'The Five' pick their State of the Union highlights

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'The Five' pick their State of the Union highlights

President Trump touts American strength in his first State of the Union address; reaction and analysis on 'The Five.'

This is a rush transcript from "The Five," January 31, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JESSE WATTERS, CO-HOST: Hello, everybody. I'm Jesse Watters along with Kimberly Guilfoyle, Juan Williams, Dana Perino and Greg Gutfeld. It's 5 o'clock in New York City and this is "The Five."

We're back in New York after a big day on Capitol Hill, big night for President Trump addressing the nation and a deeply divided congress about the state of our union. It was an inspiring speech filled with emotional moments honoring heroes, America's fallen, freedom fighters and more. He made a call for bipartisan unity that was met at times with resistance from many Democrats in the room. We're going to break all that down for you throughout the hour. But we begin with the president's tribute to patriotism and the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do more than any other country anywhere in the world to help the needy, the struggling and the underprivileged. I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion and creed. My duty and a sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber is to defend Americans, to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American dream because Americans are dreamers too. Here tonight is Preston Sharp, a 12-year-old boy from Redding, California, who noticed that veteran's graves were not marked with flags on Veterans Day. He decided all by himself to change that and started a movement that has now placed 40,000 flags at the graves of our great heroes. Preston's reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us of why we salute our flag, while we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance. And why we proudly stand for the national anthem. Freedom stands tall over one more monument. This one. This capital, this living monument, this is the monument to the American people.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: All right. As much as it pains me to do this, I have to give you credit, Greg. He used a line that you said on "The Five" before. Americans are dreamers too.

GREG GUTFELD, CO-HOST: Yes.

WATTERS: We would like to get your reaction to that first.

GUTFELD: I saw that, I was on the train, slightly tipsy, I might add, and I yelled, that's mine. That's mine. And they escorted me out and place me in a contact hold. But, no, I was waiting for somebody to actually steal that line for me. But, I mean, overall, I thought the speech -- I hate the word conciliatory because I can barely say it. Too many C's in that word. I thought it was more like a double down on his vision. It seemed like the vision was directed at America -- at Americans and not at anybody else. And I think I was wrong because on the show last night, I said he should keep it short and sweet and say he's never going to do it again. He did the exact opposite.

WATTERS: He went long.

GUTFELD: He went very long, like 90 minutes. And I think it's because it wasn't for me. It was for people who had eight years in the desert and could use 90 minutes in the oasis. And so, it's like, you've heard enough. Gutfeld, you can complain all you want. This isn't for you. This is for Americans who want to hear directly from their president about why it's OK to feel good, right?

WATTERS: And I think a lot of people did feel good about it, judging by the reaction. Dana, what do you think? I like how at the end he focused his speech on the people of this country.

DANA PERINO, CO-HOST: He started, you know, like it was a nice sandwich. He started it being, this is not about me, it is about you, the American people, and he end it that way. He's a very optimistic person, right? So he believes that America can get the job done. And that was what that was really all about last night. He's the head coach for capitalism. He's like picking through all the economic headlines and we're going to talk a little-bit more about that. It looked to me, it was a bit of a laundry list but that's how these things are. I don't see how much follow-through there is on some of the policy items that you typically see in a state of the union, which lays out an agenda so that the president can hit the road and keep selling something that he wants to try to pass this year. It wasn't that kind of speech. But certainly, the people who watched it felt good about it. But if you're a Democrat and you watch it, you didn't feel good about it. Just like as Republicans watching President Obama didn't feel good about his. It's almost the mirror image of the last eight years.

WATTERS: Yes, but I thought he did make a few overtures to the Democrats. But it's almost like they didn't see it may be because they didn't want to see it, Kimberly.

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE, CO-HOST: Well, that was the part that we're talking about earlier, kind of reviewing it, when you saw that he was talking about employment numbers and everything in the black community, and you're looking basically at the congressional black caucus, didn't acknowledge or clap or anything like that. So, of course, there's going to be some partisan reaction that you're going to see manifest itself.

WATTERS: Well, there's Nancy not happy.

GUILFOYLE: Not happy. But, overall, I felt that there was a lot in this speech that was great for both sides. Whether you're Democrat or whether you're Republican, I think it was a very uplifting speech. It is about America, in my opinion, united, not divided. And he certainly had a lot of tremendous materials to work with in terms of the accomplishment that he's been able to make as it relates to the economy and national security. And my favorite part, by the way, was the personal stories that really resonated.

WATTERS: I agree. I think that was the best part. Juan, did you have a favorite part? Can you name one thing you like about it?

JUAN WILLIAMS, CO-HOST: One thing I liked about it?

WATTERS: Besides the end.

WILLIAMS: That was it.

(LAUGHTER)

WILLIAMS: It took a long time to get to the good part, which was the end.

WATTERS: Yeah.

WILLIAMS: No, I thought -- you know what I like -- I expected that is was going to be conciliatory, to quote Greg. I thought it was going to be -- that he was extending the olive branch, saying, you know what, it's time for unity in a divided country, and he just didn't do it. He just disappointed me. I always think, you know what, Donald Trump is going to become presidential in this moment. He's finally going to put on the jacket and act like the president. And he always -- I'm like Charlie Brown on the football with this guy because yesterday, what did he do? Instead of offering to unify the country, he doubled down on all of his talking points.

GUTFELD: The talking points were about unity.

WILLIAMS: No, it wasn't.

GUTFELD: As Americans.

WILLIAMS: No, even if it was about Americans, it would be about all America. Instead, what he's doing.

GUTFELD: What did he leave out?

WILLIAMS: Well, let's take something like that was so dramatic, which is what he said about immigrants, right? As a family, there are black family whose children -- I think two children were killed by members of MS-13. And these people are crying. They're emotive. It's a little bit oh, boy, you know, he has several people who were crying and upset. He used that quite strategically, OK, as a dramatic reality show type of thing.

GUTFELD: No one has ever done that before.

WILLIAMS: Right. I don't know if it's appropriate but I will leave that to the audience to judge. It might be effective, right?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: OK. But then you stop and you think, wait a minute. He's demonizing all illegal immigrants as if they're members of MS-13.

WATTERS: I think you're conflating it, and the American people did not conflate it.

(CROSSTALK)

WATTERS: Let's play some of that olive branch right now when he was talking about infrastructure. Go ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just one year. Isn't it a disgrace that it can now take ten years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road. I'm asking both parties to come together to give us safe, fast, reliable and moderate infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: So that's a major component of this 2018 agenda, Greg. And we believe the Democrats would get on board since they've been pushing for new infrastructure spending for the last eight years.

GUTFELD: Yeah, I think that Democrats has to give him something there and people like me aren't crazy about it. Like, I hear infrastructure and I hear tons and tons and tons of spending that ends up not at infrastructure. It always goes somewhere else. So, if I'm unhappy with it, at least the Democrats should be happy because I feel like I'm losing something. And speaking of just the Democrats, can we just talk briefly about that Richie Cunningham hologram. Joe Kennedy Jr.

(INAUDIBLE)

GUTFELD: Yeah, yeah. I mean, you want to talk about leadership, compare to Trump that was a student council president. Where was patsy in Ralph mouth? And the guy had enough chap stick on his face that covered the entire Olympic bobsled team.

WATTERS: I do want to get your quick reaction on AKA, patsy, and then I want to play another quick sound bite of the president saying he wants to reopen Gitmo. So, let's listen to the Gitmo, and then you can take on patsy.

GUTFELD: It's Ritchie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Terrorists who do things like place bombs on civilian hospitals are evil. One possible, we have no choice but to annihilate them when necessary. We must be able to detain and question them. We must be clear. Terrorists are not merely criminals. They are unlawful enemy combatants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATTERS: That's significant.

PERINO: Well, I've always been for keeping Gitmo open. The purpose of it, which was to hold enemy combatants and to be able to question them, and there's been this constant tension of should you bring them to the United States where they would get all the due process afforded to people who are in the United States. And I think the answer to that should be no. Al- Baghdadi was a prisoner at Gitmo. He was released. Where did we catch him again? Or he's out -- out there committing terrorist acts. So, but again, that's another point -- that is something you don't actually have to have in this speech in an hour and 28 minutes speech or 20 minute speech. He could have probably left that one out, but it was used to needle on the other side. And so, there's a lot of things you could add in or not. I will say about Joe Kennedy, I think people are being really mean, like you're being mean.

(CROSSTALK)

PERINO: But everybody's being mean. Like, I don't like to go after somebody -- I don't like it when they went after Jingle or Marco Rubio or anybody who does these responses. It's a miserable thing. I actually think, though, that the Democrats had to be fairly happy with that.

GUTFELD: Cars behind him?

PERINO: OK. Then there's that whole thing about the sins of the uncle twice removed or something. But if you're a young Democrat and you feel like you cannot stand President Trump. And you saw that and you're like, there's hope for us. It's not Bernie Sanders. It's not Elizabeth Warren. I'm not saying that Joe Kennedy is going to run in 2020, but it was definitely a contrast.

GUTFELD: But it's still the Kennedys. It's still another family. It's still like having the Clintons. You're just drawing from the same family.

WILLIAMS: Is it like having the Trumps? Having the daughter in the White House?

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: No, no, no, you miss my point. Juan, listen, listen, I'm talking about political dynasties. Trump is not a political dynasty. The Kennedys are.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: He has his sons. He has his daughter. He has.

GUTFELD: You're completely missing my point on purpose.

WILLIAMS: You think?

GUTFELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: You're deliberately being dense.

WILLIAMS: OK, I'm dense. Infrastructure, let me just say, the man laid out no plan. He didn't say I'm going to find money here. I'm going to provide money here. He passed a tax plan.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I think that you should if you're saying let's work on this infrastructure, let Democrats -- you want to do it, let's get to it. Chuck Schumer had an op-ed in the Washington Post yesterday saying, this guy is talking about private fees, may be even raising gas taxes. Americans aren't going to respond well to that. Rural communities are going to be left out.

GUTFELD: I agree with you.

WILLIAMS: Where is Trump on that? And when it comes to something like this business about Americans are dreamers too, how can you not see that as somehow making it as if you, or you are the equal of a child that was brought here without any volition on their part, brought here as a child, and is seeking the opportunity to fulfill their American dreams.

GUTFELD: Wait a second. So they are more special than the Americans here? I'm a dreamer. Why can't I be a dreamer? I dream every day.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Yeah. I'll see the light in your eyes.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: More and more, this is how Trump distorts things, and then it gets heard by some people as, oh, well, it's so patriotic, so wonderful. In fact, what he's doing is putting down people and hurting.

PERINO: But the point of that line was that it has a double meaning and it was meant to do exactly what's happening at this table.

GUTFELD: No, it just exposed confirmation bias. You're hearing what you want to hear.

WATTERS: How do you see it, Kimberly?

(CROSSTALK)

GUILFOYLE: Like I said, I thought that this was something that was incredible personal stories that all Americans can relate to. It was more message of unification. I didn't see in any way that he was trying to be a divisive. He's saying that we can all grow and prosper together as a country, especially if we work cooperatively to achieve those ends. For example, like we've done with the economy.

GUTFELD: Because we haven't heard that, it's strange to a lot of people. That's the tragedy. It's that we think this is a weird idea that we're all Americans and that we're all dreamers. People think that's weird. That's sad.

WILLIAMS: Oh, no, you never heard Morning in America? Yeah, that's been around. Guess what? This optimism has been around. The problem is Donald Trump is speaking in a way that keeps putting down people, and you don't hear it.

GUTFELD: No, I think you're reading minds. You're not hearing things.

WATTERS: He's not putting people down. He's lifting people up. We're going to continue to debate this and we're going to have more personal stories as we continue to analyze the state of the union.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUTFELD: Before we cover the speech some more, let's take a test: In terms of success, who would you rather be? This or this?

It's good to start with perspective, given that most polls show widespread approval, upwards of 75 percent for Trump's speech. Still, the loyal opposition couldn't let go of their emotionally clouded bias. Juan. As Trump mentioned, good news, they frowned. One clown even bolted when a patriotic chant broke out. And they speak of division? They sat when they should have stood. Even for the flag. Do you think Americans didn't notice that? Trump placed that moment right in our faces.

The Dems are confused. Trump is hitting all the high notes and they don't know what to do. They're officially Dean dewormer for "Animal House," always scowling at good news.

Schumer looked like he didn't know whether to wind his watch or cry. Pelosi looks like she discovered her chauffeur had just broken wind. And when Trump called out socialism, half the Dems looked nervously toward the exits. Someone should have checked on Bernie Sanders. Did he expire from too much common sense?

If the old saying is true, that progressivism is the fear that someone somewhere is making America look good, then this was a really bad night for progressives. It's why the media couldn't handle it either:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

CHUCK TODD, NBC NEWS: Immigration is his one opportunity to have a big success quickly, but I have to tell you I think his rhetoric last night set things back, did not advance the ball forward.

MATTHEW DOWD, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Calling this a healing speech is almost like calling - - going on a diet by drinking a diet coke and eating a pizza. That's as much of a healing speech this was.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI, NBC NEWS: You tell me that room is supposed to respond like this to the great dictator?

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

GUTFELD: That was like her when he was running.

So, Trump set a trap for the Dems and the media that expose their biases. But, hey, everyone has a role to play. And in team sport politics, someone has got to be the loser, Pelosi, Schumer, the hapless media. They do it all so well.

All right, Jesse, what do you make of this? Do you think the Democrats should have been more gracious or is this to be expected? Remember, there were people that were like this with Obama. I mean, there are people that shouted at Obama during one specific event that I can't remember.

WATTERS: You lie?

GUTFELD: Yes, you lie.

WATTERS: With Joe Wilson.

GUTFELD: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

WATTERS: I just think the Democrats look like the media, out of touch with the American people. If you have snap polls saying that they thought it was unifying, uplifting, and he deserves more credit for the good success of America, and then the media is saying it's gloomy, it's dark, it's poisonous, there's a huge disconnect. You had Frank Luntz and -- two big- time pollsters both say home run. And if he continues to perform like this, the Republican Party may save the house and the senate and he's going to even win reelection. But, not only did they not clap at some of those moments you just brought up about the rising wages and more jobs, they didn't clap when there was talk about a pathway to citizenship, lowering drug prices, they didn't clap about destroying ISIS. They didn't clap about the recovery of Steve Scalise, one of their own colleagues. Think about that.

GUILFOYLE: Unbelievable.

WATTERS: So, it's almost like you can applaud.

WILLIAMS: I think they did.

(CROSSTALK) WATTERS: Not what I saw. Check the tape.

WILLIAMS: All right.

WATTERS: But you can still applaud the success of America, but you don't have to agree with everything Trump says. It's almost like they care more about their party than they do about the country. Imagine if the Democrats didn't clap when we won gold medal in the Olympics because Trump was president. That's kind of the disconnect. But the president has done something very skillful here. He's so closely associated himself with the flag, with the country and the economic success, when the Democrats root against him they look like they're rooting against America. But he's also triangulated when it comes to manufacturing, infrastructure and trade that help American workers. So, the Democrats are in a tough position where they're boxed in. Are they going to choose what's good for their own base or are they going to follow Nancy and crying Chuck? And that's the question going into the midterms.

GUTFELD: That's actually -- I didn't even consider that, Dana. The point Jesse says that he's aligned himself with patriotic symbols so that if you're against him, you're kind of against the flag. In a way it's almost a parallel that if you were against President Obama, you're a racist. So, it's kind of like you align yourself with certain kinds of -- in his case, identity politics. In this case, unification, patriotism.

PERINO: Yeah. I don't think -- when they didn't stand for -- when the Democrats didn't stand -- I shouldn't say didn't. I had a Democrat on my show today who did stand for rising wages, so I'll take it back. They are lacking a message, thought, and they don't have the bully pulpit. And they know that in their districts all the citizens are seeing good headlines about the economy. So there is a disconnect. So, for people who watched the speech, most of those tends to be people who like the president anyway. They're like -- they're going forward. And the Democrats are starting to lose ground in the congressional ballot. Republicans have made considerable ground in just a month. I think what the Democrats could have done from a communication standpoint is to stood up and cheered and applauded and given a high five to each other saying, we did this for you. We are happy to have helped you, President Trump, to inherit this great economy, and we are absolutely going to go forward to try to win back the working class.

GUTFELD: And also take credit for some of the centrist and Democratic ideas that he floated.

PERINO: Sure, like paid family leave.

GUTFELD: Yeah. I mean, there's some liberal stuff going in there, Kimberly. What are your thoughts?

GUILFOYLE: Yeah. I think that Dana brings up a great point, which is there was plenty there for them to say. Listen, we were contributory to this, we helped. We're trying to get the country to prosper as it relates to the economy as well, and tax reform, etcetera. But, instead, they chose to be partisan and not to be honest in terms of, OK, this is what's happened. This is what we feel we've tried to contribute. This is what is in fact good for the country. They did not want to be even begrudgingly give, kind of, any credit or acknowledge any participation because to give him any credit for honest to God achievement was too much for them to swallow.

GUTFELD: Juan, you're batting cleanup here. Why does your side look like a bunch of sore losers? You get ten seconds.

WILLIAMS: That's what I thought. Here we are on Fox.

(CROSSTALK)

GUTFELD: We give you more time than anybody on the planets.

WILLIAMS: Let me just say, I'm so curious and listening because -- for example, with the young man and the flags at the graves, right?

GUTFELD: Right.

WILLIAMS: How can you, guys, not see that he's going after people who say I'm having a legitimate protest about police brutality by refusing to stand at the national anthem? That's a choice that people are making. But what Trump has done is he has now demonized anybody who doesn't stand with this little boy whose bringing flags to a grave. How can you not do it?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: Because you're so upset and you want America to know that there's police brutality in the world.

GUTFELD: Right.

WILLIAMS: And similarly -- let me just say, with regard to wages.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: How can you not say, oh, Trump says wages are up under me. Guess what? Wages have been rising since 2014.

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I'm just telling you that there is so much here that Trump steers and distorts and twists, and you guys say, oh, he's patriotic. Everything is great. I just think, you know.

GUTFELD: All right. I just -- we've got to move on. You compare it to ideas, OK. So, in Trump's case, he has this young boy on to talk about this amazing thing he's doing. That is a well-articulated principle that he's espousing. He's showing this. The kneeling stuff was poorly articulated. Nobody really knew what it meant. People had to keep repeating it over and over again. And it became a question of patriotism, not a question of brutality. If they had done something towards -- if they've gone to their police departments and protested there, that would make sense. That why you're comparing a well-articulated vision with one that was convoluted.

WILLIAMS: It wasn't convoluted. You think of Colin Kaepernick was very plain and saying why he was doing it.

GUTFELD: It didn't work.

WILLIAMS: I don't know if you think it worked or not, but I will tell you a lot of people are sensitive to the argument.

GUTFELD: He wasn't on the cover of GQ?

WILLIAMS: Yeah. And a lot of people are more sensitive and more aware now because of black lives matter and Colin Kaepernick.

WATTERS: Juan is defending Democrats not standing for the flag, let him.

WILLIAMS: To the flag?

PERINO: Jesse pointed out to me on -- he has said Democrats did not stand for Steve Scalise. I thought that I saw them.

WILLIAMS: I saw people stand. I don't know what's going on.

GUTFELD: They might have applauded, they didn't stand. But this is where we are in America.

WILLIAMS: Yeah, this is grievance politics.

PERINO: You get graded on where -- your posture.

GUTFELD: I was sitting the entire time because I was drinking wine on a train. Coming up, more from the state of the union, the president's words on the grave threat of North Korea, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: North Korea's reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland. Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this very dangerous position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: One of the most powerful portions of the president's address last night was the time he devoted to the threat of North Korea. He highlighted the brutality of the regime with two very emotional stories, beginning with University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: After a shameful trial, the dictatorship sentenced Otto to 15 years of hard labor before returning him to America last June horribly injured and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return. Otto's wonderful parents, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, are here with us tonight, as well as Otto's brother and sister, Austin and Greta. Please.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: The Warmbiers were just one of many stories that the president recounted last night, that -- Kimberly help us remember: 2017 was such a year full of news and a lot of tragedy and sad stories that had geopolitical consequences like with North Korea.

GUILFOYLE: Absolutely. And just when you're reminded of what the president did to intervene to be able to get Otto home and then, sadly, that he had passed away and the condition that he was in bad, you know, deteriorated so poorly. But at least their -- you know, the parents got to see their son. It was a very emotional moment. Everybody really, you know, moved by -- how could you not be, for the loss of a child like that that you were trying so desperately to try to protect.

This is one of the moments that I thought were really compelling during the speech, as well as the activists that were holding up the crutches. It was very powerful.

PERINO: Yes, and I know that a lot of people felt that that was one of the best parts of the speech. I think, Jesse, you are one of them.

The North Korea defector, his name is Ji Seong-ho. This is somebody who tried to -- was so desperate that he escaped from North Korea. He collapsed on the train tracks. He was exhausted from hunger. He was run over. He went through several surgeries. What he's holding up there, you can see on the screen, are the crutches that he used as he basically recovered, and now he's here in America.

WATTERS: It brought a tear to my eye. It was an incredibly powerful moment. The North Korean defector, that's what real resistance looks like. Not sitting on your hands and not clapping. That guy is a true hero, and it was amazing to see the reaction there.

President Trump did a great job humanizing and personalizing his messages. The North Korean situation is obviously very tense right now, and I think the president's rhetoric and actions are working.

The South Korean leader and the Japanese leader praised the president's actions and resolve just recently. The sanctions are working. The North Koreans just tried to open up some dialogue with the South. We're strategically leaking from generals war games about maybe a decapitation strikes or preemptive action. And sanctions are really crippling Little Rocket Man's regime. I think they're really running out of gas.

And this is the same chamber that W. talked about the Axis of Evil. We liberated one. We paid off one. Little Rocket Man wants to get paid off, but I don't think Trump's ready to do business.

PERINO: Juan, Bret Baier told me last night that in just the last year, in 2017, almost 1,200 North Koreans basically fled from the country. And they were the refugees. All right? So they're desperate enough to leave their country to seek a better place, and the president was basically saying we need to help them. But how we do that is going to be up to a lot of different considerations.

WILLIAMS: Yes, I mean, it's not clear how we help them.

PERINO: No.

WILLIAMS: So I don't know that we saw anything there that was helpful in that regard.

But to me, the real news is here, that you see people like South Korea say, "We're going to march with the North Koreans." Or you see the man who was the likely nominee to be our ambassador say that he opposes the idea of a preemptory strike against North Korea, and then suddenly, he's no longer in the running to be that ambassador in the Trump administration.

I think this -- and of course, we have China and the famous chocolate cake at Mar-a-Lago, where all of a sudden, China has not been very helpful, and we're looking for other ways.

So I think you can bring out and you can exploit people who are crying. The Warmbier story, it's just tragic, to have your child treated like that. But is this really about a reality TV show? Or is it about a president trying to say, "Here is our policy as Americans and what we can do to combat this evil regime"?

WATTERS: I don't think it's right for you to say that he's exploiting what happened with the Warmbiers.

WILLIAMS: Oh, no. Oh, no.

WATTERS: I think that's pretty disrespectful.

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes.

WATTERS: I don't think the Warmbiers feel exploited. I think they're very happy that the commander-in-chief brought them there. So really disrespectful comment.

PERINO: I think that is a point, is that the people that were there seemed very happy to be a part of the president's dialogue.

GUILFOYLE: It's not paid actors.

GUTFELD: Yes, it's the -- yes, you know, I always am -- I'm not crazy about symbolic gestures, but these people, they deserved to be there.

And we have to remember Otto, because it's a reminder of who we are engaging with.

PERINO: Yes.

GUTFELD: We are engaging with a rational but very, very cold character. He's not crazy. He's rational, but he's very, very cold.

But this was helpful, because it's about tone and direction that is unmistakable. That has shifted.

The ways of the past, the way I sense it, the ways of the past are now the past. We can be very -- in the past we were very hard on North Korea, and then we kind of returned back to where we are, which is this kind of like, ignore and tolerate.

But my guess here is that there's no going back with this thing with Kim. There's no going back. He knows it. And the tone and what's happening with the sanctions. And the reason why the -- that the ambassador didn't get the job,, he's concerned that we're planning an evacuation of Americans from South Korea. That's good stuff to know. That's good stuff for North Korea to know. That we are evacuating our Americans from South Korea, because we're moving forward. We're not going to go back to the way things are. I think Kim is realizing that.

WILLIAMS: I think that you have to think about South Korea. You have to think about Japan.

PERINO: They're wrapping me, Juan.

WILLIAMS: You have to think about Americans.

GUTFELD: Yes, all right.

PERINO: Mr. Trump also put a spotlight on America's opioid crisis last night, another very touching moment to replay next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GUILFOYLE: Welcome back. Another captivating moment last night was when President Trump devoted a portion of his address to America's drug epidemic and introduced us to Officer Ryan Holets with the Albuquerque Police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Last year, Ryan was on duty when he saw a pregnant homeless woman preparing to inject heroin. When Ryan told her she was going to harm her unborn child, she began to weep. She told him she didn't know where to turn but badly wanted a safe home for her baby.

In then moment, Ryan said he felt God speak to him: "You will do it because you can." He heard those words. He took out a picture of his wife and their four kids. Then he went home to tell his wife, Rebecca. In an instant, she agreed to adopt. The Holets named their new daughter Hope.

Ryan and Rebecca, you embody the goodness of our nation. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUILFOYLE: What an incredibly touching and memorable moment, Dana, to see that, the compassion and the service of an officer and then really taking it into his own hands to do something more than just serve that day. To take care...

PERINO: Adoption is one of the most beautiful expressions of love. And it will be very interesting to see if there are increases in adoptions of babies that are born to opiate-addicted mothers in the future. That's very likely after something like this.

GUILFOYLE: Yes.

PERINO: One thing I do wonder about is so what are we going to do about the opioid epidemic? We talk a lot about how big a problem it is. The next move right now, apparently, is the Justice Department has a 45-day push to go against pushers, they call them. And that might be good. I don't think it's enough. There's more to do.

GUILFOYLE: OK. Jesse, what did you make of this moment?

WATTERS: I thought it was another masterful use of personal stories to rally the country behind his agenda. We know the president is very affected by people and visuals and personal stories. We saw that in Syria. When he was shown the images of the gassed children, that motivated to send those Tomahawk missiles into Syria.

And again, this was a speech about the people, for the people, and had more people, I believe, than most of these State of the Union addresses; and it was very effective.

GUILFOYLE: OK. Greg, what did you make of it?

GUTFELD: Well, the story has -- it kind of, like, unites so many different issues at once.

GUILFOYLE: Yes.

GUTFELD: You have drug abuse. You have adoption. You have the way law enforcement is portrayed on cable news, often negatively, as something to be feared. And in this case, you see that it isn't. And it's all wrapped into one story, which is, I think, refreshing for people to see.

I think, for me, it's about the occupation that people have been denigrating. And it's not -- and this story, it's not about government doing good.

GUILFOYLE: Right.

GUTFELD: It's about an individual doing good. It must be hard for a lot of leftists in that room not to shout "No justice, no peace" when they see a cop uniform.

GUILFOYLE: Great point. The judge likes it.

OK, so Juan, when you see something like this, you have to be touched, because this is a very serious epidemic in our country that so many families are facing, and loss of life and loved ones through opioid abuse and addiction.

And when you see a situation like this, an officer coming in and taking a child, making a difference, it's, you know, a memorable and teachable moment for people to see at home.

WILLIAMS: No, I think it's an emotional moment that the president uses. Because again, here's a situation, Kimberly, where you have an epidemic sweeping the country. An epidemic: 64,000 lives lost last year.

And what do we see here? We see a situation in which the president is going after a new war on drugs instead of talking about how we can help and rehabilitate people. Instead of talking about how we can heal people, he's saying, "We're doing away with Obamacare, so all of your drug treatment, all of your rehab, not available to you."

What about housing? What about, you know, something like, you know, contraception? "No, not available."

You know, at some point, you've got to stop and think. So this is a reality show, and we're supposed to all be crying for the policeman and the baby? But we lose track of our national policy and what's actually being done?

GUTFELD: So you see an adoption of a child and you go, "You should talk about contraception."

GUILFOYLE: Right. OK. Yes.

Stay right there. "The Five's" State of the Union break down is going to continue next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded. Hispanic-American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAMS: So you see there the Hispanic Caucus, the Black Caucus remaining seated, and therefore, people asking, "Well, why didn't they stand up?"

What do you think is the answer, Dana?

PERINO: I think that they miscalculated. I really do think that, from a communications standpoint, that they were going to be caught in a trap. You always are when you're in the minority, and you're in the State of the Union. But they should have just stood up and owned it and said, "Yes, we did this. We helped you get to this point, Mr. President."

WILLIAMS: Jesse.

WATTERS: I don't think it's in the Democratic Party's interests to give credit for a Republican president's policies to improve the lives of African-Americans.

If President Trump's policies increased home purchases, education statistics, wages, lowered the crime rates in the inner city, lowered health care premiums, if all those things happened in black America under President Trump's tutelage, he still would not get credit.

WILLIAMS: Well, let me just say, what about the idea that, in fact, unemployment rates have been declining for both blacks and Hispanics since 2010? Steadily and, you had less or about a one-point change; and Trump wants to take all the credit.

WATTERS: I think a rising tide lifts all boats.

WILLIAMS: He doesn't say -- doesn't -- he doesn't say thank you.

WATTERS: He deserves all the credit.

WILLIAMS: Oh, wait a minute. He took all the credit.

WATTERS: All politicians take credit when it happens on their watch, Juan.

WILLIAMS: OK, so in other words, if Trump tells a lie, it's a good thing, America.

WATTERS: It's not a lie. It's an historic low.

WILLIAMS: Kimberly, what did you think of the fact that they stood [SIC] - - they sat, I should say?

GUILFOYLE: Yes, I was disappointed. I would've liked them to acknowledge a tremendous achievement and accomplishment, because it's good for the country. And there's honesty in that. And I think people are tired of, like, seeing the partisan politics and just, you know, the gamesmanship. If you actually applauded that, then there's credibility and integrity and authenticity there.

Because why wouldn't you be happy of that kind of achievement, whether or not you feel that it was partly, in fact, due to President Obama or not? The point is...

WATTERS: Take the credit out of it.

GUILFOYLE: Yes, the outcome is what you should be focused on.

WATTERS: Yes.

GUILFOYLE: And it's impactful to people's lives.

WILLIAMS: You know, similarly, in terms of outreach, he says, "And we did away with the individual mandate." He doesn't call for repeal of Obamacare. "We did away with the individual mandate" and then somehow says, "Oh, why aren't people standing?" Maybe they don't agree with them, Greg.

GUTFELD: You know what it is? It's if you don't like someone who does something good, you overestimate the situation, and you underestimate the disposition.

It's like if Tom Brady wins, it's not because he's great. It's because of the refs.

So in this case if Donald Trump does something good, you overestimate the situation. It's not him. It's the previous administration.

PERINO: Yes.

GUTFELD: And then you underestimate the disposition. It's not due to Trump or his character. So that always happens.

Likewise, inversely, if -- if it's somebody you like who does something bad, you blame it on the situation, and you overestimate the disposition. So if he does something very bad, a pro-Trump person will say it's not his fault. It's those crazy Democrats.

WATTERS: And Brady's losing, by the way.

WILLIAMS: Yes, I don't know. That was pretty complex. But anything to defend Trump. "One More Thing" up next.

GUTFELD: I didn't. Jeez, Louise.

GUILFOYLE: Oh, my gosh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WATTERS: It's time now for "One More Thing." Yesterday was when I was down in D.C., I stopped by to see my niece in Georgetown, and we had a very, very nice time. There, she's giving me a high five, which really hurt.

I'd also like to give a special shout-out to Jake Lecky over here in studio. He runs a company called Hudson Sutler, one of the best brands out there. One of my favorite brands. Go check it out. The best bags in the business.

Dana.

PERINO: OK, I want to welcome to the world Hudson Thomas Fritz, who was born here in New York last Friday, January 26. Hudson came in a good 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Lauren and Matthew Fritz are the parents. They are thrilled with the new baby boy, as is the whole family. But they say he hasn't figured out that nighttime is sleeping.

WATTERS: Very cute.

GUILFOYLE: God bless. That was wonderful.

WATTERS: Kimberly knows nighttime is for sleeping.

GUILFOYLE: Yes. All right. Well, in Oakland County, Michigan, a sheriff's deputy is being hailed a hero after a dramatic dashcam footage was captured of him rushing in towards a burning car to save an 18-year-old driver.

So the deputy witnessed the driver speeding, gave chase. The 18-year-old lost control of the car, and it flipped and burst into flames.

Now, unfortunately, we do have to point out that, during this investigation, there are some pending charges, potentially, for alcohol and marijuana that the officer, I guess, smelled. But nevertheless, you see the heroic actions of this officer, putting his life in peril's way to save.

PERINO: Amazing.

WATTERS: Amazing story.

OK, Greg.

GUTFELD: All right. I haven't done a podcast in a couple weeks, but I have a new one up right now. Go to FOXNewsPodcasts -- plural -- dot com. My interview with the great Robert Wright on his new book, "Why Buddhism Is True." It's a great -- we talk about tribalism. We talk about politics and meditation. Listen.

Oh, they're not playing it. They're not playing it.

WATTERS: I thought that was the meditation time.

All right.

GUTFELD: Exactly.

WATTERS: Juan.

WILLIAMS: All right. So a quick note for your weekend reading pleasure. I want you to pick up "Media Madness: Donald Trump, The Press, and The War Over The Truth." It's by Howie Kurtz, who I've known since we were young reporters at "The Washington Post." It's a deep dive into Trump's troubled relationship with the press. Talks about some of the White House chaos, including leaks and Trump's defiance disorder. So congratulations to Howie Kurtz. Thumbs up all around to the host of "Media Buzz." It's a real page-turner. Take a look.

PERINO: Indeed.

WATTERS: All right. Go check it out.

OK, "Special Report" up next. Bret Baier is actually here in New York today.

GUILFOYLE: All right.

WATTERS: That's right: Gutfeld and Bret in the same building.

GUTFELD: Yes.

WATTERS: Watch out.

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Hard to believe. Thanks, Jesse.

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