Joe Biden slams Donald Trump in 2024 State of the Union address
Joe Biden went on the attack during his State of the Union address to Congress. But it was two words that got all the attention.
US President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address to a highly-partisan joint session of the United States Congress today.
Mr Biden called for increased taxes on corporations, reforms to health care and new gun control legislation.
He also acknowledged the murder of Laken Riley, allegedly killed by Venezuelan citizen Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant.
The migrant crisis at the southern border has been a red hot political issue and will likely be central to the November election. Republicans in the Senate torpedoed a bipartisan $US118 billion bill in February.
Mr Biden went on the attack against his presumptive Republican challenger Donald Trump, but did not mention him by name, instead referring to him as “my predecessor”.
He compared Mr Trump’s foreign policy to the famous demand from former President Ronald Reagan’s to then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, when Mr Reagan said: “Tear down this wall”.
Mr Biden said: “My predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want’.
“A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.”
He also slammed Mr Trump over the January 6 United States Capitol attack and the Supreme Court judgement to overrule Roe v Wade.
In a sign of the super-partisan political climate, Democrats including Vice President Kamala Harris applauded every line delivered by Mr Biden.
Meanwhile, multiple Republican members of Congress were seen playing with their phones during Mr Biden’s speech and gave a Bronx cheer when he began to wrap up.
The scenes don’t bode well for the prospect of any bipartisan legislation, at a time when the American public has expressed growing dissatisfaction with politicians of all stripes.
In a charged moment, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene confronted President Biden on the floor of the House, calling for him to say two words: the name of Laken Riley.
“I’ll say her name,” Mr Biden told Ms Greene, as she handed him a pin.
Mr Biden later held up the pin and said Riley’s name during his speech, referring to her alleged murderer as an “illegal”, Fox News reported.
“Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” Mr Biden said, apparently mispronouncing her name as “Lincoln”.
“That’s right. But how many of thousands of people have been killed by illegals? To her parents, I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself,” Mr Biden added, before calling on Congress to pass his border bill.
The 81-year-old outlined his agenda in the annual speech, in an effort to speak to voters’ worries while taking credit for the recovery of the world’s biggest economy as he seeks re-election this year.
Although the United States notably averted predictions of a recession last year as inflation cooled, Mr Biden has struggled to convince voters on economic issues.
But Biden told the joint session of the House and Senate at the US Capitol: “Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink.”
“Now our economy is literally the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three years — a record. Unemployment at 50-year lows,” he said.
Besides taking aim at rival Donald Trump, Mr Biden touted the economy’s “greatest comeback story” under his own leadership.
Taxes, healthcare
Mr Biden’s economic proposals further an agenda the Democrat has been driving since the 2020 presidential race.
But for Mr Biden to enact them fully, Democrats will have to win strong majorities in both chambers of Congress in November’s elections — a situation which appears unlikely for now.
On Thursday (US time), Mr Biden said: “It’s time to raise the corporate minimum tax to at least 21 per cent so every big corporation finally begins to pay their fair share.”
These are part of a broader plan to lower the federal deficit by trillions of dollars, and are to be accompanied by tax cuts for lower-income citizens.
Mr Biden is also seeking to levy a 25 per cent minimum tax on billionaires, and took aim at former president Trump’s administration over tax cuts that he said benefits the wealthiest.
He added that while Medicare is negotiating lower prices for key medicines, it was time to go further by expanding its power to broker lower costs for 500 drugs over the next decade to save taxpayers’ money.
Beyond corporations, the president said he wanted to provide an annual tax credit to help Americans with housing costs.
He highlighted his efforts to reduce unfair pricing and junk fees too, in an appeal to millions of Americans tuning in – with many still feeling the pinch from lingering inflation.
A particular phenomenon he seeks to curb is “shrinkflation,” where companies reduce the size of products to obscure price hikes.
The practice has drawn ire even from popular Sesame Street children’s character Cookie Monster this week, who complained about it in a widely reported social media post.
– with AFP, Fox News, New York Post
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