Joe Biden attacked his rival donald trump From the beginning of his State of the Union address Thursday night, accusing him of “bowing” to Vladimir Putin and claiming that freedom and democracy are “under attack” in the United States.
In the imposing chamber of Congress, to the acclaim of his side while the Republican opposition remained seated, the 81-year-old Democrat, candidate for re-election, assured: “I will not bow down” to the Russian leader, who launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin: ‘Do what you want,'” he criticized. “I think he is scandalous, dangerous and unacceptable.”
The Democrat proposed “a future based on the fundamental values that define America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality.”
“Other people my age see a different story: an American story of ‘grudge, vengeance and revenge,'” he added, in a clear allusion to Trump, 77.
The Republican promised to “take revenge” for the 2020 defeat, which he never recognized, and for the judicial processes that are piling up against him.
The former president set out to “correct” his rival’s statements live. This Thursday he accused him of having transformed the United States into a “horror movie” and asked to debate with him.
Faced with the rhetoric of “decline”, reiterated by Trump, Biden defended that the United States is experiencing the greatest economic “recovery” in its history under his presidency, after the covid-19 pandemic.
“I took office determined to help us get through one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s history (…) It’s not on the news but in thousands of cities and towns, Americans are writing the greatest recovery story ever told “he declared.
This allows us to “build a future of possibilities” and invest so that “everyone has a fair opportunity and that we leave no one behind,” he added.
Throughout the speech he took pains to differentiate himself from Trump.
“I will not demonize immigrants by saying they are ‘poisoning the blood of our country'” and “I will not separate families,” the Democrat said, criticizing Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric.
And he did the same with him right to abortion.
“Those who brag about revoking” the constitutional guarantee of abortion, overturned by the Supreme Court, “have no idea of the power of women in the United States,” she said.
In his manner he was combative, raising his voice, to try to dispel voters’ reluctance about his age, an issue that he did not ignore either.
“I know it may not seem like it, but I’ve been here for a while,” he joked. “When you get to my age, some things become clearer than ever.”
Biden also announced to Congress that he has ordered the US military to establish a port in Gaza to transport more humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory, at a time when his policy of support for Israel infuriates the Muslim electorate and voters of Arab origin.
“To Israel’s leaders I say this: humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority,” he said, calling for an “immediate ceasefire” for six weeks in the Gaza Strip.
Just an hour before the president’s speech, protesters carrying Palestinian flags rallied near the White House and others blocked an avenue leading to the Capitol.
Joe Biden’s convoy took a route that avoided protesters.
Source: Ambito
