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Julie Pace, Associated Press Julie Pace, Associated Press

• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-joe-biden-gives-first-speech-as-president

WATCH: Joe Biden gives first speech as president

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, declaring that “democracy has prevailed.” He swore the oath of office to take the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.

Watch Biden’s inaugural address in the video player above.

Biden’s inauguration came at a time of national tumult and uncertainty, a ceremony of resilience as the hallowed American democratic rite unfurled at a U.S. Capitol battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks ago. On a chilly Washington day dotted with snow flurries, a bipartisan trio of ex-presidents along with the elite of nation’s government gathered, ensuring the quadrennial ceremony persevered, even though it was encircled by security forces evocative of a war zone and devoid of crowds because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The will of the people has been heard, and the will of the people has been heeded. We’ve learned again that democracy is precious and democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed,” Biden said. “This is America’s day. This is democracy’s day. A day in history and hope, of renewal and resolve.”

And then he pivoted to challenges ahead, acknowledging the surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States. Biden looked out over a capital city dotted with empty storefronts that attest to the pandemic’s deep economic toll and where summer protests laid bare the nation’s renewed reckoning on racial injustice.

And he was not applauded by his predecessor.

Flouting tradition, Donald Trump departed Washington on Wednesday morning ahead of the inauguration rather than accompany his successor to the Capitol. Though three other former presidents — Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — gathered to watch the ceremonial transfer of power, Trump, awaiting his second impeachment trial, instead flew to Florida after stoking grievance among his supporters with the lie that Biden’s win was illegitimate.

READ MORE: Your guide to Inauguration Day

Biden, in his third run for the presidency, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. On his first day, Biden will take a series of executive actions — on the pandemic, climate, immigration and more — to undo the heart of Trump’s agenda at a moment with the bonds of the republic strained.

“Biden will face a series of urgent, burning crises like we have not seen before, and they all have to be solved at once. It is very hard to find a parallel in history,” said presidential historian Michael Beschloss. “I think we have been through a near-death experience as a democracy. Americans who will watch the new president be sworn in are now acutely aware of how fragile our democracy is and how much it needs to be protected.”

Biden will come to office with a well of empathy and resolve born by personal tragedy as well as a depth of experience forged from more than four decades in Washington. At age 78, he was the oldest president inaugurated.

More history was made at his side, as Kamala Harris became the first woman to be vice president. The former U.S. senator from California is also the first Black person and the first person of South Asian descent elected to the vice presidency and will become the highest-ranking woman ever to serve in government.

The two will be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony with few parallels in history.

Tens of thousands of troops are on the streets to provide security precisely two weeks after a violent mob of Trump supporters, incited by the Republican president, stormed the Capitol in an attempt to prevent the certification of Biden’s victory.

The tense atmosphere evoked the 1861 inauguration of Lincoln, who was secretly transported to Washington to avoid assassins on the eve of the Civil War, or Roosevelt’s inaugural in 1945, when he opted for a small, secure ceremony at the White House in the waning months of World War II.

The day began with a reach across the aisle after four years of bitter partisan battles under Trump. At Biden’s invitation, congressional leaders from both parties bowed their heads in prayer in the socially distanced service just a few blocks from the White House.

READ MORE: Trump will be remembered as one of the worst U.S. presidents, nearly half of Americans say

Once at the Capitol, Biden will be administered the oath by Chief Justice John Roberts; Harris will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina member of the Supreme Court. Vice President Mike Pence, standing in for Trump, was sitting nearby as Lady Gaga, holding a gold microphone, sang the National Anthem accompanied by the U.S. Marine Corps band.

The theme of Biden’s approximately 30-minute speech will be “America United,” and aides said it would be a call to set aside differences during a moment of national trial.

Biden will then oversee a “Pass in Review,” a military tradition that honors the peaceful transfer of power to a new commander in chief. Then, Biden, Harris and their spouses will be joined by that bipartisan trio of former presidents to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Ceremony.

Later, Biden will join the end of a slimmed-down inaugural parade as he moves into the White House. Because of the pandemic, much of this year’s parade will be a virtual affair featuring performances from around the nation.

In the evening, in lieu of the traditional glitzy balls that welcome a new president to Washington, Biden will take part in a televised concert that also marks the return of A-list celebrities to the White House orbit after they largely eschewed Trump. Among those in the lineup: Bruce Springsteen, Justin Timberlake and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“I protested 45’s inauguration, and I wanted to be here when he left,” said Raelyn Maxwell of Park City, Utah. “And I wanted to celebrate the new president.” She brought a bouquet of roses she hoped to toss to Harris and some champagne to toast the occasion.

Trump is the first president in more than a century to skip the inauguration of his successor. In a cold wind, Marine One took off from the White House and soared above a deserted capital city to his own farewell celebration at nearby Joint Base Andrews. There, he boarded Air Force One for the final time as president for the flight to his Florida estate.

“I will always fight for you. I will be watching. I will be listening and I will tell you that the future of this country has never been better,” said Trump, who wished the incoming administration well but once again declined to mention Biden’s name.

The symbolism was striking: The very moment Trump disappeared into the doorway of Air Force One, Biden stepped out of the Blair House, the traditional guest lodging for presidents-in-waiting, and into his motorcade for the short ride to church.

Trump did adhere to one tradition and left a note for Biden in the Oval Office, according to the White House, which did not release its contents. And Trump, in his farewell remarks, hinted at a political return, saying “we will be back in some form.”

And he, without question, will shadow Biden’s first days in office.

Trump’s second impeachment trial could start as early as this week. That could test the ability of the Senate, poised to come under Democratic control, to balance impeachment proceedings with confirmation hearings and votes on Biden’s Cabinet choices.

Biden was eager to go big early, with an ambitious first 100 days that includes a push to speed up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations to anxious Americans and pass a $1.9 trillion virus relief package. On Day One, he’ll also send an immigration proposal to Capitol Hill that would create an eight-year path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.

He also planned a 10-day blitz of executive orders on matters that don’t require congressional approval — a mix of substantive and symbolic steps to unwind the Trump years. Among the planned steps: rescinding travel restrictions on people from several predominantly Muslim countries; rejoining the Paris climate accord; issuing a mask mandate for those on federal property; and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from their families after crossing the border.

Additional reporting by Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville in Washington and Michelle L. Price in Las Vegas.

More inauguration coverage

• Your guide to Inauguration Day
• Live Inauguration Day updates
• How communities across the country are honoring COVID victims

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What will Trump’s legacy be after leaving office?

Politics Jan 19

Full transcript: President Joe Biden delivers speech to joint session of Congress

The president spoke to a limited crowd due to the pandemic.

President Joe Biden delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, just one day prior to 100 days in office.

The setting was very different from a typical address, though. Due to the pandemic, tickets were limited and social distancing rules were in place.

But the message from Biden was one of progress and a return to normalcy from more than a year under limitations.

The transcript of Biden's speech was as follows:

It's good to be back. As Mitch [McConnell] and Chuck [Schumer] will understand, it is good to be almost home, down the hall.

Anyway, thank you all. Madam speaker, madam vice president. No president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words, and it's about time.

The first lady. I'm her husband. Second gentleman, chief justice, members of the United States Congress and the Cabinet, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans: while the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is just a little bit different, a reminder of the extraordinary times we're in.

Throughout our history, presidents have come to this chamber to speak to Congress, to the nation, and to the world to declare war, to celebrate peace, to announce new plans and possibilities. Tonight, I come to talk about crisis and opportunity. About rebuilding a nation, revitalizing our democracy and winning the future for America.

I stand here tonight one day shy of the 100th day of my administration. One hundred days since I took the oath of office and lifted my hand off our family Bible and inherited a nation, we all did, that was in crisis. The worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation America is on the move again.

Turning peril into possibility, crisis to opportunity, setbacks into strength. We all know life can knock us down, but in America, we never, ever, ever stay down. Americans always get up. Today, that's what we're doing. America is rising anew, choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, and light over darkness.

After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for a take-off, in my view. We're working again, dreaming again, discovering again, and leading the world again. We have shown each other and the world that there is no quit in America, none. 100 days ago, America's House was on fire. We had to act. And thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, and the overwhelming support of the American people, Democrats, independents and Republicans, we did act.

Together, we passed the American Rescue Plan, one of the most consequential rescue packages in American history. We're already seeing the results.

MORE: In 1st, two women will sit behind a president for a speech to Congress

We're already seeing the results. After I promised we'd get 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots into people's arms in 100 days, we will have provided over 220 million COVID shots in those 100 days. Thanks to all the help of all of you. We're marshaling, with your help, everyone's help, we're marshaling every federal resource.

We have gotten vaccines to nearly 40,000 pharmacies and over 700 community health centers where the poorest of the poor can be reached. We're setting up community vaccination sites, developing mobile units to get to hard-to-reach communities. Today, 90% of Americans now live within five miles of a vaccination site. Everyone over the age of 16, everyone, is now eligible to get vaccinated right now, right away. [applause]

Go get vaccinated, America. Go and get the vaccination. They're available. You're eligible now. When I was sworn in on Jan. 20, less than 1% of the seniors in America were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. One hundred days later, 70% of seniors in America over 65 are protected, fully protected. Senior deaths from COVID-19 are down 80% since January, down 80% because of all of you.

And more than half of all the adults in America have gotten at least one shot. A mass vaccination center in Glendale, Arizona, I asked the nurse, I said, "What's it like?" She looked at me, and she said, "It's like every shot is giving a dose of hope." That was her phrase, "a dose of hope."

A dose of hope for an educator in Florida who has a child suffering from an autoimmune disease wrote to me, said she's worried -- that she was worried about bringing the virus home. She said she then got vaccinated at a -- at a large site in her car. She said she sat in her car when she got vaccinated and just cried, cried out of joy and cried out of relief.

Parents seeing the smiles on their kids faces for those who are able to go back to school because the teachers and school bus drivers and cafeteria workers have been vaccinated.

Grandparents hugging their children and grandchildren instead of pressing hands against the window to say good-bye. It means everything. Those things mean everything. You know, they're still -- you all know it, you know it better than any group of Americans. There is still more work to do to beat this virus. We can't let our guard down.

But tonight, I can say because of you -- the American people -- our progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in history has been one of the greatest logistical achievements -- logistical achievements this country has ever seen. What else have we done those first 100 days?

We kept our commitment, Democrats and Republicans, of sending $1,400 rescue checks to 85% of American households. We've already sent more than 160 million checks out the door. It's making a difference. You all know it, when you go home. For many people, it's making all the difference in the world.

A single mom in Texas who wrote me, she said she couldn't work. But she said the relief check put food on the table and saved her and her son from eviction from their apartment. A grandmother in Virginia who told me she immediately took her granddaughter to the eye doctor -- something she said she put off for months because she didn't have the money. One of the defining images, at least from my perspective in this this crisis has been cars lined up -- cars lined up for miles.

MORE: Biden’s First 100 Days Show How Partisan Things Have Become: FiveThirtyEight

And not -- not people who just barely ever start those cars. Nice cars. Lined up for miles. Waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk. I don't know about you, but I didn't ever think I'd see that in America?

That's why the rescue plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans facing hunger -- and hunger is down sharply already. We're also providing rental assistance, you all know this but the American people, I want to make sure they understand -- keeping people from being evicted from their homes, providing loans to small businesses to reopen and keep their employees on the job.

During these 100 days, an additional 800,000 Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act when I established a special sign-up period to do that -- 800,000 in that period. We're making one of the largest one-time ever investments, ever, in improving health care for veterans. Critical investments to address the opioid crisis. And maybe most importantly, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we're on track to put child poverty in America in half this year.

And in the process, while this is all going on, the economy created more than 1,300,000 new jobs in 100 days. More jobs than the first 100 days than any president on record.

The International Monetary Fund is now estimating our economy will grow at a rate of more than 6% this year. That will be the fastest pace of economic growth in this country in nearly four decades.

America is moving, moving forward. But we can't stop now. We're in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century. We're at a great inflection point in history. We have to do more than just build back better -- to build back -- we have to build back better, we have to compete more strenuously than we have.

Throughout our history, if you think about it, public investment in infrastructure has literally transformed America. Our attitudes as well as our opportunities. The transcontinental railroad, the interstate highways, united two oceans and brought a totally new age of progress to the United States of America.

Universal public schools and college aid opened wide the doors of opportunity. Scientific breakthroughs took us to the moon. Now we're on Mars, discovering vaccines, gave us the internet and so much more.

These are investments we made together, as one country, and investments that only the government was in a position to make. Time and again, they propel us into the future. That's why I propose the American Jobs Plan, a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself. This is the largest jobs plan since World War II. It creates jobs to upgrade our transportation infrastructure, jobs modernizing our roads, bridges, highways.

Jobs building ports and airports, rail corridors, transit lines. It's clean water. And today, up to 10 million homes in America and more than 400,000 schools and child care centers have pipes with lead in them, including drinking water -- a clear and present danger to our children's health. The American Jobs Plan creates jobs replacing 100% of the nation's lead pipes and service lines so every American can drink clean water.

In the process, we'll create thousands and thousands of good paying jobs. It creates jobs connecting every American with high-speed internet, including 35% of the rural America that still doesn't have it. This is going to help our kids and our businesses succeed in the 21st-century economy. And I'm asking the vice president to lead this effort, if she would, because I know it will get done.

It creates jobs building a modern power grid. Our grids are vulnerable to storms, hacks, catastrophic failures with tragic results, as we saw in Texas and elsewhere during the winter storms. The American Jobs Plan will create jobs that will lay thousands of miles of transmission lines needed to build a resilient and fully clean grid. We can do that.

Look, the American Jobs Plan will help millions of people get back to their jobs and back to their careers. Two million women have dropped out of the workforce during this pandemic -- 2 million. And too often because they couldn't get the care they needed to care for their child or care for an elderly parent who needs help.

Eight-hundred thousand families are on the Medicare waiting list right now to get home care for their aging parent or loved one with disability. If you think it's not important, check out in your own district, Democrat or Republican. Democrat or Republican voters, their great concern -- almost as much as their children, is taking care of an elderly loved one who can't be left alone.

Medicaid contemplated it, but this plan is going to help those families and create jobs for our caregivers with better wages and better benefits, continuing a cycle of growth.

For too long, we failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis: jobs, jobs, jobs.

For me, when I think climate change, I think jobs. The American Jobs Plan will put engineers and construction workers to work building more energy efficient buildings and homes. Electrical workers, IBEW members installing 500,000 charges stations along our highways so we can own the electric car market. Farmers planting cover crops so they can reduce the carbon dioxide in the air and get paid for doing it.

Look, think about it. There is simply no reason why the blades for wind turbines can't be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing. No reason, none. No reason. So, folks, there is no reason why American workers can't lead the world in the production of electric vehicles and batteries. I mean, there is no reason. We have this capacity. We have the brightest, best trained people in the world.

The American Jobs Plan is going to create millions of good paying jobs, jobs Americans can raise a family on -- as my dad would then say -- "with a little breathing room." And all the investments in the American Job Plan will be guided by one principle: Buy American. Buy American. And I might note parenthetically, that does not violate any trade agreement. It's been the law since the '30s: Buy American. American tax dollars are going to be used to buy American products made in America to create American jobs. That's the way it is supposed to be, and it will be in this administration.

And I made it clear to all my cabinet people. Their ability to give exemptions has been strenuously limited. It will be American products. Now, I know some of you at home are wondering whether these jobs are for you. So many of you, so many of the folks I grew up with feel left behind, forgotten in an economy that's so rapidly changing it's frightening.

I want to speak directly to you, because you think about it. That's what people are most worried about: Can I fit in? Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to economic growth in the years to come. It is a -- it is an eight-year program. These are good-paying jobs that can't be outsourced. Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. Seventy-five percent don't require an associate's degree.

The American Jobs Plan is a blue collar blueprint to build America. That's what it is. And it recognizes something I’ve always said, in this chamber and the other. Good guys and women on Wall Street, but Wall Street didn't build this country. The middle class built the country, and unions built the middle class.

So that's why I'm calling on Congress to pass Protect the Right to Organize Act, the PRO Act and send it to my desk so we can support the right to unionize.

And by the way, while you’re thinking about sending things to my desk, let's raise the minimum wage to $15. No one -- no one working 40 hours a week, no one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line.

We need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. And while we're doing this, let's get the Paycheck Fairness Act to my desk as well. Equal pay. It's been much too long.

And if you wonder whether it’s too long, look behind you.

And finally, the American Jobs Plan will be the biggest increase in non-defense research and development on record. We'll see more technological change, and some of you know more about this than I do. We'll see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50. That's how rapidly artificial intelligence and so much more is changing.

And we're falling behind the competition with the rest of the world. Decades ago, we used to invest 2% of our gross domestic product in America, 2% of our gross domestic product in research and development. Today, Mr. Secretary, that's less than 1%. China and other countries are closing in fast. We have to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future, the advanced batteries, biotechnology, computer chips, clean energy.

The secretary of defense can tell you, and those of you who work on national security issues know, the defense department has an agency called DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. The people who set up before I came here, and that's been a long time ago, to develop break-throughs that enhance our national security. That's their only job.

And it’s a semi-separate agency. It’s under the Defense Department. It's led to everything from the discovery of the internet to GPS and so much more. It's enhanced our security. The National Institutes of Health, the NIH, I believe, should create a similar advanced research project agency for health.

And here’s what it would do. It would have a singular purpose: to develop breakthroughs to prevent, detect and treat diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. I’ll still never forget when we passed the cancer proposal in the last year I was vice president, almost $9 million going to NIH.

And if you excuse the point of personal privilege, I’ll never forget you standing, Mitch, and saying, name it after my deceased son. It meant a lot. But so many of us have deceased sons, daughters, and relatives who died of cancer. I can think of no more worthy investment.

I know of nothing that is more bipartisan, so let's end cancer as we know it. It is within our power. It's within our power to do it.

Investments in jobs and infrastructure like the ones we’re talking about have often had bipartisan support in the past. Vice President Harris and I met regularly in the Oval Office with Democrats and Republicans to discuss the jobs plan. And I applaud a group of Republican senators who just put forward their own proposal. So let's get to work. I wanted to lay out before the Congress my plan before we got into the deep discussions.

I like to meet with those who have ideas that are different, that they think are better. I welcome those ideas. But the rest of the world is not waiting for us. I just want to be clear, from my perspective, doing nothing is not an option.

Look, we can't be so busy competing with one another that we forget the competition that we have with the rest of the world to win the 21st century. As Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken can tell you, I spent a lot of time with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping], traveled over 17,000 miles with him, spent over 24 hours in private discussions with him. When he called to congratulate me, we had a two-hour discussion.

He's deadly earnest about becoming the most significant, consequential nation in the world. He and others, autocrats, think that democracy can't compete in the 21st century with autocracies because it takes too long to get consensus. To win that competition for the future, in my view, we also need to make a once-in-a-generation investment in our families and our children.

That's why I’ve introduced the American Families Plan tonight, which addresses four of the biggest challenges facing American families and, in turn, America. First is access to good education. When this nation made 12 years of public education universal in the last century, it made us the best educated, best prepared nation in the world. It's, I believe, the overwhelming reason that propelled us to where we got in the 20th century. But the world has caught up or catching up. They're not waiting.

I would say parenthetically, if we were sitting down, we put a bipartisan committee together said, okay, we're going to decide what we do in terms of government providing for free education. I wonder whether we'd think, as we did in the 20th century, that 12 years is enough in the 21st century. I doubt it. Twelve years is no longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.

That’s why the American Families Plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in America -- starting as early as we can.

We add two years of universal high-quality preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old, no matter what background they come from, puts them in a position to be able to compete all the way through 12 years and increases exponentially their prospect of graduating and going on beyond graduation.

Research shows when a young child goes to school, not day care, they're far more likely to graduate from high school and go to college, or something after high school. When you add two years of free community college on top of that, you begin to change the dynamic. We can do that.

And we’ll increase Pell grants and invest in historical Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, minority-serving institutions. The reason is they don't have the endowments, but their students are just as capable of learning about cyber security, just as capable of learning about metallurgy, all the things that are going on that provide those jobs of the future. Jill is a community college professor who teaches today, as first lady.

She's long said -- if I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times: “Joe, any country that out educates us is going to outcompete us.” She will be deeply involved in leading this effort. Thank you, Jill. Second thing we need, American Families Plan will provide access to quality, affordable child care.

What I'm proposing in the legislation -- we guarantee that low and middle income families will pay no more than 7% of their income for high quality care for children up to the age of 5. The most hard-pressed working families won't have to spend a dime. Third, the American Families Plan will finally provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave and medical leave, family medical leave.

No one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck or taking care of themselves and their loved ones or parent or spouse or child. And, fourth, the American Family Plan puts directly into the pockets of millions of Americans. In March, we expanded the tax credit for every child in a family, up to $3,000 per child if they're over 6 years of age.

And $3,600 for children over 6 years of age. With two parents, two kids, that's $7,200 in the pockets that are going to help take care of your family. And that will help more than 65 million children and help cut child care poverty in half.

And we can afford it. So we did that in the -- in the last piece of legislation we passed. But let's extend that child care tax credit at least through the end of 2025. The American Rescue Plan lowered health care premiums for 9 million Americans who buy their coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

I know that’s really popular on this side of the aisle. [laughter] But, let's make that provision permanent so their premiums don't go back up.

In addition to my families plan, I’m going to work with Congress to address this year other critical priorities for American families. The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for millions of Americans protecting people with preexisting conditions, protecting women's health. And the pandemic has demonstrated how badly, how badly it's needed. Let's lower deductibles for working families on the Affordable -- in the Affordable Care Act. And let's lower prescription drug costs.

We know how to do this. The last president had that as an objective. We all know how outrageously expensive drugs are in America. In fact, we pay the highest prescription drug prices of anywhere in the world, right here in America. Nearly three times for the same drug, nearly three times what other countries pay.

We have to change that. And we can. Let's do what we talked about for all the years I was down here in this body, in Congress. Let's give Medicare the power to save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower drug prescription prices.

And by the way, it won’t just -- it won’t just help people on Medicare. It’ll lower prescription drug costs for everyone. And the money we save, which is billions of dollars, can go to strengthening the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicare benefits without costing taxpayers an additional penny. It is within our power to do it. Let's do it now.

We’ve talked about it long enough, Democrats and Republicans. Let's get it done this year. This is all about a simple premise: Health care should be a right, not a privilege in America.

So, how do we pay for my jobs and family plan? I made it clear, we can do without increasing the deficit. Let's start with what I will not do. I will not impose any tax increase on people making less than $400,000. But it is time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to just begin to pay their fair share. Just their fair share.

Sometimes I have arguments with my friends in the Democratic party. I think you should be able to become a billionaire and a millionaire, but pay your fair share. A recent study shows that 55 of the nation's biggest corporations paid zero federal tax last year. Those 55 corporations made in excess of $40 billion in profit.

A lot of companies also evaded taxes through tax havens in Switzerland and Bermuda and the Cayman islands. And they benefit from tax loopholes and deductions, for offshoring jobs and shifting profits overseas. It's not right. We’re going to reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from as well.

We're going to reward work, not just wealth. We take the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% of Americans, those making over $400,000 or more, back up to where it was when George W. Bush was president, when he started, 39.6%.

That's where it was when George W. was president. We're going to get rid of the loopholes allowing Americans to make more than a million dollars a year and pay a lower tax rate on their capital gains on Americans who receive a paycheck. We're only going to affect three-tenths of 1% of all Americans by that action. Three-tenths of 1%.

And the IRS is going to crack down on millionaires and billionaires who cheat on their taxes. It’s estimated to be billions of dollars by think tanks that are left, right, and center. I'm not looking to punish anybody. But I will not add a tax burden, additional tax burden to the middle class in this country. They're already paying enough.

I believe what I propose is fair. Fiscally responsible. And it raises revenue to pay for the plans I propose and it will create millions of jobs that will grow the economy and enhance our financial standing in the country. When you hear someone say they don't want to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% or corporate America, ask them, whose taxes do you want to raise? Instead, whose are we going to cut?

Look, the big tax cut of 2017, you remember it was supposed to pay for itself. That was how it was sold. And generate vast economic growth. Instead, it added $2 trillion to the deficit. It was a huge windfall for corporate America and those at the very top.

Instead of using the tax saving to raise wages and invest in research and development, it poured billions of dollars into the pockets of CEOs. In fact, the pay gap between CEOs and their workers is now among the largest in history. According to one study, CEOs make 320 times what the average worker in their corporation makes, it used to be in the -- below 100. The pandemic has only made things worse. 20 million Americans lost their job in the pandemic, working and middle class Americans.

At the same time, roughly 650 billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 trillion, in the same exact period. Let me say that again: 650 people increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion during this pandemic. And they're now worth more than $4 trillion.

My fellow Americans, trickle down -- trickle down economics has never worked, and it’s time to grow the economy from the bottom and the middle out.

You know, there is a broad consensus of economists left, right, and center, and they agree what I'm proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate historic economic growth. These are among the highest value investments we can make as a nation. I have often said, our greatest strength is the power of our example, not just the example of our power.

My conversations with world leaders, and I’ve spoken to over 38 -- 40 of them now. I have made it known. I have made it known that America is back. And you know what they say? The comment that I hear most of all from them? So they say, “We see America is back. But for how long? But for how long?”

My fellow Americans, we have to show not just that we're back, but that we're back to stay and that we aren't going to go alone.

We're going to do it by leading with our allies. No one nation can deal with all the crises of our time, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation, mass migration, cybersecurity, climate change as well as experiencing -- what we're experiencing now with pandemics.

There’s no wall high enough to keep any virus away. As our own vaccine supply grows to meet our needs -- and we are meeting them -- we will become an arsenal of vaccines for other countries -- just as America was the arsenal of democracy in World War II.

The climate crisis is not our fight alone, either. It’s a global fight. The United States accounts, as all of you know, for less than 15% of carbon emissions. The rest of the world accounts for 85%.

That’s why I kept my commitment to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on my first day in office.

And I kept my commitment to convene a climate summit right here in America, with all of the major economies of the world -- from China and Russia to India and the European Union. And I said I would do it in my first 100 days. And I want to be very blunt about it.

My attempt was to make sure that the world could see there was a consensus, that we are at an inflection point in history. The consensus is if we act to save the planet, we can create millions of jobs and economic growth and opportunity to raise the standard of living of almost everyone around the world. If you watched any of it, and you were all busy, I’m sure you didn’t have much time, that's what virtually every nation said, even the ones that aren't doing their fair share.

The investments I propose tonight also advance the foreign policy, in my view, that benefits the middle class. That means making sure every nation plays by the same rules in the global economy, including China. My discussions -- in my discussions with President Xi, I told him, we welcome the competition. We're not looking for conflict.

But I made absolutely clear that we will defend America's interest across the board. America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and American industries like subsidies from state to state owned operations and enterprises and the theft of American technology and intellectual property.

I also told President Xi that we’ll maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific, just as we do with NATO and Europe. Not to start a conflict, but to prevent one.

I told him what I said to many world leaders, that America will not back away from our commitments, our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to our alliances. And I pointed out to him, no responsible American President could remain silent when basic human rights are being so blatantly violated. An American President -- President has to represent the essence of what our country stands for.

America is an idea, the most unique idea in history: we are created, all of us, equal. It's who we are, and we cannot walk away from that principle. And, in fact, say “we're dealing with the American idea.”

With regard to Russia, I know it concerns some of you, but I made very clear to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we're not going to seek escalation, but their actions will have consequence if they turn out to be true. And they turned out to be true, so I responded directly and proportionately to Russia's interference on our elections, and the cyberattacks on our government and our business.

They did both of these things, and I told them we would respond and we have. But we can also cooperate when it’s in our mutual interest. We did it when we extended the New START Treaty on nuclear arms, and we're working to do it on climate change. But he understands we will respond.

On Iran and North Korea, nuclear programs that present serious threats to American security and the security of the world, we're going to be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both of these countries through diplomacy as well as stern deterrence. And American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan.

We have, without hyperbole, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. I’m the first president in 40 years who knows what it means to have a son serving in a war zone. Today, we have service members serving in the same war zone as their parents did. We have service members in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11.

The war in Afghanistan, as we remember the debates here, were never meant to be multi-generational undertakings of nation building. We went to Afghanistan to get terrorists -- the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. And we said we would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell to do it. If you’ve been in the upper Kunar Valley, you’ve kind of seen the gates of hell.

And we delivered justice to Bin Laden. We degraded the terrorist threat of al-Qaida and Afghanistan. And after 20 years of value, valor, and sacrifice, it’s time to bring those troops home.

Even as we do, we’ll maintain over the horizon capacity to suppress future threats to the homeland. And make no mistake, in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has evolved way beyond Afghanistan. Those of you in the intelligence committees, the foreign relation community, defense communities, you know well. We have to remain vigilant against the threats to the United States wherever they come from. Al-Qaida and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, other places in Africa, in the Middle East and beyond.

And we won't ignore what our intelligence agency has determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: white supremacy's terrorism.

We're not going to ignore that either. My fellow Americans, look, we have to come together to heal the soul of this nation. It was nearly a year ago, before her father's funeral, when I spoke with Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s young daughter. She's a little tyke, so I was kneeling down to talk to her so I could look her in the eye. She looked at me, she said, “My daddy changed the world.”

Well, after the conviction of George Floyd's murderer, we can see how right she was if, if we have the courage to act as a Congress. We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black Americans. Now is our opportunity to make some real progress. The vast majority of men and women wearing the uniform and a badge serve our communities and they serve them honorably.

I know them. I know they want to help meet this moment as well. My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, to root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system and to enact police reform in George Floyd's name that passed the House already. I know Republicans have their own ideas, and are engaged in a very productive discussion with Democrats in the Senate. We need to work together to find a consensus, but let's get it done next month by the first anniversary of George Floyd's death.

The country supports this reform, and Congress should act -- should act. We have a giant opportunity to bend the ark of the moral universe towards justice, real justice. And with the plans outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues America and American lives in other ways.

A chance to deliver real equity, good jobs, good schools, affordable housing, clean air, clean water, being able to generate wealth and pass it down to generations because you have an access to purchase a house. Real opportunities in the lives of more Americans, Black, white, Latino, Asian Americans, Native Americans.

Look, I also want to thank the United States Senate for voting 94-1 to pass COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian-American and Pacific Islanders. You acted decisively.

You can see on television the viciousness of the hate crimes we have seen over the past year and for too long. I urge the House to do the same and send that legislation to my desk, which I will gladly, anxiously sign. I also hope Congress will get to my desk the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ Americans.

To all transgender Americans watching at home, especially the young people, who are so brave, I want you to know your president has your back. Another thing: let's authorize the Violence Against Women Act, which has been law for 27 years. Twenty-seven years ago, I wrote it.

It will close -- the act that has to be authorized now, it will close the boyfriend loophole to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. The court order said “this is an abuser,” you can't own a gun. It’s to close that loophole that existed. You know, it’s estimated that 50 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month in America, 50 a month.

Let's pass it, and save some lives. And I need -- I need not tell anyone this but gun violence has become an epidemic in America. The flag at the White House was still flying at half mast for the eight victims of the mass shooting in Georgia when 10 more lives were taken in a mass shooting in Colorado.

And in the week in between those two events, 250 other Americans were shot dead in the streets of America. 250. Shot dead. I know how hard it is to make progress on this issue. In the 90s, we passed universal background checks, a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines that hold a hundred rounds that can be fired off in seconds. We beat the NRA. Mass shootings and gun violence declined.

Check out the report over ten years. But in the early 2000s, the law expired. We've seen daily bloodshed since. I'm not saying if the law continued we wouldn't see bloodshed. More than two weeks ago in the Rose Garden, surrounded by some of the bravest people I know, the survivors and families who lost loved ones to gun violence, I laid out several of the Department of Justice actions that are being to taken to impact in this epidemic.

One of them is banning so-called ghost guns. These are homemade guns built from a kit that includes directions on how to finish the firearm. The parts have no serial numbers. So they show up at crime scenes and they can't be traced. The buyers of these ghost gun kits aren't required to pass any background check.

Anyone, from a criminal or terrorist, could buy this kit and within 30 minutes have a weapon that's lethal, but no more. And I'll do everything in my power to protect the American people from this epidemic of gun violence, but it is time for Congress to act as well.

I don't want to become confrontational but we need more Senate Republicans to join the overwhelming majority of Democratic colleagues, and close the loopholes required in background checks purchases of guns. We need a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And don't tell me it can't be done. We did it before, and it worked.

Talk to most responsible gun owners and hunters, they'll tell you there is no possible justification for having a hundred rounds in a weapon. What do you think, deer are wearing kevlar vests? [laughter] They'll tell you that there are too many people today who are able to buy a gun but shouldn't be able to buy a gun.

These kinds of reasonable reforms have overwhelming support from the American people, including many gun owners. The country supports reform and this -- and Congress should act. This shouldn't be a red or blue issue, and no Amendment to the Constitution is absolute. You can't yell “fire” in a crowded theater. From the very beginning there were certain guns, weapons that could not be owned by Americans.

Certain people could not own those weapons ever. We're not changing the Constitution. We're being reasonable. I think this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. I think it's an American issue. And here's what else we can do. Immigration has always been essential to America. Let's end our exhausting war over immigration.

For more than 30 years, politicians have talked about immigration reform, and we've done nothing about it. It's time to fix it. On day one of my presidency, I kept my commitment to send a comprehensive immigration bill to the United States Congress. If you believe we need to secure the border, pass it, because it has a lot of money for high tech border security. If you believe in a pathway to citizenship, pass it. There’s over 11 million undocumented folks, the vast majority are here overstaying visas, pass it.

We can actually -- if you actually want to solve the problem, I've sent a bill to take a close look at it. We also have to get at the root problem of why people are fleeing ,particularly to our southern border of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The violence, the corruption, the gangs, the political instability, hunger, hurricanes, earthquakes, natural disasters. When I was president, my president -- when I was vice president, the president asked me to focus on providing help needed to address the root causes of migration.

And it helped keep people in their own countries instead of being forced to leave. The plan was working, but the last administration decided it was not worth it. I'm restoring the program, and I asked Vice President [Kamala] Harris to lead our diplomatic effort to take care of this. I have absolute confidence she'll get the job done.

Now look, if you don't like my plan, let's at least pass what we all agree on. Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure protection for Dreamers. The young people who have only known America as their home. And permanent protection for immigrants who are here on temporary protective status who came from countries beset by man-made and natural made violence and disaster.

As well as a pathway to citizenship for foregn workers who put food on our tables. Look, immigrants have done so much for America during this pandemic and throughout our history. The country supports immigration reform. We should act. Let's argue over it. Let's debate it, but let's act. And if we truly restore -- want to restore the soul of America, we need to protect the sacred right to vote.

More people voted in the last Presidential election than any time in American history, in the middle of the worst pandemic ever. It should be celebrated. Instead, it's being attacked. Congress should pass HR-1, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and send it to my desk right away.

The country supports it, and Congress should act now. [applause, cont.] Look, in conclusion, as we gather here tonight, the images of a violent mob assaulting this Capitol, desecrating our democracy remain vivid in all our minds. Lives were put at risk, many of your lives. Lives were lost.

Extraordinary courage was summoned. The insurrection was an existential crisis, a test of whether our democracy could survive, and it did. But the struggle is far from over. The question of whether our democracy will long endure is both ancient and urgent, as old as our Republic, still vital today.

Can our democracy deliver on its promise that all of us created equal in the image of god have a chance to lead lives of dignity, respect, and possibility? Can our democracy deliver to the most pressing needs of our people? Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate, and fears that have pulled us apart? America's adversaries, the autocrats of the world, are betting we can't. And I promise you they're betting we can't.

They believe we’re too full of anger and division and rage. They look at the images of the mob that assaulted the Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on American democracy. But they're wrong. You know it. I know it. But we have to prove them wrong. We have to prove democracy still works, that our government still works, and we can deliver for our people.

MORE: Congress prepares for 'strange' and 'extraordinary' presidential address

In our first 100 days together, we've acted to restore people's faith in democracy to deliver. We're vaccinating the nation, we're creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, we're delivering real results to people. They can see it, feel it in their own lives, opening doors of opportunity, guaranteeing some more fairness and justice. That’s the essence of America. That's democracy in action. Our Constitution opens with the words, as trite as it sounds, “we the people.”

Well, it's time to remember that we, the people, are the government. You and I. Not some force in a distant capital. Not some powerful force that we have no control over. It's us! It's we the people. In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt reminded us, in America, we do our part, we all do our part. That's all I'm asking. That we do our part, all of us. If we do that, we will meet the center challenge of the age by proving that democracy is durable and strong.

Autocrats will not win the future, we will. America will. And the future belongs to America. As I stand here tonight before you in a new and vital hour of life and democracy of our nation, and I can say with absolute confidence, I have never been more confident or optimistic about America, not because I'm President. Because of what's happening with the American people.

We've stared into the abyss of insurrection and autocracy, pandemic and pain. And We, the people, did not flinch. At the very moment our adversaries were certain we'd pull apart and fail, we came together. We united. With light and hope, we summoned a new strength, new resolve to position us to win the competition of the 21st century.

On our way to a union more perfect, more prosperous, and more just as one people, one nation, and one America. Folks, as I told every world leader I ever met with over the years, it's never ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America and it still isn't.

We're the United States of America.

There is not a single thing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. We can do whatever we set our minds to if we do it together. So let's begin to get together. God bless you all, and may god protect our troops. Thank you for your patience.

Related Topics

• President Biden

Biden puts democracy at the heart of his State of the Union address

President Biden laid out the case for his campaign for reelection this year, focusing principally on democracy and abortion rights . In response, Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama focused on immigration and painted a dark picture of the country, aligned with former President Donald Trump’s message.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Biden’s performance: The president cleared a low bar , giving a forceful and political address that may have eased the nerves of some Democrats.
• Immigration: Biden left the topic of immigration toward the end of his speech for a reason.
• Trump’s reaction : The former president’s remarks on Truth Social ranged from the personal to the defensive.

Thanks for joining us

Now that Biden has headed back to the White House and the GOP response has ended, we're winding this down tonight.

Here's a full transcript of Biden's remarks — or watch his address:

Good night!

GOP Spanish-language rebuttal stays on the border

By Ximena Bustillo

Border policy and the death of Laken Riley stayed top talking points in Texas GOP Rep. Mónica De La Cruz's Spanish-language rebuttal to Biden's speech.

"On the border, we see the disaster that Biden has caused," she said , adding that she is concerned about drugs and crime influenced by border crossings.

De La Cruz also focused on inflation and economic issues, and added a bit of foreign policy in the mix, noting that China and Russia "are helping the socialist governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua."

She closed with the same final question as fellow GOP rebutter Sen. Katie Britt: "Are you better off now than you were three years ago?"

Sen. Katie Britt focuses on immigration and IVF in rebuttal

The U.S.-Mexico border continued to be a top talking point into the rebuttal speech given by Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Britt echoed GOP arguments that Biden created a "border crisis." Laken Riley's death was mentioned once again as an example of a crime committed by someone who has crossed the border.

Britt also voiced support for IVF, a service that has been in legal limbo in her state , stating: "And we want families to grow. It's why we strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization. We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world."

Her speech also focused on threats from China, inflation and the closing question: "Are you better off now than you were three years ago?" The same question was also posed at the end of the Spanish-language rebuttal.

Britt calls out Biden for hypocrisy on TikTok

By Deepa Shivaram

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who delivered the GOP response to Biden's speech, called out Biden on TikTok, the popular social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

The White House said this week they're backing a bill in Congress that would allow the president to ban TikTok unless it severs ties with ByteDance, citing national security concerns over the company's use of data.

The president has already signed a law that bans the app on government devices. But that hasn't stopped Biden from joining the platform for his campaign. Last month "BidenHQ" joined TikTok, in an attempt to reach younger voters.

"He bans TikTok for government employees, but creates an account for his own campaign," Britt said. "You can't make this stuff up."

Earlier in her remarks, Britt said Chinese Communist Party was "spreading propaganda" through TikTok. "The CCP knows that if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America."

Biden embraces age, talks of future, criticizes right's 'ancient ideas'

By Domenico Montanaro

Joe Biden is old.

Yes. There has been tons of discussion around the 81-year-old president's age. He's the oldest president in the history of the office. Polls show it's one of his biggest vulnerabilities , even lots of Democrats worry about his facility and ability to be president. But Biden tried to move the conversation beyond his age to his ideas, comparing them to the "ancient" ones promulgated by Trump and the right.

He reintroduced himself, saying he had been often criticized for being "too young" when he was elected senator at 29. Biden described hate, anger, and retribution as the oldest ideas and you "can't lead America with ancient ideas." He said the country hasn't always lived up to the ideal that all people are created equal, but said, "I won't walk away from it now. I'm optimistic." And Biden talked about his vision for the future.

Biden's goal tonight was to convince people he's up to the job, and he likely did that for most who are open to voting for him.

Biden heads to Philadelphia Friday, Atlanta Saturday

Biden hits the road to take his State of the Union message straight to swing state voters starting on Friday.

He'll first head to Philadelphia. On Saturday, the president and first lady Jill Biden will attend a rally in Atlanta, a state where turnout from several communities of color will be critical if Biden is to win the state again.

It's traditional for presidents to travel the country after giving the State of the Union address. And he won't be the only one on the road; Vice President Harris is going to Arizona and Nevada, and cabinet officials will be fanning out around the country.

Biden's SOTU section on abortion never said the word "abortion"

By Danielle Kurtzleben

Biden's address tonight contained a fiery section on abortion rights, but the president did not use the actual word "abortion."

Reproductive rights advocates have criticized Biden on this note for years, saying he doesn't use the word often enough. One group, We Testify, created a website devoted to this criticism.

In fact, Biden's remarks as written did include the word, saying, "Because Texas law banned abortion, Kate and her husband had to leave the state to get the care she needed" — referring to a Texas woman who received an emergency abortion.

But in delivering his speech, Biden replaced the word "abortion," instead saying "Because Texas law banned her ability to act."

Biden lays blame on Trump — but doesn't mention him by name

Throughout his speech, Biden did not call out former President Donald Trump by name but he did call out his "predecessor" various times. That included claims that Trump:

• Told Putin to “ Do whatever the hell you want "
• Wants to "bury the truth" about what happened on Jan. 6, along with other GOP members of Congress
• Took credit for overturning of Roe v. Wade
• Didn't "buy American"
• Wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act
• Told Republicans to block the bipartisan immigration deal
• Didn't take action to address gun violence

Biden, off script, talks about crimes by 'illegals'

When Biden was heckled by frequent antagonist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., about his border policies, his ad-libbed response generated criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.

Taylor Greene shouted out the name of Laken Riley , a Georgia student who was killed last month. Trump has blamed Biden for her death. An undocumented Venezuelan immigrant has been arrested for the crime.

Earlier in the day the House passed the Laken Riley Act , which would require the detention of migrants who commit burglary or theft. Green had handed a pin with her name to Biden as he walked into the chamber.

Responding to Taylor Greene, Biden referred to Riley as "Lincoln," and said she had been "killed by an illegal." He added, "But how many thousands of people are being killed by illegals?"

The use of the "illegal" to refer to undocumented migrants quickly received online backlash from progressives, while conservatives criticized the fumble of Laken's name.

Vice President Harris gets a few shout-outs from Biden

This speech is a high-profile moment for any vice president. Tonight, Biden his vice president a few times during his address, noting Harris' work on fighting for reproductive rights and on gun violence prevention.

Harris has been the lead figure in the White House taking on protecting abortion rights after Roe v. Wade was overturned. "I thank Vice President Harris for being an incredible leader, defending reproductive freedom and so much more," Biden said.

He also mentioned her work on gun safety. Last year, when Biden established the first ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention , he tapped Harris to lead it.

Biden also mentioned Harris as he talked about the arc of history that he's seen during his many years in politics, noting he had served as vice president to the nation's first Black president — and now serves alongside the first woman to serve as vice president.

What Trump said about Iowa shooting

President Biden, at one point, pointed out that former President Trump had said after a mass shooting in Iowa that people had to "get over it."

House Speaker Mike Johnson shook his head behind Biden as he said it, but here's what Trump said back in January at a campaign rally:

“I want to send our support and our deepest sympathies to the victims and families touched by the terrible school shooting yesterday in Perry, Iowa. It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here. But have to get over it, we have to move forward."

Up next: Sen. Katie Britt, who will deliver the Republican response

By Heidi Glenn

We're waiting for Alabama Sen. Katie Britt to give the Republican response to Biden's address.

According to excerpts released earlier tonight, Britt is expected to slam the president on border and high costs and will also go after Biden on his withdrawal from Afghanistan and his Iran policy. Stick with us here on this live blog — and our in-studio video stream of NPR's special coverage — in the meantime.

Biden empathizes with people in Gaza, and says Israel must do more to allow aid in

Biden was more descriptive than he has been in talking about the civilian death toll in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed as Israel responds to the October 7th Hamas attack.

"This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined," Biden said. "Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine."

Biden has been criticized for not doing more to speak out against Israel. Tonight, he said Israel has to do more to let more aid into Gaza. "Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip," Biden said.

Read more about Biden's announcement of a port to get more aid into Gaza.

Trump's argumentative State of the Union responses

On Truth Social tonight, Donald Trump's running commentary on Biden's address ranged from the personal ("His hair is much better in the front than on the back!") to the defensive ("Putin only invaded Ukraine, because he has no respect for Biden. Would have never happened under the Trump Administration, and for four years it didn’t happen!"). He also advised Biden not to shake hands as he leaves ("DON’T SHAKE PEOPLE’S HANDS GOING OUT – HE KEEPS COUGHING INTO HIS RIGHT HAND!").

The Truth Social site experienced a spike in outages during the speech but regained function as the night went on.

Guess who's back? Santos 2024

Former GOP Rep. George Santos announced on the social media platform X that he is looking to run in 2024 for a new congressional seat. This time he has his eyes set on New York's 1st District.

The seat is currently held by GOP Rep. Nick LaLota, who won the seat in 2022. Santos was expelled last year by the House.

Biden struggles some toward back of speech, but overall a solid performance so far

President Biden had a forceful beginning of his speech. Later on, he seemed to struggle some with a choppy back and forth with Republicans on immigration. His voice grew hoarse at times. He mentioned going to Moscow for lower prescription drugs, though he caught himself.

For those who don't like Biden, they'll point to Biden's worst moments as him not being up to the job. But for Democrats, who wanted to see vigor, overall they have to be thrilled with the speech so far — and most, they hope, will remember the forceful beginning of the speech.

The question is whether he is doing enough to convince hesitant independents that they should vote for him again. He showed, at least for one night, he's got some fight left in him.

Biden says no one should go to jail for cannabis

Biden said no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana, an issue that disproporionately impacts Black Americans.

Most Americans believe marijuana should be legal for medicinal and recreational use.

He said he's been directing his administration to review the federal classification of marijuana. Biden has already pardoned people who had been charged with simple possession of marijuana .

Last year, Biden also issued a statement encouraging governors to take action on marijuana laws in their own states.

"Just as no one should be in a federal prison solely due to the use or possession of marijuana, no one should be in a local jail or state prison for that reason, either," Biden said in December.

Biden left immigration further down in his speech for a reason

Half an hour into President Biden's address, he'd left immigration out. He led off with democracy, abortion rights, the economy, infrastructure, even mentioned unions, Obamacare, Social Security and more.

It's understandable that Biden would leave immigration to further down, because it's a real vulnerability. The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found just 29% approved of the job Biden was doing handling immigration, and Republicans had a 12-point advantage when respondents were asked which party they thought would do a better job on the issue.

When he got to it, he criticized Republicans for voting against a bill that Republicans negotiated. He knew that this portion would fire up Republicans. It's the animating issue for the GOP. Since the 2011 State of the Union when a South Carolina congressman yelled out, "You lie," it has drawn heckles from Republicans. When Biden mentioned portions of the bill, there were those who yelled out, accusing Biden of lying.

"You're saying no," Biden said to Republicans, "look at the facts. I know you know how to read."

His team expected this back and forth. Biden's response overall was choppy. He has to hope more people will remember the top of his speech.

Read Biden's speech

➡️ Read along with Biden's remarks as prepared for delivery.

Biden proposes tax credit to offset high mortgage rates

"I know the cost of housing is so important to you," Biden said, noting that mortgage rates will come down.

But the president said he didn't want to wait, so he's proposing that Congress pass legislation for an annual tax credit to offset high mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers, and for those who are ready to graduate from their starter home.

The White House, which released the proposed plan earlier today, pitched it as a way of easing the “lock-in effect."

The plan also calls for building and renovating more than 2 million homes.

Biden so far clearing a very low bar on performance

Biden has come out of the gate with a very forceful address. He's hammered home key issues everyone will hear a lot about over the next eight months — preserving democracy, Jan. 6, abortion rights and infrastructure.

He jabbed former President Donald Trump, merely referring to him as "my predecessor," noting that he's the "reason Roe was overturned, and he bragged about it." He poked the Supreme Court, quoting it on the power of women at the ballot box — "You're about to find out just how right you were about that."

On infrastructure, he got in a dig at Republicans cheering money for their districts they didn't vote for, saying, "If any of you don't want that money in your district, just let me know."

He's hit on a checklist of issues and voter groups he needs for reelection. Center-right Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, no Trump fan, made this point about the tyranny of low expectations: "Republicans might regret setting the bar at dementia."

Republicans might regret setting the bar at dementia. — Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) March 8, 2024

Capping insulin costs is a big priority for Biden

Biden talked about capping the cost of prescription drugs — a line that often gets enthusiastic applause during his events at the White House and on the road.

"Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin, seniors with diabetes only have to pay $35 a month," Biden said. "And now I want to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it."

Biden pointed out that costs for drugs in other countries are far less expensive than they are in the U.S.

One problem for Biden with semiconductor jobs: not enough workers to fill them

By Staff reports

Biden has spent a lot of time talking about jobs at semiconductor plants thanks to the CHIPS Act as he makes his reelection pitch. But there's a major hurdle to turning expansion plans into reality — currently, there are not enough workers to fill those jobs.

Read more in this story from NPR's Asma Khalid here.

Truth Social experiences outages during Trump State of the Union response

Amid Trump's live responses to the State of the Union on Truth Social, the site stopped loading for users. The site Down Detector, which tracks outages on popular sites, showed a spike in Truth Social outages starting shortly after the State of the Union began, at 9 p.m. ET.

Biden shouts out Swedish Prime Minister

Biden shouted out Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, as Sweden officially joined NATO today — a move prompted by Russia's war in Ukraine.

The president started off his remarks talking about the need for the United States to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and send more aid to Ukraine. Aid has been blocked by some Republicans in Congress for months.

“If anyone thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine I assure you he will not," Biden said.

“Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine," Biden said. “That is all Ukraine is asking."

Biden puts democracy at heart of State of the Union — and his presidential campaign

President Biden is putting democracy and freedom at the center of his State of the Union address, and it's a signal that this will be the overarching theme of his candidacy for reelection. Without naming him, Biden went after former President Trump, saying he is "bowing down" to Russia's Vladimir Putin. He called it "outrageous, dangerous and unacceptable."

"We will not bow down," Biden said. "I will not bow down. In a literal sense, history is watching."

He then called out forcefully those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, saying they were "not patriots" and noted that the lies about the 2020 election "posed the gravest threat to democracy since the Civil War, but they failed" and "America stood."

He then again called out Trump and House Republicans, saying, "My predecessor — and some of you here — want to bury the truth about Jan. 6. ... We have to bury the lies."

Preserving democracy has risen to the top of many issue polls, and Biden's team believes it, along with abortion rights, are the crystallizing topics that will bring his base back together. Biden's task starts today.

Progressive Democrats sport keffiyehs in support of Palestinians

By Lexie Schapitl

Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) are wearing keffiyehs in the chamber tonight as a show of support for Palestinians.

Tlaib, the first Palestinian American to serve in Congress, and Bush are two members of Congress pushing for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. They have been critical of President Biden's support for Israel, and Tlaib was one of more than 100,000 Michiganders to vote "uncommitted" in the state's primary last month.

To many Palestinians, the keffiyeh, a traditional Arab scarf, has become a symbol of their struggle for freedom. For some non-Palestinians, wearing one has become a show of solidarity. Read more from NPR's Linah Mohammed.

Education Secretary Cardona is the designated survivor

The designated survivor for tonight’s State of the Union is Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, a White House official told reporters.

It is tradition for one member of the cabinet to not attend the evening's event in case of a catastrophe that would result in the death of the President, Vice President and others in the presidential succession line who would also be gathered in the House chamber.

The rules state that the designated survivor must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and he or she must have been a resident of the U.S. for the past 14 years.

President Biden has arrived in the House chamber

Biden has entered the chamber to deliver his 2024 State of the Union address, shaking hands on his way in.

SCOTUS in the House

Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are in the House chamber, including:

• Chief Justice John Roberts
• Justice Sonya Sotomayor
• Justice Elena Kagan
• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
• Justice Neil Gorsuch
• Justice Brett Kavanaugh
• Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy

So far not present are Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett.

An important State of the Union for Biden and politics

Democrats are biting their nails. Biden is delivering a State of the Union address in a year he's seeking reelection when his approval ratings are underwater, polls have shown him struggling against former President Trump and he's been lagging with key portions of his base — young voters and Black and Latino voters.

A lot of the angst with younger voters, a crucial part of the coalition Biden needs to help him win, is because of the war in Gaza. He's facing protests tonight in Washington over the war, which is highly unusual. These State of the Union addresses are often for the base — and Biden needs to reassure people who want him to win, start to win back people who should vote for him who are skeptical and show he's up to the task in the hot spotlight given all the questions around his age.

Trump starts his State of the Union response early

Former President Donald Trump posted a State of the Union "prebuttal" to Truth Social Thursday afternoon, consisting of a video in which he assails President Biden on immigration, inflation and climate policy. The message includes multiple lies.

Trump has said he will be doing "rapid response" during the State of the Union on Truth Social. His posts attacking Biden regarding his speech started hours before the State of the Union. We will be following Trump's posts tonight, recapping any notable responses here.

Britt will describe Biden as 'dithering' in her SOTU response

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., will also go after Biden on his withdrawal from Afghanistan and his Iran policy, according to excerpts released ahead of time by House Speaker Mike Johnson.

"We’ve become a nation in retreat. And the enemies of freedom see an opportunity," Britt will say.

She also will call Biden "a dithering and diminished leader" — a description that echoes Special Counsel Robert Hur's depiction of Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man."

“America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation," Britt will say.

What to wear?

Lawmakers are preparing to deck themselves out in outfits, buttons and pins that best represent causes important to them.

Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus will be wearing white outfits and “Fighting for Reproductive Freedom” pins in the chamber tonight.

“Our message is clear: women must be able to access the health care they need to control their own lives and futures," said Chair Lois Frankel in a statement. "That means women, not politicians, should be in charge of whether, when, and how to start or grow their families. That includes access to birth control, access to abortion, and access to IVF."

For tonight’s State of the Union address, we’re in white and wearing ‘Fighting for Reproductive Freedom’ pins. Our message is clear: we won't stop fighting until all women can access the health care they need to control their own lives and futures. pic.twitter.com/A7nEOjI51l — Democratic Women's Caucus (@DemWomenCaucus) March 7, 2024

A cohort of progressive members of Congress will be wearing pins with the word "ceasefire," in reference to the Israel and Hamas war.

Other members are wearing blue in solidarity with Israeli hostages .

Meanwhile, some House Republicans may be spotted with red " Stop the Biden Border Crisis " and "Laken Riley" buttons. Riley, a student in Georgia, was killed by who immigration officials say was an undocumented immigrant . Earlier in the day the House passed the Laken Riley Act , which would require the detention of any migrant who commits burglary or theft.

Former Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from his seat last year, came wearing a crystal-collared shirt and silver shoes .

Correction (March 8, 2024): An earlier version of this blog post misspelled Lois Frankel's first name as Louis.

Harris and Johnson are in the chamber

House Speaker Mike Johnson has called the special joint session of Congress to order.

Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris are announcing the names of the members of Congress on the presidential escort committee.

A farmworker advocate will be one California rep's guest

United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero will be the guest of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

Romero, an immigrant from Mexico, is the first Latina and first immigrant woman to become president of a national union in the United States.

"Her presence at the State of the Union will serve as a powerful testament to the strength and diversity of our nation — and a reminder of our ongoing commitment to fighting for the dignity and respect of every worker," Schiff said in a statement.

Biden is leaving the White House for the U.S. Capitol

The president is on his way to deliver his address — heading down to the other end of Pennsylvania Ave. ahead of his 9 p.m. speech. He'll enter the House chamber after other lawmakers, guests, members of his cabinet and the Supreme Court justices have been seated.

Fat Joe on the guest list

Rapper Fat Joe, aka Joseph Antonio Cartagena, will be the guest for Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.

Barragán highlighted his work on health care. "Fat Joe’s bipartisan work to highlight the need for price transparency at hospitals, from insurers, and other parts of our health care system is a vital way to ensure that American families aren’t blindsided by huge bills every time after they visit the hospital," Barragán said in a statement.

Fat Joe has worked with the nonprofit Power to the Patients as a spokesperson and has spent time in D.C. talking about the issue.

Other Johnson guests aim to address foreign and immigration policy

One of speaker Mike Johnson's guests will be 21-year-old freed Hamas hostage Mia Schem.

"Mia spent more than 50 days in captivity after being kidnapped on October 7th," Johnson said. "I am proud to stand with Mia and join her in demanding the release of all hostages held captive by Hamas."

He is also bringing to the gallery Tammy Nobles and Stefanie Turner. He is using both parents as examples for his hardline stance on border policy. Both women have lost their children, which has led to their advocacy work. Nobles' daughter was killed by an undocumented immigrant who was a member of the MS-13 gang, and Turner's son died from fentanyl poisoning.

Nobles was previously in D.C. last year to testify before a House panel during a hearing on the Biden administration's immigration and border policies . Turner formed the group Texas Against Fentanyl.

'Bless his heart': Britt will slam Biden on border and high costs

Biden isn't the only one bringing up age tonight.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who is delivering the GOP response tonight, is the youngest female senator ever elected. And she's taking aim at Biden by saying future generations will have fewer opportunities. She plans to say Americans are struggling to plan for their future.

"The American people are scraping by while the President proudly proclaims Bidenomics is working! Bless his heart. We know better," Britt will say.

She also will go after Biden on securing the border, which polling shows is a weak issue for Biden — though he's started going on the offense to blame congressional Republicans for bailing on a bipartisan agreement on the issue.

“We know that President Biden didn’t just create this border crisis. He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days," Britt will say. "President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable.”

The curse of the State of the Union response

The person who gives the response to the State of the Union has often fell on hard times politically — not always, but it has happened often enough that it's referred to as the State of the Union "curse."

“The biggest problem with giving the State of the Union response is stark contrast ,” the late PBS NewsHour contributor Mark Shields told Politico in 2014. “You’re following a ceremonial event—joint chiefs, supremes, ambassadors, plus, since the Gipper [Ronald Reagan], everyday heroes in the balcony. And you, the responder, are sitting in an empty room staring into a camera [and] teleprompter.”

Here's a look at some who fell under the SOTU voodoo this century:

2019: Stacey Abrams lost her bid for governor in 2022. 2018: Rep. Joseph Kennedy's glossy lips gained attention but the shine wore off later that year, losing a Senate primary. 2014: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers rose to House leadership but never went higher, announcing this year she is not running for reelection. 2013: Sen. Marco Rubio went viral quenching his thirst during his response and then his bid for the presidency in 2016 wound up all wet. 2011: Paul Ryan went on to be on the losing presidential ticket as VP in 2012, climbed to House speaker but then resigned from the post and is now out of politics. 2010: Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was a rising star but then was indicted and is out of politics 2009: Bobby Jindal was a rising star, but his awkward response hurt his chances for president in 2012. 2008: Former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius became Health and Human Services secretary overseeing the botched rollout of healthcare.gov. She's out of politics. 2004: Former Sen. Tom Daschle lost his Senate seat that year and, in 2009, was forced to withdraw his nomination for HHS secretary because of tax return errors. 2002: Dick Gephardt was House minority leader but after Democrats lost seats that year, he resigned from the leadership post.

It hasn't always been bad. Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders gave the response in 2023 and is still governor.

On the day Sweden joins NATO, their prime minister attends SOTU

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will be a guest of the president tonight.

Sweden officially joined NATO today, something Biden pushed hard for in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland, also a recent add to the alliance, officially joined last year.

In his remarks, Biden is expected to call on Congress to pass aid for Ukraine, which has been held up for months.

How Biden plans to address his age — and Trump

Biden plans to deflect concerns about his age — and to draw a distinction from former President Donald Trump (without directly naming him) on issues of democracy and and freedom.

“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden will say, according to prepared remarks released by the White House. “A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor.

“Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”

Why George Santos is at the State of the Union

By Tamara Keith

Last year, when George Santos was still a congressman, he nabbed a coveted on-camera position near the center aisle for the State of the Union speech. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, gave him an earful, and afterward told reporters "he shouldn't be there and if he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there."

In December, accused by prosecutors of a number of financial misdeeds, he became the sixth House member ever to be expelled from Congress.

But that didn't stop him from using a perk offered to all former members — floor privileges — to appear for tonight's speech.

➡️ Read more about the politics of shame here.

What are junk fees?

The Biden administration has coined the term "junk fees" to talk about unnecessary or excessive fees tacked onto a purchase — like resort fees, concert ticket fees and car rental fees. It also applies to fees that banks impose, such as overdraft fees.

He talked about it in his State of the Union last year, and the issue picked up steam after fans expressed frustration at Ticketmaster for how they handled the sale of tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras tour.

As part of an effort to try and lower costs for Americans, Biden has directed agencies to go after companies that aren't being transparent or are overcharging people. For example, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau recently announced a new rule that would cap late credit card payment fees at $8, down from the average of $32. (That move is now facing a lawsuit, which would likely delay or prevent the change)

Polling shows getting rid of junk fees is extremely popular across both parties, and Biden has otherwise struggled to win over voters on his handling of the economy, which remains a top issue in the 2024 election.

Biden often complains there's no editors anymore. Here's his jab at the media tonight

Biden often expresses frustrations with reporters about what he perceives as their negative coverage of his administration. "There's no editors anymore," he complained to donors in New York last month.

Tonight he'll accuse the media of failing to cover the positive economic results during his time in office. "It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told," Biden is set to say, according to excerpts released by the White House.

Will Biden roll out a new sick burn this year?

Last year, Biden ad-libbed a line in his speech that got people… wondering.

"As my football coach used to say, 'Lots of luck in your senior year,'" Biden said.

We talked to linguists and even an old high school pal of Biden’s to help translate.

➡️ Find out what it means here.

Some Democrats are hoping Biden will go off script again

By Deirdre Walsh

Last year Biden energized Democrats by getting into a back-and-forth with Republicans about protecting Social Security. Pennsylvania Democrat Matt Cartwright represents Scranton, Pa., — where Biden grew up — and hopes he'll go off script again.

"He needs to get his Irish up the way he did last year," Cartwright told NPR. He pushed back at the president's handlers who want to keep him on message and said they shouldn't be worried about any gaffes. "The gaffes are already baked into his numbers, and they have been for decades."

Cartwright is one of many congressional Democrats in competitive races this fall whose political fates could be tied to Biden's this November. That's why they want him to use his State of the Union address, when millions will be tuning in, to showcase the economic progress he's made in his first term, and explain how he'll build on it with four more years in the White House.

➡️ Read more: Vulnerable Democrats want Biden's address to focus on border and the economy

Parents of detained WSJ reporter in the audience

Ella Milman & Mikhail Gershkovich will be guests of Speaker Mike Johnson. They are the parents of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter and U.S. citizen detained by Russia's Federal Security Service nearly a year ago while on a reporting trip.

He is held on an allegation of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government have denied. Calls for his release have been bipartisan .

"The US must always stand for freedom of the press, especially in places where it is under assault," Johnson said in a post on X . "The Admin must bring Evan home."

I’m honored to host Ella Milman & Mikhail Gershkovich for the State of the Union, shining a spotlight on the unjust detention of their son, Evan. The US must always stand for freedom of the press, especially in places where it is under assault. The Admin must bring Evan home. https://t.co/FCyCEipG6K — Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 5, 2024

Americans are concerned about housing costs. Biden is proposing new help for that

By Laurel Wamsley

Many Americans are concerned about the high cost of housing. Tonight, Biden will call on Congress to pass legislation to give first-time homebuyers a $10,000 tax credit, according to a plan laid out by the White House.

He's also proposing a $10,000 tax credit to nudge middle-class Americans who currently own starter homes towards selling them and moving to a home that fits them better. It's pitched as a way of easing the “lock-in effect” that has taken hold amid rising housing costs and high interest rates.

Biden will ask voters to give him a Congress to restore abortion rights

Biden has long been saying that abortion rights in Roe v. Wade should be restored — but without Congress, there's not much he can do about it.

On the road, Biden has said he will veto any national bans on abortion Congress tries to pass. But he also wants voters to elect more Democrats to the Senate — and flip the House blue — in order for legislation to pass.

"Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America," Biden will say, according to excerpts released by the White House. "But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again in 2024."

"If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again," Biden will say.

One White House guest: Kate Cox, who was denied an abortion in Texas

By Vanessa Romo

Biden and Democrats invited a series of guests tonight to show how new abortion restrictions are affecting people's lives.

Kate Cox, 31, is a Texas mother of two who was denied an emergency abortion by the state Supreme Court in December. Cox was nearly 20 weeks into her pregnancy when doctors diagnosed the fetus with Trisomy 18 or Edwards Syndrome, a condition with extremely low chances of survival.

Cox also faced other complications, including cramping and a high risk of developing gestational hypertension and diabetes. By November, when Cox first petitioned a lower court for an exception to Texas' extremely restrictive abortion bans, she had been in the emergency room four times, according to court filings.

The state's high court found that Cox's lawyers and doctor had not proven she was eligible for an abortion under the state's narrow exception allowances. Following that decision, Cox left the state to get the procedure in New Mexico.

Read more about the guests who will be there tonight.

Biden preps with the stars

President Biden got some 'advice' on his big speech today from a group of past presidents.

Actors Morgan Freeman, Tony Goldwyn, Geena Davis, Michael Douglas and Bill Pullman have played the role of president in movies and TV shows and shared some wisdom in a light-hearted social media post.

"Just keep telling us how you're working for us and building hope," Freeman said.

"Tell them you exist for them," Goldwyn said, adding that Biden should unwind with some ice cream afterward.

"There's no crying in politics," Davis added.

You may’ve heard I’ve got a big speech coming up. So, I thought I would hear from some folks who have done the job before – sort of. pic.twitter.com/7wFYVQm7Xm — President Biden (@POTUS) March 7, 2024

A Texas Republican will give a Spanish-language rebuttal

Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, was designated by Republican leaders to give the Spanish-language rebuttal tonight. It will air on Telemundo and Univision and YouTube.

De La Cruz took office in 2023, flipping the south Texas seat . In a statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson lauded De La Cruz for being the first Hispanic woman and Republican to represent the district.

"Congresswoman De La Cruz’s journey to Congress is nothing short of inspirational and encapsulates the very essence of what it means to live the American dream," he said.

Here are some of the guests who will attend tonight's speech

By NPR Staff

A gospel singer and civil rights activist known as "the Voice of Selma," the prime minister of Sweden and a middle school teacher whose student loan debt was forgiven — these are some of the people who will be special guests at tonight's State of the Union address.

It's part of the annual tradition for the White House to invite guests who bring to life the themes of the presidential speech. Political opponents of the president also bring guests to help criticize the administration's policies.

Among the guests the White House invited:

• Bettie Mae Fikes , a  singer  and civil rights leader who marched on Bloody Sunday, in Selma, Ala., nearly six decades ago.
• Prime Minister  Ulf Kristersson  of Sweden, whose country has just  officially joined NATO .
• Keenan Jones , a middle school teacher in Plymouth, Minn., whose student loan debt was forgiven.
• Jazmin Cazares , who became an advocate for tougher gun laws after  her sister Jackie  was killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas.

➡️ Read more about the guests who will be there tonight.

Biden plans to announce a new port to deliver Gaza aid

Biden is expected to announce tonight that the U.S. military will lead an emergency mission to build a new pier on the Mediterranean coast of Gaza so that large ships can deliver food, water, medicine and temporary shelters there.

As NPR's Greg Myre reports , the temporary pier will not require U.S. troops to land in Gaza, though the details of how this will work are not yet clear. United Nations workers and other aid groups will distribute the aid, officials told reporters. Biden is under pressure to do more to help civilians in Gaza given the scale of the crisis .

Who's giving the Republican response after the State of the Union?

Following Biden's address, Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama will deliver the GOP response. Trump endorsed Britt when she ran in 2022 after rescinding his endorsement of one of her primary opponents who had made comments about moving past the 2020 election. She's the first woman elected to the Senate from Alabama, and the only current Republican mom of school-aged kids serving in the chamber.

In announcing the news Britt had been selected to give the response, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Britt "is fighting to preserve the American Dream for the next generation. She is a champion for strong families, a secure border, national defense and a vibrant economy with stable prices and opportunities for all. The American people will tune in as the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Senate turns the page on the oldest president in history."

Here's how to watch tonight's speech — and find NPR's special live coverage

We'll embed a livestream of Biden's remarks on this blog as we approach 9 p.m. ET. The stream will also include in-studio coverage with NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, White House Correspondent Asma Khalid, National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson and Congressional Correspondent Claudia Grisales.

NPR's live special coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. You can find it on your local NPR member station  or  the NPR app.

What to expect tonight, per Biden's chief of staff

By Rachel Treisman

There are a few things we can expect from tonight's State of the Union: An audience packed with reactive lawmakers and notable guests, a lengthy speech and a lot of scrutiny, from those in the room and watching at home.

The address is an opportunity for presidents to tout their recent accomplishments and future agenda. The stakes are especially high for Biden this year, since it's his last such speech before the presidential election — which, in the wake of Super Tuesday, is looking all but certain to be a rematch with former President Donald Trump.

White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told NPR's Morning Edition that Biden will discuss his administration's handling of top issues like the economy, immigration and the Israel-Hamas war, as well as his goals for a potential second term.

"Lowering costs, continuing to make people's lives better by investing in childcare, eldercare, paid family and medical leave, continued progress on student debt," Zients said, listing a few. "But I think importantly, the president is also going to call for restoring Roe v. Wade and giving women freedom over their healthcare. And he'll talk about protecting, not taking away, freedoms in other areas, as well as voting rights."

But Zients also acknowledged that restoring Roe  is one of many objectives that the president can't accomplish without Congress, where Republican instability and infighting has held up key parts of Biden's agenda, including delivering aid to Ukraine and managing the southern border.

Some recommended reading ahead of the 9 p.m. speech:

• Biden's test in the State of the Union tonight is to show he's still got what it takes
• President Biden's State of the Union speech faces dual political challenges
• Here are some of the guests who represent the themes of tonight's State of the Union
• What to expect in Biden's State of the Union speech, according to his chief of staff
• 5 takeaways from Biden's State of the Union address (2023)

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Biden lands in France for D-Day anniversary, democracy speech

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Jeff Mason is a White House Correspondent for Reuters. He has covered the presidencies of Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden and the presidential campaigns of Biden, Trump, Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. He served as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association in 2016-2017, leading the press corps in advocating for press freedom in the early days of the Trump administration. His and the WHCA's work was recognized with Deutsche Welle's "Freedom of Speech Award." Jeff has asked pointed questions of domestic and foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un. He is a winner of the WHCA's “Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure" award and co-winner of the Association for Business Journalists' "Breaking News" award. Jeff began his career in Frankfurt, Germany as a business reporter before being posted to Brussels, Belgium, where he covered the European Union. Jeff appears regularly on television and radio and teaches political journalism at Georgetown University. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and a former Fulbright scholar.

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Sudan's army said on Thursday it would deliver a "harsh response" to an attack a day earlier on a village by the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces that pro-democracy activists said killed more than 100 people.

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Forty Years Later, Biden Seeks to Echo Reagan’s Legacy of American Leadership

At Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, President Biden plans to follow one of the former president’s most iconic speeches with his own testimonial to democracy and the need to resist isolationism.

By Peter Baker

Peter Baker has covered the past five presidents, including a previous presidential visit to Normandy, and will travel with President Biden to Pointe du Hoc on Friday.

The aging American president facing a re-election campaign came to the Normandy coast of France to pay tribute to the daring Army Rangers who scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, offer a paean to democracy for which they sacrificed and perhaps even wrap himself a little bit in their reflected glory.

That was 1984, and the president was Ronald Reagan, who delivered an ode to heroism and patriotism that would become one of the most iconic moments of his presidency. Forty years later, another aging president facing re-election plans to return to the same spot Friday to honor the same heroes and effectively align himself with Mr. Reagan’s legacy of leadership against tyranny.

President Biden will not be the first president to try to walk in Mr. Reagan’s footsteps in Normandy, and it is a risky gamble. To many in both parties, Mr. Reagan’s speech remains the gold standard of presidential oratory and none have matched it at Normandy since. But like Mr. Reagan, Mr. Biden wants to use the inspiring story of the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc to make a case for American alliances in the face of Russian aggression — and, implicitly, for himself.

If there is something audacious about Mr. Biden, a staunch Democrat who was no friend of Mr. Reagan’s in the 1980s, summoning the spirit of the Republican legend, it speaks to the up-is-down, black-is-white nature of politics in today’s America. When it comes to international relations, the 46th president essentially is arguing that he has more in common with the 40th president than the current head of the Republican Party does.

He will not name former President Donald J. Trump, but the contrast will be clear. While Mr. Biden leads an international alliance against Russian aggression in Europe, as Mr. Reagan did, Mr. Trump as president came close to pulling out of NATO and was friendlier toward President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia than to America’s traditional European allies.

Since leaving office, Mr. Trump has not been a supporter of providing military aid for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian invaders. The former president even publicly declared that he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” against NATO members that do not spend enough on their militaries.

It is hard to imagine Mr. Reagan telling Moscow to feel free to attack European allies. When he appeared at Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1984, Mr. Reagan condemned Soviet armies for staying in Europe after World War II “uninvited, unwanted, unyielding” and said that “we’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.”

Standing above a German concrete bunker, Mr. Reagan paid tribute to the Army Rangers who scaled the 100-foot rust-colored cliffs that morning 40 years earlier to take out a suspected gun emplacement.

“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc,” he said as about 30 of them sat in front of him, some teary-eyed . “These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.”

Garrett M. Graff, who this week published “When the Sea Came Alive,” an oral history of the Normandy operation, said Mr. Reagan’s speech “really helped lift D-Day from history to legend.”

“Standing there, in rain or sun,” Mr. Graff said, “you can’t help but be moved by the bravery of the men who fought there, men who fought for one of the noblest causes humans have ever fought for, to liberate a continent and free Europe from darkness.”

Mr. Reagan’s speech was so powerful that it both impressed and depressed aides to his Democratic challenger, Walter F. Mondale, who were watching on television.

“I looked around the Mondale press office,” William Galston, a Mondale aide, recalled in an oral history for the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “Everybody was crying, and so was I.” He said that he realized then that they could not beat Mr. Reagan. “That was the point at which I knew in my gut that we were dead men walking.”

No one imagines that Mr. Biden’s oratory will impress Mr. Trump’s team. But Mr. Galston said this week that Mr. Biden’s task is “to link the challenges of 1944 to the threat we face today and to make the case that the defense of Europe remains essential to America’s vital interests.”

Mr. Reagan set the bar high enough that successors have struggled to follow. “American presidents wind up doing a lot of commemorative speeches, but D-Day anniversaries are probably the most intimidating because Ronald Reagan’s Pointe du Hoc speech was iconic,” said Daniel Benjamin, who was a speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. “Forty years later, Biden is making a smart move because it is no longer a competition with Reagan, but an echoing of that moment.”

Russell Riley, a historian at the Miller Center, said it is hard to consciously plan for a landmark speech. “Reagan has created a standard that may cause everything else to pale by comparison,” he said. “But this remains an extraordinary point of possibility for President Biden — precisely because the subject is so historically relevant to this moment in time.”

The Reagan address was written by Peggy Noonan, a young speechwriter who had joined the White House staff two months earlier and had yet to even meet the president. In her memoir , she described seeking inspiration by pacing around the Washington Monument and reading books about D-Day, including Cornelius Ryan’s “The Longest Day.” She ultimately adapted the speech’s most memorable line from the title of the baseball classic, “The Boys of Summer.”

Max Boot, author of “Reagan: His Life and Legend,” a forthcoming biography, called the address one of the highlights of his presidency.

“It was one of the greatest presidential speeches of the postwar era,” Mr. Boot said this week. “It’s an impossible standard for Biden to aspire to. But it’s also an opportunity for him to remind listeners of the days when Republicans like Ronald Reagan were the foremost champions of NATO rather than its most fervent critics.”

Mr. Reagan was in far stronger shape politically than Mr. Biden is now. He held a nine-point lead over Mr. Mondale in a survey in early June, a margin that nearly doubled to 17 points later that month, according to a Gallup poll tracker . Mr. Biden, by contrast, is more-or-less tied with Mr. Trump in several polls released in recent days . Mr. Biden is also eight years older than Mr. Reagan was at the time, and age has become an even bigger electoral challenge for him than it was for his predecessor.

Some analysts thought it was ill advised for Mr. Biden to try to emulate Mr. Reagan.

“Seems odd to choose the site where Reagan gave his best speech,” said Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and a former aide to President George W. Bush. It only “invites unwelcome comparisons.”

Mr. Biden’s address, according to aides, was crafted by his speech-writing team along with his longtime adviser Mike Donilon and the historian Jon Meacham, who is in Normandy for the ceremonies. Aides said it was meant as a speech to the American people and was timed for late afternoon in France so that it would broadcast midmorning back at home.

“The Pointe du Hoc speech is a speech about, in his view, timeless principles — principles that have served as the foundation of American security and American democracy for generations,” Jake Sullivan, the president’s national security adviser, told reporters.

Principles may be timeless, but politics are not. Mr. Biden was not always a fan of Mr. Reagan’s foreign policy. In a speech at Harvard in 1987 as a senator planning his first run for president, Mr. Biden lashed out at Mr. Reagan’s “military adventures” and said “the Reagan Doctrine is in tatters,” adding, “I’ve given up on this administration.”

But that was then, and this is now. Mr. Reagan is by many venerated, and Mr. Trump is on the ballot. For Mr. Biden, one certainly looks more palatable than the other. He has not given up on Mr. Reagan’s administration after all. Now he wants to harness it.

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker

Inside the Biden Administration

Here’s the latest news and analysis from washington..

Artificial Intelligence:  The Justice Department and the F.T.C. reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations  into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the A.I. industry.

Immigration:  President Biden issued an executive order  that prevents migrants from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border when crossings surge, a dramatic election-year move  to ease pressure on the immigration system.

Israel and Ukraine:  Biden has promised to support the two countries for as long as it takes. Both their wars appear to be at critical turning points .

Attacks on Justice Dept.:  Attorney General Merrick Garland lashed out at House Republicans , accusing them of seeking to undermine the rule of law, peddling “conspiracy theories” and spreading falsehoods.

‘Corporate Offender’ Registry:  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a plan to create a public registry  of nonbank businesses that have been penalized for violating consumer protection laws.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on the Middle   East

State Dining Room

1:28 P.M. EDT   THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, folks.   (The President checks his watch.)  Just checking it’s afternoon.  (Laughter.)  Good afternoon.  Before I begin my remarks, I just wanted to say a few words about what happened yesterday in New York City.   The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed.   Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself.   It was a state case, not a federal case.  And it was heard by a jury of 12 citizens — 12 Americans, 12 people like you.  Like millions of Americans who served on juries, this jury was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen.  It was a process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of. 

The jury heard five weeks of evidence — five weeks.  And after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict.  They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts.  Now he’ll be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal that decision just like everyone else has that opportunity.   That’s how the American system of justice works.    And it’s reckless, it’s dangerous, and it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.   Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it literally is the cornerstone of America — our justice system.   The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down.  It’s as simple as that.   That’s America.  That’s who we are.  And that’s who we’ll always be, God willing.

Now to another issue.  I — I want to give an update on my efforts to end the crisis in Gaza.   For the past several months, my negotiators of foreign policy, intelligence community, and the like have been relentlessly focused not just on a ceasefire that would eve- — that would inevitably be fragile and temporary but on a durable end to the war.  That’s been the focus: a durable end to this war.    One that brings all the hostages home, ensures Israel’s security, creates a better “day after” in Gaza without Hamas in power, and sets the stage for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.   Now, after intensive diplomacy carried out by my team and my many conversations with leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries, Israel has now offered — Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal.

It’s a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages.   This proposal has been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.    Today, I want to lay out its terms for the American citizens and for the world.   This new proposal has three phases — three.   The first phase would last for six weeks.  Here’s what it would include: a full and complete ceasefire; a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza; a release of a number of hostages — including women, the elderly, the wounded — in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.  There are American hostages who would be released at this stage, and we want them home.   Additional, some remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families, bringing some degree of closure to their terrible grief.   Palestinians — civilians — would return to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north.   Humanitarian assistance would surge with 600 trucks carrying aid into Gaza every single day.   With a ceasefire, that aid could be safely and effectively distributed to all who need it.  Hundreds of thousands of temporary shelters, including housing units, would be delivered by the international community.   All of that and more would begin immediately — immediately.   During the six weeks of ph- — of phase one, Israel and Hamas would negotiate the necessary arrangements to get to phase two, which is a permanent end to hostol- — to hostilities.   Now, I’ll be straight with you.  There are a number of details to negotiate to move from phase one to phase two.  Israel will want to make sure its interests are protected.

But the proposal says if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue.   And the United States, Egypt, and Qatar would work to ensure negotiations keep going — all agreements — all agreements — until all the agreements are reached and phase two is able to begin.     Then phase two: There would be an exchange for the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers; Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza; and as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments, a temporary ceasefire would become, in the words of the propo- — the Israeli proposal, “the cessation of hostilities permanently,” end of quote.  “Cessation of hostilities permanently.”   Finally, in phase three, a major reconstruction plan for Ga- — for Gaza wou- — would commence.  And any final remains of hostages who have been killed would be returned to their families.    That’s the offer that’s now on the table and what we’ve been asking for.  It’s what we need.    The people of Israel should know they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security because they’ve devastated Hamas form- — forces over the past eight months.  At this point, Hamas no longer is capable of carrying out another October 7th, which — one of the Israelis’ main objective in this war and, quite frankly, a righteous one.   I know there are those in Israel who will not agree with this plan and will call for the war to continue indefinitely.  Some — some are even in the government coalition.  And they’ve made it clear: They want to occupy Gaza, they want to keep fighting for years, and the hostages are not a priority to them.    Well, I’ve urged the leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes.    And to the people of Israel, let me say this.  As someone whose had a lifelong commitment to Israel, as the only American president who has ever gone to Israel in a time of war, as someone who just sent the U.S. forces to directly defend Israel when it was attacked by Iran, I ask you to take a step back and think what will happen if this moment is lost.    We can’t lose this moment.  Indefinite war in pursuit of an unidentified notion of “total victory” will not bring Israel in — will not bring down — bog down — will only bog down Israel in Gaza, draining the economic, military, and human- — and human resources, and furthering Israel’s isolation in the world.    That will not bring hostages home.  That will not — not bring an enduring defeat of Hamas.  That will not bring Israel lasting security.   But a comprehensive approach that starts with this deal will bring hostages home and will lead to a more secure Israel.  And once a ceasefire and hostage deal is concluded, it unlocks the possibility of a great deal more progress, including — including calm along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.    The United States will help forge a diplomatic resolution, one that ensures Israel’s security and allows people to safely return to their homes without fear of being attacked.    With a deal, a rebuilding of Gaza will begin [with] Arab nations and the international community, along with Palestinian and Israeli leaders, to get it done in a manner that does not allow Hamas to re-arm.   And the United States will work with our partners to rebuild homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza to help repair communities that were destroyed in the chaos of war.    And with this deal, Israel could become more deeply integrated into the region, including — it’s no surprise to you all — including no — a po- — potential historic normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia.  Israel could be part of a regional security network to counter the threat posed by Iran.    All of this progress would make Israel more secure, with Israeli families no longer living in the shadow of a terrorist attack.    And all of this would create the conditions for a different future and a better future for the Palestinian people, one of self-determination, dignity, security, and freedom.  This path is available once the deal is struck.    Israel will always have the right to defend itself against the threats to its security and to bring those responsible for October 7th to justice.  And the United States will always ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself.   If Hamas fails to fulfill its commitments under the deal, Israel can resume military operations.  But Egypt and Qatar have assured me and they are continuing to work to ensure that Hamas doesn’t do that.  And the United States will help ensure that Israel lives up to their obligations as well.    That’s what this deal says.  That’s what it says.  And we’ll do our part.    This is truly a decisive moment.  Israel has made their proposal.  Hamas says it wants a ceasefire.  This deal is an opportunity to prove whether they really mean it.   Hamas needs to take the deal.   For months, people all over the world have called for a ceasefire.  Now it’s time to raise your voices and to demand that Hasa- — Hamas come to the table, agrees to this deal, and ends this war that they began.   Of course, there will be differences on the specific details that need to be worked out.  That’s natural.  If Hamas comes to negotiate ready to deal, then Israel negotiations must be given a mandate, the necessary flexibility to close that deal.   The past eight months have marked heartbreaking pain: pain of those whose loved ones were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists on October 7th; hostages and their families waiting in anguish; ordinary Israelis whose lives were forever marked by the shattering event of Hamas’s sexual violence and ruthless brutality.   And the Palestinian people have endured sheer hell in this war.  Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children.  Far too many have been badly wounded.   We all saw the terrible images from the deadly fire in Rafah earlier this week following an Israeli strike against — targeting Hamas.  And even as we work to surge assistance to Gaza, with 1,800 trucks delivering supplies these last five days — 1,800 — the humanitarian crisis still remains.   I know this is a subject on which people in this country feel deep, passionate convictions.  And so do I.  This has been one of the hardest, most complicated problems in the world.  There’s nothing easy about this — nothing easy about it.    Through it all, though, the United States has worked relentlessly to support Israelis’ security, to get humanitarian supplies into Gaza, and to get a ceasefire and a hostage deal to bring this war to an end.    Yesterday, with this new initiative, we’ve taken an important step in that direction.    And I want to level with you today as to where we are and what might be possible.  But I need your help.  Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and let the leaders know they should take this deal; work to make it real, make it lasting; and forge a better future out of the tragic terror attack and war.    It’s time to begin this new stage, for the hostages to come home, for Israel to be secure, for the suffering to stop.  It’s time for this war to end and for the day after to begin. 

Thank you very much.   1:42 P.M.

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