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President Joe Biden turned his State of the Union speech Thursday night into an animated argument for a second term as he laced into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing \u201cresentment, revenge and retribution\u201d and jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
Over and over, Biden delivered broadsides at \u201cmy predecessor\u201d without ever mentioning Trump by name \u2014 13 times in all \u2014 raising his voice repeatedly as he tried to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance while sharpening the contrast with his\u00a0all-but-certain<\/a>\u00a0November rival.<\/p>\n It was a far feistier tone from Biden than his prior State of the Union addresses and it was designed to banish doubts about whether the 81-year-old is still up to the job. For 68 minutes in the House chamber, Biden goaded Republicans over their policies, invited call-and-response banter with fellow Democrats on economic issues, taxes and healthcare and seemed to revel in the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cFreedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time,\u201d Biden said as he appealed for Congress to support Ukraine\u2019s efforts to defend itself against Russia\u2019s invasion. \u201cHistory is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n Biden quickly pivoted to the threats at home, referencing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election, and calling for the threat to democracy to be countered.<\/p>\n \u201cMy predecessor \u2014 and some of you here \u2014 seek to bury the truth about Jan. 6 \u2014 I will not do that,\u201d Biden said. \u201cThis is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here\u2019s a simple truth. You can\u2019t love your country only when you win.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,\u201d Biden said. \u201cA future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That\u2019s not me.\u201d<\/p>\n The president showcased his\u00a0accomplishments<\/a>\u00a0on infrastructure and manufacturing, and pushed Congress to approve more aid to Ukraine, tougher migration rules and lower drug prices. He also sought to remind voters of the situation he inherited when he entered office in 2021 amid a raging pandemic and a contracting economy.<\/p>\n The 81-year-old president was being closely watched not just for his message, but for whether he could deliver it with vigor and command.<\/p>\n White House aides said Biden was aiming to prove his doubters wrong by flashing his combative side and trying to needle Republicans over positions he believes are out of step with the country, particularly on\u00a0access to abortion<\/a>, but also tax policy and healthcare. It\u2019s part of his campaign-year effort to use even official speeches to clarify the choice for voters at the ballot box this fall.<\/p>\n Taking a victory lap in selling his legislative accomplishments, such as one that bolsters manufacturing of computer chips nationwide, Biden veered from his prepared script to take a dig at Republicans who voted against such policies but are eager to take credit for them back home.<\/p>\n \u201cIf any of you don\u2019t want that money in your districts,\u201d Biden said, \u201cjust let me know.\u201d<\/p>\n The president was speaking before a historically ineffective Congress. In the GOP-led House, Speaker Mike Johnson took power five months ago after the\u00a0chaotic ouster<\/a>\u00a0of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Legislators are still struggling to approve funding bills for the current year and have been deadlocked for months on foreign assistance bills to help Ukraine\u00a0stave off Russia\u2019s invasion<\/a>\u00a0and support\u00a0Israel\u2019s fight against Hamas<\/a>.<\/p>\n The State of the Union address is a marquee night on the White House calendar, offering presidents a direct line to a captive audience of lawmakers and dignitaries in the House chamber and tens of millions of viewers at home. But even so, the night has lost some of its luster as viewership has declined.<\/p>\n Biden aides inside the White House and on his campaign had hoped for some fresh viral moments \u2014 like when he tussled last year with heckling Republicans and chided them for past efforts to cut Medicare and Social Security.<\/p>\n Johnson, eager to avoid a similar episode this year, urged Republicans in a private meeting Wednesday to show \u201cdecorum\u201d during the speech, according to a person familiar with his remarks to lawmakers.<\/p>\n He appeared to have limited success. A number of House Republicans began to stand up and leave the chamber as Biden discussed raising taxes on billionaires and corporations. Other, like Johnson, remained in their chairs and shook their heads.<\/p>\n Biden engaged in a loud call and response with lawmakers as he rhetorically questioned whether the tax code was fair and whether billionaires and corporations need \u201canother $2 trillion in tax breaks,\u201d as he charged Republicans want.<\/p>\n One of the most contentious moments of his speech came during his remarks on immigration, when Biden was running down the endorsements by conservative groups of the bipartisan border legislation that Republicans killed last month.<\/p>\n Some in the audience appeared to yell and interject, and Biden shot back, \u201cI know you know how to read.\u201d<\/p>\n As Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, decked out in pro-Trump paraphernalia, continued to shout at Biden, the president held up a white button that the Georgia Republican had handed him earlier bearing the name of Laken Riley, who authorities say was killed by a Venezuelan national who unlawfully crossed into the U.S. in September 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cLaken Riley,\u201d Biden said, calling her an \u201cinnocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.\u201d He expressed condolences to her family, saying his heart goes out to them.<\/p>\n And congressional Republican leaders were showcasing one of their newest lawmakers through the State of the Union rebuttal in order to make a generational contrast with Biden. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the youngest Republican woman elected to the Senate, planned to paint a picture of a nation that \u201cseems to be slipping away\u201d and one where \u201cour families are hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, our commander-in-chief is not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader,\u201d Britt was to say, according to excerpts released Thursday evening. \u201cAmerica deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation.\u201d<\/p>\n Biden painted an optimistic future for the country as the massive pieces of legislation he signed into law during his first two years in office are implemented. But he also was set to warn that the progress he sees at home and abroad is fragile \u2014 and particularly vulnerable if Trump returns to the White House.<\/p>\n Trump, for his part, said he planned to respond in real time to Biden\u2019s remarks on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n This year, Biden faced heightened emotions \u2014 particularly among his base supporters \u2014 over his staunch backing for Israel\u2019s war against Hamas in Gaza. The White House had initially hoped a short-term cease-fire would be in place by the speech. It blames Hamas for\u00a0not yet accepting a deal<\/a>\u00a0brokered by the U.S. and its allies.<\/p>\n A slew of Democrats and Republicans wore pins and stickers in honor of the Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza. Meanwhile, several House progressives wore Palestinian keffiyehs, the black and white checkered scarfs that have come to symbolize Palestinian solidarity. Biden\u2019s motorcade took a circuitous route to the Capitol, as hundreds of pro-cease-fire demonstrators tried to disrupt its path from the White House.<\/p>\n Amid growing concerns about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, Biden announced in his address that he has directed the U.S. military to establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast aimed at increasing the flow of aid into the beleaguered territory.<\/p>\n The president also issued an emphatic call for lawmakers to pass sorely needed defense assistance for Ukraine. Acute ammunition shortages have allowed Russia to retake the offensive in the 2-year-old war.<\/p>\n The GOP-controlled House has refused to act on a Senate-passed version of the aid legislation, insisting on new stiffer measures to limit migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, after Trump used his influence to\u00a0help sink a bipartisan compromise<\/a>\u00a0that would have done just that.<\/p>\n Access to abortion and fertility treatments was also a key component of Biden\u2019s speech, especially in light of a controversial ruling from Alabama\u2019s Supreme Court that has upended access to in vitro fertilization treatment in the state.<\/p>\n One of first lady Jill Biden\u2019s guests for the speech was\u00a0Kate Cox<\/a>, who sued Texas, and ultimately left her home state, to obtain an emergency abortion after a severe fetal anomaly was detected.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,\u201d Biden said. Several House Democratic women were wearing white \u2014 a symbol of women\u2019s suffrage \u2014 to promote reproductive rights.<\/p>\n The White House also invited union leaders, a gun control advocate, and others that Jill Biden and her husband have met as they traveled the country promoting his agenda. The prime minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, will attend to mark his country\u2019s accession to NATO in the wake of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Expelled and disgraced, former Rep. George Santos, who still retains floor privileges as an ex-member of Congress, also showed up for the speech.<\/p>\n Going into the State of the Union, Biden also has raised the problems of \u201cshrinkflation\u201d \u2013 companies putting fewer pretzels in the jar and less yogurt in sealed cups \u2014 and so-called \u201cjunk fees\u201d on services. Neither is a prime driver of inflation, but the White House hopes to show consumers that Biden is fighting for them.<\/p>\n Biden also unveiled an expanded plan to raise corporate taxes and use the proceeds to trim budget deficits and cut taxes for the middle class.<\/p>\n Biden entered the speech with work to do shoring up his standing. Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how he is handling his job as president, while 61% disapprove, according to a\u00a0recent survey<\/a>\u00a0by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.<\/p>\n The same survey found that more than 6 in 10 (63%) say they\u2019re not very or not at all confident in Biden\u2019s mental capability to serve effectively as president. A similar but slightly smaller share (57%) say that Trump lacks the memory and acuity for the job.<\/p>\n The already intense scrutiny of Biden\u2019s age was magnified when special counsel Robert Hur raised questions about the president\u2019s mental acuity\u00a0in his report last month<\/a>\u00a0on Biden\u2019s handling of classified information. Hur is set to testify Tuesday before lawmakers about his investigation.<\/p>\n Following the speech, Biden was set for a weekend of campaign travel, holding events in Pennsylvania on Friday and Georgia on Saturday. Trump, too, will be campaigning in Georgia that day. The president\u2019s Cabinet also will fan out across the country to amplify his message.<\/p>\n The Biden campaign said it would host more than 200 watch parties around the country Thursday night, including in cities, suburbs and rural towns in battleground states. Campaign officials will use the events to recruit volunteers and encourage others to get involved in Biden\u2019s reelection effort.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP writers Stephen Groves, Josh Boak, Aamer Madhani, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Fatima Hussein, Amanda Seitz and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n