08 March 2024 , 12:44
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President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union speech last night, which has been praised by many for being "fiery" and "forceful".
The President gave his confident speech as the US gears up for another general election, where Biden will be running against former President Donald Trump. Biden, who has come under a lot of criticism centred around his age and fitness during his time in office, offered a strong defence of his record during the address, which lasted over an hour.
Despite a brief disruption from the dad of a fallen Marine, killed by a suicide bomber outside Kabul airport as he processed evacuees during the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan, the President gave a confident speech. In his address, Biden passionately advocated many policies he and fellow Democrats have been fighting for during his time in office.
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Many applauded Biden in his speech, saying he appeared more energised (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)From abortion rights and the overturning of Roe v Wade, to immigration and border security, Biden touched on a variety of topics in his 68-minute speech. After arriving 15 minutes late, Biden entered to cheers from House of Representatives and Senate Democrats, who were heard chanting "Four more years!"
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Here are some of Biden's best moments from his 68-minute speech:
President delivers unexpected, 'off script' speech
State of the Union speeches tend to be quite predictable, moving through lists of policies and proposals. But this was not the case in Biden's address on Thursday night.
The President has been praised highly for his decision to veer off script when needed and his parlay with the Republicans. It made for one of the most raucous State of the Union addresses in years as Biden jousted with the opposition over plans on social security, immigration and taxes.
The President wasn't afraid to go off-script and parlay with the RepublicansIt appears Biden had built this into this year's address after his back-and-forth with Republicans last year emerged as a standout moment. It gave the President an opportunity to show he was willing to engage with Republicans and discuss matters and opinions, but also to dismantle some of their arguments.
When, for example, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene drew attention to the murder of nursing student Laken Riley, Biden responded by picking up a badge he had which read 'Say Her Name: Laken Riley'. He also pointed out that "illegal" isn't usually the word that Democrats use to describe immigrants.
Ukraine is a priority
While State of the Union addresses typically don't look at foreign policy issues, Biden pledged support for Ukraine during his speech. The President urged Congress to unblock aid to Ukraine and also to help the country fight of Russia's invasion.
This is in direct contrast to many Republicans, who have raised issues with the high price of the US continuing to provide funding for Kyiv. He said: "My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down."
Biden has, however, continued to receive a lot of criticism due to his support for Israel amid the current war in Gaza.
Focus remains on abortion and reproductive rights
Biden reminded his audience that reproductive rights remain a huge focus for Democrats, and have done since the US Supreme Court scrapped constitutional protections for abortion in 2022. He criticised Republicans for failing to codify abortion protections and access to IVF into federal law after the Alabama ruling that embryos are children.
Biden held up a badge of for Laken Riley, the nursing student who was murdered (AFP via Getty Images)The President referred to Kate Cox's story, a Texan woman who had travelled to New Mexico to get an abortion to end what she called a life-threatening pregnancy amid the state's abortion ban. Ms Cox was also a guest of the White House during Biden's speech.
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He said: "What her family has gone through should never have happened as well. But it is happening to so many others. There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalizing doctors and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need."
President contrasts with Trump but didn't name him
Biden has often tried to set himself against Trump, portraying himself as a protector of American democracy - and this theme continued in his Thursday night speech. He specifically addressed the mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol on 6 January 2021 as they attempted to stop Congress from certifying Biden's 2020 election win.
The President said: "My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6 – I will not do that. Here is the simple truth: You can’t love your country only when you win."
Biden mentioned Trump quite a bit during his address, including criticising the storming of the Capitol in January 2021 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)Throughout his speech, Biden did not mention Trump's name once, despite referring to the controversial Republican numerous times. In total, Biden referenced Trump as "my predecessor" 13 times during his speech.
Throughout his talking points, whether it be abortion, immigration, taxes, or something else, Biden repeatedly made a contrast with Trump, referring back to Trump's time in the White House. Each time, he was met with cheers from Democrats in the audience.
The economy is key
Much of Biden's speech did of course focus on the US economy. He spoke about how the country was "on the brink" during the Covid pandemic, but added, “now our economy is literally the envy of the world – 15 million new jobs in just three years".
The President also paid a nod to the US labour unions and the American middle class, while emphasising the fact he plans to make sure that businesses are paying their fair share of tax.
Biden defends his own agenda
Many were also impressed with how well Biden defended his own agenda after criticism throughout his time in office, which left very little room for cooperation with Republicans. He shared how his administration has focused heavily on domestic issues like tackling the so-called consumer junk fees, protecting and building on the Affordable Care Act and focusing in on middle-class jobs and investment.
President Biden gave a 68-minute speech in his State of the Union address on Thursday eveningThe President said: "Folks, Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal. Over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions.
"But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act. I won't let that happen. We stopped you 50 times before and we will stop you again."