President Joe Biden has delivered his first State of the Union address to Congress, focussing first on America and its allies response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home,” Mr Biden will say.
“Putin was wrong. We were ready.”
On inflation, the president will tell Congress: “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains – let’s make it in America. Economists call it ‘increasing the productive capacity of our economy.’ I call it building a better America. “
He spoke for one hour and two minutes and at times received bipartisan standing applause. Topics covered at length included a new approach to Covid-19, manufacturing jobs, and infrastructure.
Towards the end of his address, Mr Biden laid out a unity agenda for Congress to approach in a bipartisan manner. It comprises of four points: fighting the opioid epidemic; tackling mental health, including by holding social media companies accountable; supporting veterans by ensuring those exposed to burn pits get full benefits; and ending cancer as we know it.
He closed by saying: “The State of the Union is strong—because you the American people are strong. We are stronger today than we were a year ago — and we will be stronger a year from now than we are today.”
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