Joe Biden finished the State of the Union on Thursday night. His speech was marked by an aggressive tone, an attempt to reprimand members of the Supreme Court and a few tense moments with Republican legislators. The president defended his agenda before Congress and before voters ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
In an hour-and-seven-minute speech, the Democrat repeatedly shouted as if he were scolding Congress, mentioned his "predecessor" 16 times and also mispronounced the name of Laken Riley, the young student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant.
Thursday night was the 48th State of the Union for Biden, attending 36 of them when he was a senator, eight when he served as Barack Obama's vice president and the remaining four as president.
Biden opens with Ukraine, tells Congress to 'wake up'
The event itself had everything, from Bernie Sanders wearing a mask to spicy exchanges between some Republicans and the head of state, who at times was bothered by a cough when speaking.
The president entered the Capitol a few minutes later than planned and entertained himself by chatting with attendees before reaching the podium, where Kamala Harris and Mike Johnson were waiting to greet him. After skipping the official presentation by the speaker of the House, Biden assured from the outset that the main objective of his speech would be to "wake up this Congress."
Joe Biden advocates sending more weapons to Ukraine:
"Stand with Ukraine, and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself..." pic.twitter.com/o0ErKAJOft
— Tucker Carlson Network (@TCNetwork) March 8, 2024
Ukraine was the first topic of the night. The president encouraged those present not to abandon the country governed by Volodymyr Zelensky. "History is watching. If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk … the free world at risk," he expressed, assuring that his administration would not bow down to Vladimir Putin.
He then recalled comments by his "predecessor" about the Russian president and accused him of "bowing down" to Putin, which he deemed "unacceptable." He invoked his first Lenny Sputnik moment with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who he mentioned to highlight NATO's role in the modern geopolitical chessboard.
An unexpected shot at the Supreme Court
Once the European conflict was behind him, the president stared at the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and challenged them for having voted to annul Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, rulings that returned power to the states to legislate on the legality of abortion within their borders.
"The Supreme Court majority wrote the following, and with all due respect justices. ‘Women are not without electoral or political power.’ You’re about to realize just how much you’re right about that," he said, unleashing applause from the Democrats in the room.
Biden basically threatens the Supreme Court justices to their faces over abortion and struggles to read the teleprompter while doing it.
pic.twitter.com/zMJvgPqbjg— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 8, 2024
Jan. 6 and the pandemic
The president briefly touched on both Jan. 6 and COVID-19, placing more emphasis on the first, taking the opportunity to mention his "predecessor" again.
"My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of Jan. 6. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies. And here’s the simplest truth: you can’t love your country only when you win," Biden noted.
Following this line, as reported by The Hill, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the only Republican to give the president a standing ovation .
Laken Riley and a safer America under the Biden administration
Two moments brought increased tension to the night. The first took place when Biden assured that the United States was safer under his administration compared to the previous four years. The statement immediately sparked murmurs in the room and a reaction from one man in particular.
Steve Nikoui was the father of Kareem Nikoui, one of the 13 soldiers killed during the withdrawal from Afghanistan. As former Senator Joe Lieberman told Voz Media, that was the Biden administration's biggest mistake. Visibly upset, Nikoui began to shout and had to be removed from the premises.
The man who shouted and got forcibly removed from #SOTU was Steve Nikoui.
His son Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui was killed in Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. He shouted "13 Marines".
The gaslighting about Americans being safe must have infuriated him. pic.twitter.com/2jtNcsQMQq
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) March 8, 2024
As for the case of Laken Riley, Biden initially distanced himself from the border crisis and blamed Republicans for not advancing bipartisan legislation on the southern border.
Seconds later, he had a back-and-forth with Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who challenged the president to name the young woman who was murdered by an illegal immigrant. Biden proceeded to do so, but confused the name Laken Riley with "Lincoln Riley," the latter being the head football coach at USC.
"We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it. Send me the law now," he said, before pointing again to his "predecessor" for supposedly helping to block the aforementioned legislation.
MTG heckles Biden and demands he recognize Laken Riley: "What about Laken Riley?"
BIDEN: "Lincoln Riley? An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal! That's right? But how many of thousands of people being killed by illegals?!"#SOTU pic.twitter.com/B9aesvNmi7
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 8, 2024
'Unabashedly political'
Politico's Sam Stein described Biden's speech as "unabashedly political," marked by partisanship and serving essentially to review some main points of his re-election campaign. Among them were an increase in the minimum wage, expanding Obamacare, strengthening the fight against climate change and passing the Equality Act, legislation that would modify existing anti-discrimination laws to make gender identity and sexual orientation protected classes.
He also emphasized gun control and assured that corporations continue not to pay their "fair share." He directly proposed raising the corporate tax, including a 25% minimum tax on billionaires, and ending tax breaks for "Big Pharma, Big Oil, private jets, and massive executive pay."
#SOTU2024 | Biden: “Estoy exigiendo una prohibición de las armas de asalto y los cargadores de alta capacidad...! ¡Enseñé la Segunda Enmienda durante 12 años! Nada de esto viola la Segunda Enmienda ni vilipendia a los propietarios de armas responsables” pic.twitter.com/qzQBM0IFPc
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) March 8, 2024
Two-state solution for the Middle East
After describing himself as one of the most pro-Israel people in the room, he promised to help bring Hamas' hostages home and stressed that Israel has the right to defend itself from the attacks.
However, he also said that the Jewish state "has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza." He mentioned the two-state solution as one of the most viable for the safety of Israel and the region, while highlighting the importance of humanitarian aid.
Jokes about his age and conclusion
“Let me close with this,” Biden said as he began to conclude, provoking a sarcastic celebration from some of the Republicans present. Aware that his age is an issue that worries voters, he tried to address the issue with humor.
"I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while. And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before." he added. "I know the American story," the 81-year-old president continued.
He also said that at certain points in his career he had been called “too young” (he was elected to the Senate at the age of 29), but he assured, “Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures.”
To effectively culminate, he chose hopeful rhetoric about the future of the country, and then finished with his classic, "May God protect our troops."
