©Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
By Trevor Hunnicutt, Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose
(Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday attacked former President Donald Trump’s vision of America, criticized Israel and took issue with immigration in his final State of the Union address before the two men face off in the US elections in November.
Here are some takeaways from Thursday’s State of the Union address.
HARD WORDS FOR ISRAEL
Biden issued a tough directive to Israeli leaders, telling them not to withhold humanitarian aid to the Palestinians for political purposes.
“To Israel’s leadership I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” Biden said. “Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority. Looking to the future, the only real solution to this situation is a two-state solution.”
Biden has faced growing pressure from fellow Democrats over his support for Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks by Palestinian Hamas militants.
“I worked tirelessly to establish an immediate six-week ceasefire,” he said, reiterating U.S. policy but using the word “ceasefire” that his administration once shied away from.
LAKEN RILEY AND IMMIGRATION
Pushed by Republican US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally, Biden went off script to address the case of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from the US state of Georgia who was allegedly murdered last month by an undocumented immigrant who had been released on parole.
Republicans, who blame Biden and his administration’s border policies for the deaths of Americans killed by illegal migrants, seized on Riley’s death as a symbol of Democrats’ failure.
“It’s about Laken Riley,” Greene shouted during the speech, interrupting Biden as he spoke about the border. “Say her name!”
Biden took a button that Greene placed in his hand as he walked to the podium and repeated Riley’s name, saying she was an innocent woman killed by “an illegal.” She said that thousands of people are killed by “legal” residents of the United States before sending her thoughts to Riley’s family.
HELLO BIDENOMIC
One word missing from the speech was “Bidenomics,” the White House’s previous slogan for its economic agenda that was the centerpiece of a cross-country tour last year.
Democrats running for congressional office have avoided the phrase, and senior Democrats have encouraged the White House to abandon the catch-all slogan and instead focus on specific details, such as price caps on prescription drugs, job growth data and unemployment data.
Biden appeared to have taken their advice.
BIDEN TAKES THE REPUBLICANS INTO PLAY
Biden used levity to target his Republican opponents.
He greeted Greene’s wearing of Trump’s campaign hat on the House floor with an expression of mock surprise before turning away.
Appearing off-script, the president mocked Republicans for appreciating and taking credit for Biden-backed federal investments they had voted against. “If any of you don’t want that money in your districts, let me know,” he said, to laughter among Democrats.
He also made a joke about Republicans being close to Russia, while talking about how expensive prescription drugs are in America compared to other countries.
“Do any of you want to get on Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow? I mean, excuse me – and, well, Moscow too, probably.” She said drugs there would be much cheaper than in the United States.
And he alluded to a profane comment he once made into a hot microphone about the 2010 health care reform law passed when he was vice president. “The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is still a big deal,” Biden said, omitting the original expletive.
VIGOROUS OR SCREAMING?
For much of the speech, the 81-year-old president’s speech was forceful and forceful enough to exceed even some Democrats’ expectations. He talked for more than an hour.
“Trump and the Republicans spent months chasing Biden’s energy and stamina and in front of the entire country, Biden gave them an absolute and deserved rebuke,” Democratic strategist Eric Koch said.
The hashtag “scream” was trending on X, the former Twitter, in posts about his speech, and his slight cough appeared to become more persistent towards the end of the speech.
“In my career, I’ve been told I’m too young,” he said, laughing, adding, “and I’ve been told I’m too old.”
Whether young or old, he always knew America’s “North Star,” he said, the American idea that “we are all created equal.”
Some people have old ideas, he said, in an apparent nod to Trump. “Hatred, anger, revenge, punishment, are the oldest ideas,” he said.