Tonight, Thursday, March 7th, is the State of the Union Address so lets keep everything related to it (including the Republican response) confined to this thread.
This is probably one of the most important speeches Biden can give this year. He has to come across as āPresentā, not just āPresidentā.
This will set the tone for the campaign the rest of the year and will be second only to the Democratic Convention speech in August for visibility.
Watch it live here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2024/
Or through your favorite news source.
The Republican response will be delivered by Senator Katie Britt of Alabama:
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/07/1236338784/katie-britt-alabama-republican-biden-state-of-the-union
Very good speech!
Full transcript is here:
https://time.com/6898705/read-president-joe-bidens-2024-state-of-the-union-address-full-transcript/
Republican response from Katie Britt here:
I encourage you to watch the video and not just read the transcript. Reading it doesnāt carry just how breathless and borderline weepy her delivery is.
And fundamentally falseā¦ Sheās attacking Biden on the border, when she herself helped write the border bill and VOTED IT DOWN because Trump told her to.
Also the optics are especially bad after he literally just called them out on that. āPretty sure you guys can read right?ā Or whatever he said was classic.
Classic and brutal:
"Iām told my predecessor called Republicans in Congress and demanded they block the bill.Ā He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him.
Itās not about him or me.
Itād be a winner for America!
My Republican friends you owe it to the American people to get this bill done.
We need to act.
And if my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill,Ā join me in telling Congress to pass it!
We can do it together. But hereās what I will not do.
I willĀ notĀ demonize immigrants saying they āpoison the blood of our countryā as he said in his own words.
I willĀ notĀ separate families.
I willĀ notĀ banĀ people from America because of their faith.
Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more.
Because unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans.
We are theĀ onlyĀ nation in the worldĀ with aĀ heartĀ andĀ soulĀ that draws fromĀ oldĀ andĀ new.
Home to Native Americans whose ancestors have been here for thousands of years. Home to people from every place on Earth.
Some cameĀ freely.
Some chained byĀ force.
Some when famine struck,Ā like my ancestral family in Ireland.
Some to fleeĀ persecution.
Some to chase dreams that are impossibleĀ anywhereĀ but here in America.
Thatās America,Ā where we all come from somewhere,Ā but we are all Americans.
We can fight about the border,Ā or we can fix it. Iām ready to fix it.
Send me the border bill now!"