Closing summary
Joe Biden gave a forceful defense of his presidency in his second State of the Union address, delivered at the midpoint of his first term and just weeks after the Republicans retook control of the House. The speech was lively and rancorous, with Biden occasionally being heckled and at one point getting into an unusual back-and-forth with Republicans after accusing them of wanting to do away with popular government healthcare and retirement programs. But the drama didn’t stop at the House dais. Congressman and fabulist George Santos had words with Senator Mitt Romeny on the House floor before the speech began, in an incident that we’ll probably hear more about in the days to come.
Here’s a rundown of the night’s events:
From Donald Trump to Sarah Huckabee Sanders to Ronna McDaniel, Republicans were no fans of Biden’s speech.
Progressives thought the address was a pleasant surprise.
Who was the designated survivor? Labor secretary Marty Walsh sat the speech out to ensure the government survived if the worst happened.
A farmworker who survived a recent mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, was among the guests invited by lawmakers.
Updated
Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has delivered the Republican rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union speech, and struck a much more confrontational tone compared to the president.
“Being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe every story I hear, so forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden,” began Sanders, who was press secretary in Donald Trump’s White House from 2017 to 2019. “From out-of-control inflation and violent crime to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you. They know it, and you know it, and it’s time for a change.”
She continued by remarking on Biden’s age. “I’ll be the first to admit President Biden and I don’t have a lot in common. I’m for freedom, he is for government control. At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country, and at 80 he is the oldest president in American history. I’m the first woman to lead my state, and he’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is,” Sanders said. The last remark was a reference to awkward attempts by rightwing lawmakers to trip up Biden’s supreme court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson.
She concluded her remarks with a note of warning, saying, “The America we love is in danger. President Biden and the Democrats have failed you. And it’s time for a change. A new generation of Republican leaders are stepping up not to be caretakers of the status quo, but to be changemakers for the American people.”
