A spirited President Joe Biden delivered a fiery and partisan State of the Union address on Thursday, befitting an election year with enormously high stakes in a divided nation.
“Never since President Lincoln and the Civil War had freedom and democracy been under attack here at home as they are today,” Biden said at the beginning of the speech.
“What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and abroad, at the same time,” he said.
“Abroad, [President Vladimir] Russia’s Putin is on the march, invading Ukraine and wreaking havoc across Europe and beyond. If anyone in this room thinks Putin is going to stop at Ukraine, I assure you he won’t,” the president said to applause from Democrats and a round of applause from a smattering of Republicans.
“My message to President Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow. I will not bow,” Biden said.
The president also celebrated Sweden’s membership in NATO earlier in the day, as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson sat to the left of First Lady Jill Biden in his guest box.
US First Lady Jill Biden together with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson salutes during US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on March 7, 2024.
Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images
On domestic policy, Biden has been even more confrontational than on foreign affairs, repeatedly calling out Republicans and arguing on live television with some of the loudest voices in the Republican caucus.
“In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen in this country,” Biden said .
As Republicans booed the bill they passed in the Senate but then sunk in the House, Biden turned to his left, where Republican members were seated.
“Oh, you don’t think so? You don’t like that bill, huh? Man, that’s great,” he said.
“Because that bipartisan deal would hire 1,500 more border security agents and officials, 100 more immigration judges to help address a backlog of 2 million cases.”
This is a developing story, check back for updates.