Closing summary
In his third, and potentially last, State of the Union address, Joe Biden eschewed tradition and delivered a barrage of attacks on Donald Trump – who he only referred to as “my predecessor”. It was a sign of how Biden believes Trump’s potential return to the White House poses an existential risk to American democracy, and perhaps also his awareness that he has a lot of support to rebuild to win a second term in November. While Democrats leapt to their feet for Biden’s promises to protect social security, cut child poverty and overhaul the country’s infrastructure, some found the president’s use of the word “illegal” objectionable. Meanwhile, Alabama’s Republican senator Katie Britt delivered the party’s rebuttal, asking: “Are you better off now than you were three years ago?”
Here are the highlights:
The 81-year-old president directly addressed his age, saying “I’ve been told I’m too old” while arguing he is still up for the job.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a rightwing nemesis, got unusually close to Biden, then heckled him during the speech over the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Six supreme court justices were present at the speech, only for Biden to criticize them directly for overturning Roe v Wade.
Protesters upset over Biden’s support for Israel’s invasion of Gaza blocked a road leading to the Capitol ahead of the speech.
George Santos was in the House chamber for the speech, reportedly to hang out with the people who removed him from office.
Updated
House Democrats rankled by Biden's use of 'illegal' to describe murder suspect
Several Democratic House lawmakers have criticized Joe Biden for describing the undocumented migrant suspected of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley as an “illegal”.
Biden made the remark during his State of the Union address, while being heckled by rightwing lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who blamed the president’s border security policies for Riley’s murder. Biden held up a pin with Riley’s name on it, and called her “an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal”.
Democrats took issue with that terminology, including Illinois’s Chuy Garcia:
As a proud immigrant, I'm extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word "illegal."
— Congressman Chuy García (@RepChuyGarcia) March 8, 2024
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota:
Let me be clear: No human being is illegal.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 8, 2024
And Delia Ramirez of Illinois:
No human being is illegal.
— Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (@repdeliaramirez) March 8, 2024
Updated
