President Joe Biden used this third State of the Union address to contrast himself to likely Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and lay out his vision for the country’s future in a campaign-oriented speech in front of a joint session of Congress.
The annual address was both a preview of what’s to come in a potential second Biden term and an unofficial kickoff to the general election with a list of accomplishments from his first three years and promises of more to come.
Biden’s annual address comes at a big moment for his reelection campaign as the race winnowed down to a rematch with former Republican President Donald Trump after both cruised through Super Tuesday. Along with nominations that will be decided by the end of the month, this year’s address is happening later than usual, giving the president a rare chance to address the nation in a high-profile address as campaigns are starting to go in full force.
Facing questions from voters about his age and ability to serve another four years, Biden’s speech will give him a shot to reach the homes of millions of Americans and try to convince them he is up to the task of serving as commander-in-chief.
He comes into the night and general election with slumping approval ratings that have been hovering around 40% for months as voters are frustrated with inflation, worried about the economy and being dragged into a foreign conflict as wars in Ukraine and Israel continue.
Biden opened his third State of the Union address with what he sees the upcoming election as: a test for American democracy that is facing threats from within and foreign adversaries, invoking the Jan. 6 insurrection as “the darkest of days” and warning of authoritarian leaders around the world attacking democracies.
“Freedom and democracy are under attack and both at home and overseas at the very same time,” Biden said. “History is watching.”
He called on Congress to pass more funding for military aid to Ukraine, which just entered its third year in a war to fend off a Russian invasion. Aid for Ukraine has stalled out in the House amid Republican opposition and some doubts from voters about whether the U.S. should continue to continue to dole out taxpayer funds.
But Biden said democracy was at stake if the U.S. walked away from Ukraine and its role as a world leader. He also directly quoted Trump’s recent encouragement of Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to any NATO country that doesn’t pay enough, saying it was dangerous and unacceptable.
“If anyone in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” Biden said. "Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine.”
The speech comes as Congress is struggling to fund the government for the fiscal year that is already several months old, aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is stalled in the GOP-led House, and Republican lawmakers are actively pursuing an impeachment inquiry against the president.
But Biden also challenged Republicans on a number of issues he and Democrats are hoping will work to their advantage this November like access to abortion and healthcare. He has frequently sought to draw a contrast between his policies and those of Trump, which he has charged will send the country backward.
At several points, Biden directly challenged the Republicans in the room on issues from Social Security to the bipartisan infrastructure bill, including teasing GOP lawmakers who voted against the infrastructure package but still try to claim credit for the investments it makes around their constituents.
“If any of you don’t want that money in your districts, just let me know,” he said.
Biden also vowed to restore Roe v. Wade if Democrats retake control of Congress and the White House in November.
“If you, the American people, 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,” Biden said.
One of Biden’s guests for the speech is Kate Cox, a Texas woman who lost a lawsuit against the state and had to leave to receive an emergency abortion for a pregnancy that endangered her health and whose child had a fatal condition. Another guest was Latorya Beasley, a woman from Alabama who had her IVF treatment canceled in the wake of the Alabama’s Supreme Court decision.
Biden didn’t mention Trump by name, Biden drew some contrasts to himself that he has also called on in other speeches that do reference the former president and made frequent mentions of “my predecessor.” He again told Americans that democracy is at stake in the upcoming election and noted that his political opponent is also of advanced age.
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality,” Biden said. “Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
While he called out Republicans for inactions on a number of his priorities, he also made several appeals to Congress to work in a bipartisan manner to solve some of the country’s other issues on things from immigration and border security to protecting access to in vitro fertilization.
Immigration is one of the most important issues to voters eight months before Election Day amid high levels of illegal crossings that have overwhelmed some major cities and a series of high-profile crimes committed by people who were in the country illegally, a point Republicans have seized on.
A bipartisan border bill that passed the Senate never came to a vote in the House because some Republican lawmakers said it did not go far enough and demanded the Senate and Biden embrace their own immigration package filled with hardline policies that won’t clear the Democratic-controlled Senate or be signed by Biden.
“My Republican friends, you owe it to the American people to get this bill done,” he said, also directly calling on Trump to join in him supporting the passage of the legislation.
Biden announced several new policy initiatives and administrative action to come this year, including that he would be directing the U.S. military to help build a temporary port of the coast of Gaza to create a sea route for aid to be delivered to Palestinian civilians who are caught in the middle of Israel’s war with Hamas.
The announcement comes as negotiations for a ceasefire appear to have stalled while Biden is facing pressure within his own party to stop the high levels of civilian deaths, which Palestinian health authorities say have surpassed 30,000. Fighting between Israel and Hamas has leveled buildings and caused thousands of deaths and injuries, which have displaced many of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
Other plans Biden rolled out included a proposal to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy to shore up the nation’s finances and cut taxes for middle-class workers, tax credits for first-time homebuyers and an insulin cap of $35 for all Americans.