Joe Biden presses bipartisanship by touting its successes:
But now we’re coming back, because we came together and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Halfway through his first term, the U.S. president makes his case to the American people and a rowdy opposition.
And he wants more time to finish the job.
The State of the Union is strong.
Now, on The Inside Story --- State of the Union.
I’m Patsy Widakuswara, VOA White House Bureau Chief.
This week, an American political tradition, enshrined in the US Constitution that the President
of the United States “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.”
President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, the third time speaking before a joint session of Congress since coming into office.
Now halfway through his four-year term, Biden faced a divided Congress of a polarized nation, as a likely candidate for re-election.
Mister Speaker, the president of the United States.
During his second State of the Union speech on Tuesday, his third address to a joint session of Congress since taking office, President Joe Biden stayed with his “unity” agenda.
Speaker, I don’t want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.
Biden touted increased American manufacturing, and legislation that invests in renewable energy production, domestic semiconductor industry and infrastructure to compete against China.
We used to be number one in the world of infrastructure. We’ve sunk to 13th in the world, the United States of America, 13 in the world on infrastructure, modern infrastructure. But now we’re coming back because we came together and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Addressing high inflation, Biden argued the problem is global, caused by the pandemic and the war on Ukraine and focused instead on low unemployment.
We have created a record 12 million new jobs — more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years.
He highlighted steps his administration took to erase federal student loan debt, increase the number of insured Americans, implement COVID relief programs, and lower prescription drug prices.
But can he convince Americans things are looking up? Republicans are determined to stop him, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas governor and former White House press secretary under President Donald Trump, delivering the GOP response.
In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country.
With Republicans controlling the House of Representatives following the November election, new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has promised renewed scrutiny on the administration, including on the classified documents found in Biden’s home, the billions of dollars of aid to Ukraine, and what they say is his weak response to a Chinese surveillance balloon, which the U.S. recently shot down.
Despite low unemployment and gas prices down sharply from a record high in mid-2022, Biden’s approval rating remains at 40 percent. Eighty percent of Democrats, 37 percent of independents and only 3 percent of Republicans approve of the job he’s doing, according to Ipsos.
While his speech is unlikely to change that, it does signal that he is likely to run again in 2024.
He didn't say he is, or he isn’t, but he made the case for why he should, which is that he can see what needs to be done, he's had all of these successes so far, he’s had all of , but there’s still a lot more that he wants to get done
As a gesture of solidarity to Ukraine, first lady Jill Biden again invited the country’s ambassador, Oksana Markarova. And parents of Tyre Nichols, the Black man who was beaten by Tennessee law enforcement officers and died days later.
When police officers or departments violate the public’s trust, we must hold them accountable.
Following recent shootings in California, Biden again called on Congress to ban assault-style rifles. He urged Republicans to come up with immigration reform, debt reduction proposals, and vowed to protect reproductive rights.
Make no mistake; if Congress passes a national abortion ban, I will veto it.
But bipartisan legislation is unlikely under a divided government.
In a few months, he’s set to clash with Republicans who are demanding spending cuts before agreeing to pass a debt ceiling hike to prevent the country from defaulting.