President Joe Biden spoke optimistically when looking to the future in his second State of the Union address Tuesday night.
“As we gather here tonight, we are writing the next chapter in the great American story, a story of progress and resilience. When world leaders ask me to define America — and they do, believe it or not — I define our country in one word — and I mean this: Possibilities,” Biden said to a joint session of Congress.
Unlike in years past, Biden is now faced with a Republican majority in the House, a reality illustrated by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) joining Vice President Kamala Harris in appearing behind the president as he delivered his remarks.
One of the first comments Biden made was to recognize the new Congress and give McCarthy a handshake, a gesture that received loud applause.
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McCarthy released a video on Twitter signaling that he will not repeat the “theatrics” that his predecessor, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), put on display when she ripped up a paper copy of former President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech in 2020.
The White House released a list of guests who will be sitting with the president’s wife, first lady Jill Biden, during the State of the Union address. Among them are Ukraine Ambassador Oksana Markarova and Holocaust survivor Ruth Cohen.
Also in attendance will be Paul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of Nancy Pelosi, who survived a break-in attack at their San Francisco home in late October, as well as RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old man allegedly beaten to death by police in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, the guest list includes Brandon Tsay, the man caught on camera disarming the suspected gunman in the deadly Monterey Park, California, shooting.
Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, who is reportedly planning to step down for a top hockey union job, was the “designated survivor” among Biden’s Cabinet not in attendance.
Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as President Donald Trump’s White House press secretary, will deliver the formal GOP rebuttal to Biden’s address on Tuesday. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) will deliver the Spanish-language GOP response.
Biden’s job approval rating has hovered around the low-to-mid 40s since the beginning of the year. While Biden is expected to tout a resilient economy, four in 10 Americans say they are worse off financially since he took office, a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found.
The president has said he intends to run for re-election in 2024, and reports indicate a formal announcement could happen around the time of the State of the Union address. Trump, who has already entered the race with his third campaign for the White House, said he will be doing a “live and full ‘Play by Play’ analysis” of Biden’s address on Truth Social.
After the State of the Union address, the White House says Biden will travel to Wisconsin and Florida later this week “to showcase how the President’s plan is creating jobs, rebuilding our infrastructure, lowering costs for families, investing in our future, and delivering for families too often left behind.”
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