The campaign-style address, often delivered in a shout, set up a series of stark contrasts with Donald Trump.
SEMAFOR
Calling out the “outrageous” behavior of “my predecessor” over and over again, President Biden teed up the general election with a fiery State of the Union speech pledging to defend Americans from a resurgent Trump-led right.
Biden described Donald Trump’s “failed” efforts to overturn the 2020 election as “the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War,” and said the country needed to “be honest the threat remains.”
“My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th,” Biden said early in his remarks. “I will not do that. Here’s the simple truth: you can’t love your country only when you win.”
Never mentioning Trump by name, Biden pledged to sign a bill restoring abortion rights lost after “my predecessor” succeeded in overturning Roe v. Wade. He castigated Republicans for not passing a bipartisan border bill after “my predecessor” told them to abandon it. He demanded they approve aid for Ukraine to repel Russia’s invasion and attacked “my predecessor” for encouraging attacks on NATO allies. He said he would stop “my predecessor” from again trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He chastised “my predecessor” for refusing to take action on guns after mass shootings. He boasted of imposing new restrictions on Chinese technology that “my predecessor” did not. He asked Americans to remember life under “my predecessor” when the pandemic was still raging and murder rates were spiking.
