for a conversation with Biden comes now. "This is very serious. This is the worst security crisis we had since the collapse of the Soviet Union," Cohen told Cheddar.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the retail giant is acting in accordance to President Biden's new law banning goods from China's Xinjiang region. Quelch also elaborates on the importance of China in Walmart's overall strategy.
