Sunday shows preview: Lawmakers weigh in on Biden, State of the Union; Chinese balloon raises more questions

Lawmakers’ reactions to President Biden’s State of the Union address and continued developments regarding a Chinese surveillance balloon that traveled across the country before being shot down last week will likely dominate this week’s Sunday talk show circuit. 

Biden spoke before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday for his second State of the Union as president, emphasizing his accomplishments and outlining his goals as two years of divided government with a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic-controlled Senate get underway. 

The president talked about a wide range of issues, from the state of the economy with high but declining inflation to policing legislation in the aftermath of Tyre Nichols’s death to the future of Social Security and Medicare. 

But possibly the most discussed moments in the aftermath of the speech have been the instances in which some Republicans heckled Biden at points during his speech, including when Biden accused some in the GOP of wanting to sunset Social Security and Medicare in exchange for voting to raise the debt ceiling, which Congress must do in the next few months to avoid a default. 

Republicans pushed back against Biden’s claims, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) yelling “liar” and others shouting “no.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who shook his head as Biden spoke during that point of his speech, has said any cuts to Social Security and Medicare are “off the table” as part of negotiations over the debt ceiling. 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) praised Biden for forcing Republicans to go on the record as being opposed to cutting the two social programs. 

“Joe Biden was so deft. He let them walk into his trap. He rope-a-doped them,” Schumer said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday. “And now all of America has seen the Republican Party say, ‘No, we’re not going to cut Social Security and Medicare.’ He did a service.” 

Schumer will appear on ABC’s “This Week.” 

The White House has stepped up criticism of Republicans who have called for making cuts to Social Security and Medicare in the days that followed the speech. Its Twitter account posted audio of an interview that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) gave on Thursday in which he called Social Security a “legal Ponzi scheme.” 

Johnson, who will appear on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” has called for Congress to have to renew entitlement programs such as Social Security annually. He faced controversy after saying during a podcast interview in August that Social Security and Medicare should be considered discretionary spending. 

Johnson has argued that Social Security will run out of money if Congress does not take steps to fix it. 

“I’ve been saying for as long as I’ve been here that we should transfer everything, put everything on budget so we have to consider it … every year,” he said. 

Democrats have pressed on with their attacks of Republicans despite the assertions of many in the GOP that they do not want to take action to cut Social Security or Medicare. 

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said in a statement after Biden’s address that Republicans are “committed” to taking the economy backward and accused them of demanding cuts to the two programs instead of working with Democrats on the country’s most crucial issues. 

Aguilar will also appear on “This Week.” 

The ongoing fallout from China’s balloon crossing over U.S. territory and the rising tensions between the two countries will also likely receive some attention. 

Beijing denounced the U.S. response in shooting down the balloon, which it has claimed was meant to conduct meteorological research and was blown off course by wind, and said the U.S. is overreacting. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a scheduled visit to China after the balloon was discovered, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s Chinese counterpart refused a phone call with him following the incident. 

The House unanimously approved a resolution condemning China for the balloon on Thursday. 

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pushed for the resolution to be a bipartisan measure showing disapproval of the Chinese government’s actions. 

McCaul will appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and on “Sunday Morning Futures.” 

But the Biden administration has received some criticism from many in the GOP over its handling of the situation. 

Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who will appear on CNN’s “State of the Union,” slammed the administration for its delay in shooting down the balloon. The administration had chosen not to shoot down the balloon while it was over land out of concern that falling debris could hurt people on the ground. 

Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said last week on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that shooting the balloon down after it had passed through U.S. airspace and went over the Atlantic Ocean was “like tackling the quarterback after the game is over.” 

Members of the House and Senate both received briefings on the balloon and what the administration has learned on Thursday. 

Democrats have also called for answers from the administration about the balloon and what is being done to protect U.S. national security. 

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) said in a statement earlier this month that he plans to hold a hearing for the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, of which he serves as the chairman, to demand information about the balloon. 

Tester will appear on “Face the Nation.” He also has expressed concern about future incidents like these happening. 

“This isn’t the first incursion of U.S. airspace, and it won’t be the last by a balloon. There needs to be a plan moving forward,” he told reporters. 

The U.S. military shot down a second object that was spotted flying over Alaska at 40,000 feet above the ground on Friday, but officials have said the government is still collecting information about its origin and purpose. 

Below is the full list of guests scheduled to appear on this week’s Sunday talk shows: 

ABC’s “This Week” — Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.); Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) 

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Govs. Spencer Cox (R) of Utah and Phil Murphy (D) of New Jersey; Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney’s office 

CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.); Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas); Govs. Chris Sununu (R) of New Hampshire, Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) of New Mexico, Doug Burgum (R) of North Dakota and Wes Moore (D) of Maryland.

CNN’s “State of the Union” — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) of Michigan; Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio); Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) 

“Fox News Sunday” — Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.); neurosurgeon and former NFL player Myron Rolle 

Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.); McCaul; Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.); former White House senior adviser Stephen Miller; Michele Tafoya, former NFL sideline reporter and host of “The Sideline Sanity Podcast”