President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday with a sharp message that called for unity at home while touting the power of democracy abroad for a country that is anxious on both fronts.
Biden’s remarks, which clocked in at a little over an hour, come at a time when his legislative agenda has stalled and his approval ratings have drastically dipped.
It was a wide-ranging speech that covered a lot of ground, in which Biden urged the American people to see the coronavirus pandemic in less divisive ways while beseeching Congress to help pass key items on his plate.
Here are some moments to remember.
To Ukraine, with love
Much of Biden’s speech in the beginning dealt with the international crisis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has consumed the White House for the past week.
The president praised the Ukrainian people, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “badly miscalculated” their resolve on the battlefield.
“I thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over,” Biden said. “Instead he has met a wall of strength he has never imagined. He has met the Ukrainian people.”
At one point Biden turned the audience’s attention to the First Lady’s guest box, where Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, sat watchfully as the president asked those filling the House gallery to stand in solidarity with her people.
GOP boos Biden’s tax cuts jab
The president tried mightily to keep his remarks focused on what unites America and often sped through thornier issues.
But one of the first partisan splits during Biden’s speech was when the president took a jab at former President Donald Trump (who did not mention by name Tuesday night), specifically the 2017 tax cuts passed by Republicans.
“And unlike the $2 trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1% of Americans,” Biden said, “the American Rescue Plan helped working people—and left no one behind.”
The irony of this exchange being that last year, in a concession to the GOPBiden offered to no longer raise the corporate tax rate as a way to pay for a bipartisan infrastructure package.
State of the heckler
One eyebrow raising moment came when the president was speaking about veterans suffering from respiratory cancers during combat.
The president was talking about how his eldest son, Beau Biden, had died from cancer, and speculated it could have been caused by burn pits in Iraq. But before Biden could finish, Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, shouted out from the House gallery.
“A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin,” Biden said. “Yo lo se-.”
“You put them in, 13 of them,” Boebert could be heard yelling.
Immediately several Democrats booed the Colorado congresswoman, who earlier screamed “that’s right” when Biden said he disagreed with “defund the police” and also joined fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, in chanting “build the wall” when the president was discussing his immigration policies.
“When Biden said flag draped coffins I couldn’t stay silent,” Boebert said in a statement on Twitter. “I told him directly he did it. He put 13 in there. Our heroic servicemen and women deserve so much better.”
happy birthday Joshua
At one point Biden turned the conversation to health care and his administration’s plan to cut the cost of prescription drugs, such as insulin.
It was then the president recognized 13-year-old Joshua Davis, a 7th grader from Midlothian, Va., who lobbied for the for Virginia legislature to help lower insulin prices.
Joshua was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was just 11 months old, according to the White House.
Biden seized on how Joshua’s story is similar to many Americans who suffer from the disease but who are also plagued by skyrocketing drug costs.
“He and his Dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they need insulin every day. Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make,” Biden said. “But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his father up to 30 times more.”
The president said those costs don’t just dip into American’s pockets but steal their dignity before turning the audience’s attention to the middle school student. He underscored how the Davis family and millions of others would benefit if Congress allowed Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.
“Joshua is here with us tonight. Yesterday was his birthday. Happy birthday, buddy,” Biden said. “For Joshua, and for the 200,000 other young people with Type 1 diabetes, let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it.”
Biden makes Breyer blush
At one point the president took a moment to remark on the career of Justice Stephen Breyerwho is retiring and giving Biden an opportunity to make a historic appointment to the Supreme Court.
The president noted how Breyer, who at 83 is the second-most senior associate justice, was an Army veteran, but also called him a “Constitutional scholar” before thanking him for his service.
Breyer, who attended the address, put his hands over his face and blushed at the president’s praise.
Biden then quickly and briefly pivoted U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jacksonwhom he has nominated to take Breyer’s seat, calling her “one of our nation’s top legal minds” and a “consensus builder.”
If approved by the Senate, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Biden connected the two jurists, saying Jackson represents one of America’s of our “top legal minds, who will continue Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism