Biden offers the choice between ‘revenge’ versus ‘decency’ and contrasts with Trump

President Biden used his State of the Union address on Thursday to launch a series of fiery attacks on former President Donald Trump, a competitor he did not name but made clear posed a serious threat to American democracy and stability in the world.

In a televised address to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Biden brought the energy his allies and aides had hoped to show in warning of what could happen if Ukraine continues to lose ground to Russia. The mention of an overseas war at the top of his speech was an unusual introduction to a speech that was in many ways a political argument for his re-election.

“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy at home been under such attack as they are today,” Biden said, raising his voice to a shout. “What makes our moment rare is the freedom of democracy, which is under attack both at home and abroad.”

Mr. Biden’s speech had to accomplish several goals at once, including taking credit for an economy that has exceeded expectations but where many Americans say they cannot feel the consequences. In a speech that lasted over an hour, he discussed a long list of issues, including immigration, abortion, prescription drug costs and the war in Gaza.

He also reached out to Republicans in Congress, picking up a button distributed by Republicans that called for people to say the name of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed in February.

Authorities have charged a Venezuelan migrant in the case, who entered the United States illegally and was subsequently released on parole.

Mr. Biden said Ms. Riley’s name and added: “To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you. Having lost children myself, I understand,” he said at one point, going off script and addressing Republicans by describing the accused as “illegal.” The comment drew criticism from immigrant advocates and members of his own party, who view the term as dehumanizing.

He also said that thousands of murders have been committed by “legals.”

Mr. Biden used his time in front of one of the largest audiences he will have before the November election to tell Americans that personal freedoms, diplomatic relations and democratic governance in the United States are at stake if Mr. Trump is re-elected .

Mr. Biden attacked Mr. Trump for his soft treatment of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine more than two years ago. “If anyone in this room thinks Putin is going to stop on Ukraine, I assure you he won’t,” Biden said, warning that the world was looking to the United States.

“We will not bend,” Mr. Biden said. “I will not bow.”

He denounced the former president’s behavior, including Mr. Trump’s lie that Mr. Biden stole the 2020 election from him.

“You can’t just love your country when you win,” Biden said.

Mr. Trump, never one to sit still, responded to many of Mr. Biden’s points in a stream of real-time posts on his social media site Truth Social. “Putin only invaded Ukraine because he has no respect for Biden,” he claimed in a post.

Before the speech, Mr Biden was under pressure to address the issue of his age. He peppered his speech with humor: “I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around for a while,” he said, adding that his 81 years had taught him to “embrace freedom and democracy” and “to hate sow’. not a safe haven.”

“Now other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge and retribution. That’s not me,” Biden said, an apparent jab at his predecessor, who is four years younger and whose victory speech after the Super Tuesday primaries predicted a dark future for America, a country he called “third world.”

Biden also sought to quell dissatisfaction within his own party over his handling of the Gaza conflict. Earlier on Thursday, the Biden administration said the United States would build a temporary seaport near Gaza to help deliver humanitarian aid.

“However, Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” Biden said.

The war between Israel and Hamas has become a serious vulnerability for Mr. Biden. United Nations officials warn that famine is looming in Gaza, and progressive Democratic Party voters are deeply angry at Mr. Biden’s support for Israel.

“To Israel’s leaders I say this: humanitarian aid should not be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip,” he said. “Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority.”

Of the hostages still held by Hamas, Mr. Biden said his administration “will not rest until we bring all of your loved ones home.”

Mr. Biden said, as he has done before, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not end without a two-state solution.

During his speech, Mr. Biden focused extensively on reproductive rights, which has become a galvanizing issue for his party. Republicans applauded the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion, but the party has since been disadvantaged in state elections. Several women invited by the White House or Democratic lawmakers Thursday evening had suffered life-threatening medical complications during pregnancy.

“It is clear that those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no idea about the power of women,” Biden said. “But they found out when reproductive freedom came up and we won in 2022, 2023, and we will win again in 2024.”

Mr. Biden, who once told his supporters that he “not into abortionBecause of his Catholic faith, he vowed to restore Roe’s protections — something that will be difficult without a significant majority in Congress.

Mr. Biden had prepared for a backlash from Republicans, who mocked him at several points during last year’s speech, calling him a “liar” and bursting into derisive laughter. On Thursday, Mr. Biden criticized Republicans on several counts, including when he said they enjoyed taking credit for federal investments they voted against. At one point, a lawmaker shouted “lies” as Mr. Biden spoke.

The speech was a high-stakes performance for Mr. Biden, who is trailing Mr. Trump by five percentage points, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll.

Both men are unpopular, but Mr. Trump has enormous influence over a far-right faction of Republicans in the House of Representatives, who challenged members of their own party by rejecting a bill that would limit immigration to the United States, saying that it wasn’t strict enough. Mr Biden is under pressure to find a solution with a Republican Party that has so far indicated it will prevent him from achieving a political victory before November.

The share of Americans who view immigration as the biggest problem facing the United States Increased In recent months, a wave of undocumented immigrants has put the Biden administration on the defensive as the campaign gets underway.

And while inflation has fallen and the labor market has exceeded expectations, the data has done little to overcome the widespread belief among many Americans that they are simply no better off than before. The Biden administration announced a plan Thursday to lower housing costs for working families, and he explained how his economic policies had benefited families.

“It may not make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,” Biden said.

Included in his economic message were hints about what Mr. Biden would do with a second term, including an effort to raise corporate taxes to at least 21 percent so that, he said, “every major corporation finally starts paying its fair share.” Such an initiative is unlikely to succeed unless Democrats manage to retain the Senate and regain the House of Representatives.

Republicans chose Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, who is almost 40 years younger than the president, to give their response to Biden’s speech.

“Our commander in chief is not in command,” Ms. Britt said. “The free world deserves better than a hesitant and diminished leader.”

The 20 guests who joined Jill Biden, the first lady, to watch the speech were all invited to draw sharp distinctions from Republicans on issues such as reproductive rights, prescription drug prices and advancing Western diplomacy .

Mr. Johnson had its own guest list, which highlights people related to issues that Republicans believe are vulnerabilities for Democrats, including crime, the opioid epidemic and immigration. He also invited Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, the parents of Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal who has been imprisoned in Russia since March last year.

Last weekend, the president practiced at Camp David for several days before his speech. On Thursday night, after days of media speculation about what he would look like during this speech, he took his time as he entered the room, stopping to take selfies with supporters.

At several points in his speech, Mr. Biden seemed relaxed, to the point of talking about Snickers bars and potato chip bags, and going back and forth with Republicans on tax breaks. After the speech, when the room had largely cleared, Mr. Biden was still there, shaking hands with some House members and delivering his speech on Ukraine.