President Joe Biden mispronounced jogger Laken Riley’s name when mentioned her at his State of the Union address, calling her ‘Lincoln’ as he held up a pin with her name given to him by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green.

Biden got into several back-and-forth with Republican lawmakers during his remarks, in which he repeatedly attacked his GOP presidential rival, Donald Trump.

But when he talked about a bill to increase border security that was killed by Republicans after Trump came out again, GOP lawmakers booed him. Greene, who was wearing a shirt with Riley’s name, shouted at Biden ‘say her name.’ 

‘Lincoln, Lincoln Riley,’ Biden said holding up the pin. ‘An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.’

‘But how many of thousands of people being killed by legals? To her parents I save my heart goes out to you having lost children myself, I understand,’ he said.

He flubbed the name of the Georgia nursing student, who was killed while out jogging, on the same day the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would mandate that migrants who enter the country without authorization and are accused of theft be taken into federal custody. 

Greene gave the pin to Biden when he walked into the House chamber to give his remarks.

On his journey to the podium, one person shouted to him ‘look over here.’ Biden did and did a visible double take. Standing there was Greene, wearing a shirt and button showing slain Georgia college student Laken Riley, and a red MAGA hat.

‘Say her name,’ Greene said to Biden. 

Biden then turned his comments on Riley to an attack on Trump, offering to work with him to pass a border security bill.

‘If my predecessor’s watching instead of paying politics and pressuring members of Congress to block the bill, join me in telling the Congress to pass it. We can do it together,’ he said.

He then added: ‘I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poisoned in the blood of our country. I will not separate families. I will not.’

Hammering Biden on the border has been a successful political issue for Trump. Two weeks ago, the men made dueling trips to the Southern border to examine the situation there. Biden went to Brownsville, Texas, where illegal crossings are down. Trump went to Eagle Pass, where it’s a huge problem. 

‘We can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it,’ he said. ‘Send me the border bill. Now.’

Last year Greene yelled at Biden he was a ‘liar.’ This year, ahead of Biden’s remarks, she handed out pins paying tribute to Laken Riley, the Georgia nursing student who was murdered. An illegal immigrant was charged with the crime.

Greene also wore a t-shirt paying tribute to Riley. 

The White House points out how well Biden handled himself at last year’s speech, when he quickly clapped back at Republicans’ booing him for his claim they wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare.

As GOP lawmakers started heckling him, Biden quickly pivoted to say: ‘As we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now.’

In fact, House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has asked his lawmakers to keep it reined in this year during the president’s remarks.

Johnson, at a closed-door GOP conference meeting Wednesday, called for decorum but Greene has said her district didn’t mind her call out to the president last year. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who has heckled in the past, indicated she may dow the same this year.

Biden engaged in a vigorous back-and-forth with his GOP hecklers throughout the night.  

When Biden accused Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and give more tax breaks to the wealthy.

Republican lawmakers quickly booed him and yelled ‘liar.’ 

‘Oh, no?,’ Biden responded. ‘You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut. I kind of thought that’s what your plan was. Well, that’s good to hear. You’re not going to cut another $2 trillion for the super wealthy. That’s good to hear.’

And, a few minutes later, Biden hit back at Republicans again.

He brought up the bipartisan border bill that Speaker Johnson has not brought to the House floor. 

Biden called the ‘toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen.

Republicans booed him.

‘Oh, you don’t think so? Oh, you don’t like that bill, that conservatives got together and said it was a good bill. I’ll be. Darn. That’s amazing,’ Biden told them.

Biden started off his State of the Union address with a joke before pivoting to an attack on his rival for the presidency, Donald Trump.

‘If I were smart I’d go home now,’ Biden quipped as the chamber of lawmakers welcomed him with a standing ovation.

Biden’s speech takes place under the shadow of the 2024 presidential election and he immediately went into politics. He did not mention Donald Trump by name but he talked about his ‘predecessor’ when he pushed for Congress to pass an aid package for Ukraine.

Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ‘on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. And if anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not.’

He then went on the attack. 

‘Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, do whatever the hell you want. That’s a quote, a former president actually said that bowing down to a Russian leader, I think it’s outrageous. It’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable,’ Biden said.

Speaker Mike Johnson has not brought up the bipartisan legislation, which the Senate approved, on the House floor. Trump opposes it. Johnson, sitting behind Biden, appeared to grimmace during Biden’s attack.

Biden spent the first 15 minutes of his speech attacking Trump.

‘You can’t love your country only when you win,’ he said, referring to Trump’s false claim he won the 2020 election.

Biden also implored Congress to act to help Ukraine. 

‘I say this to Congress, we have to stand up to Putin,’ he noted. ‘We will not walk way. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.’

Biden’s goal with his speech is to present himself as an energetic choice worthy of a second term.

His speech offered a hopeful vision of the future, one he hopes voters will contrast with Trump’s talk of crime and witch hunts.

‘I say to the American people, when America gets knocked down, we get back up. We keep going,’ he said to a standing ovation from Democrats. ‘That’s America.’

‘That’s you, the American people is because of you. America is coming back. It’s because of you. Our future is brighter. It’s because of you that tonight we can proudly say the state of our union is strong.’ 

Democrats cheered and shouted ‘four more years.’ 

Democrats in the chamber were a rowdy bunch, clapping and cheering frequently, a constrast to what some were saying before Biden’s speech, when they fretted if he would make a mistake that could be politically fatal.

Biden walked into the House chamber to shouts of ‘Joe’ from Democrats and loud applause. Biden, a more than 30-year veteran of Capitol Hill, stopped to talk to several lawmakers as he walked down the aisle. 

The president received good luck wishes and even shook hands with Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of his frequent critics. ‘Four more years,’ Democrats shouted as he made his way to the dais. It took his eight minutes to make his way down the aisle to the podium.

In his remarks, Biden sought to show the stark differences between himself and his Republican rival. The speech will kick off his rematch with Trump and mark the start of the 2024 general election.

Biden’s aim is to appear young and energized and voters prepare to choose between him and Trump for a second term in the White House. 

Departing the White House to head to Capitol Hill, Biden said he was ‘feeling good.’

He also joked to the staffers up on the portico watching him depart: ‘Don’t jump, I need you.’ 

Speaking to a nationwide, primetime audience, Biden, 81, will be combatting low approval ratings and questions about his fitness for office.

In his remarks, Biden directly confronted his and Trump’s ages,  arguing he wants ‘honesty’ while his Republican rival wants ‘retribution.’

‘My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor,’ Biden said.

‘Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.’

Biden has long called Trump, 77, a ‘threat to democracy’ – citing the former president’s actions during the January 6th insurrection.

Trump has hammered Biden on the age issue, calling him ‘Sleepy Joe.’ Even some Democrats have expressed concern about the 81-year-old president’s performance Thursday night, saying he needs to be energetic and not make any fumbles or stumbles. 

Biden attacked Trump and his Republicans again later in the night when he defended the Affordable Care Act.

He announced a plan to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone.

Then he went off script – and almost made a mistake, which he quickly recovered from. 

‘Folks, I’m gonna get in trouble for saying that. But any of you want to get in Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto? Berlin? Moscow? I mean, excuse me. And, well, even Moscow, probably. And bring your prescription with you. And I promise you, I’ll get it for you. For 40% of the cost you’re paying now. Same company, same drug,’ he said.

He then noted ‘my predecessor’ – he has not mentioned Trump by name all night – and ‘many in this chamber want to by repealing the Affordable Care Act. I’m not going to let that happen. We stopped you 50 times before and will stop you again. In fact, I’m not only protecting it, I’m expanding it.’

Biden spoke in the House chamber on Capitol Hill. The audience will be filled with Republican lawmakers loyal to Trump. Expect them to try and throw Biden off his game as they did last year.

Millions of viewers are expected to tune into the prime time address, giving Biden a massive platform to make the case to voters to give him a second term instead of Trump.  

Overall, the goal of the White House is to present Biden, 81, as energetic enough to do the job and turn questions about his age into an argument for his experience. 

The White House has downplayed any fears. 

‘There’s always, in these moments, a desire to focus on the distractions dujour,’ said deputy White House press secretary Olivia Dalton on CNN. ‘The president is focused on one thing and that’s communicating clearly his vision for the country to the American people.’

‘You’re going to see a very energized president,’ White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients told Politico. ‘This is a big moment. And this president rises to those big moments.’  

The president heads into the speech with a 56% disapproval rating, per the Five Thirty-Eight polling average. 

Biden has spent the past five days preparing for his State of the Union address, trying to cover all the possibilities: tea to keep his throat smooth, a print out of his remarks – with giant type – in case the teleprompter goes out, and hours of practice sessions.

Biden offered an otherwise positive view of the nation in his address, focusing on a unity agenda that contains overall popular items like dealing with the mental health epidemic, curbing opioid abuse, aiding veterans and improving cancer care.

In his remarks, the president portrayed the upcoming an election as a choice on personal freedoms such as reproductive rights. He vowed to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land if Americans give him a Democratically-controlled Congress.

‘In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court majority wrote ‘Women are not without electoral or political power.’ No kidding. Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,’ he said.

‘But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again in 2024. If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.’

He then addressed the six Supreme Court justices who were in the audience.

‘With all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral power,’ he said. 

Democrats are using the abortion issue to rally their voters after it proved successful motivation in getting their supporters to the polls in the 2022 midterm. 

He also bragged about his own record as president, particularly on the economy, which voters give him low marks for when it comes to his stewardship. 

‘I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. And we have. It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,’ he will say. 

‘So let’s tell that story here and now. America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up – not the top down, investing in all of America – in all Americans – to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.’

He also noted the popularity of infrastructure act, noting Republicans may not have voted for it but were bragging about the money it brought to their districts.

‘If any of you doesn’t want that money in your district, let me know,’ Biden joked. 

Biden also asked Americans if they want lower health care costs, democratic freedoms and to keep Ukraine from being swallowed up by Russian leader Vladimir Putin? Or do they want to side with drug company profits, tax breaks for the wealthy and Putin?

The underlying argument will be that Biden is on the right side of these issues, as opposed to Trump.

Biden addressed the war between Israel and Hamas in his remarks.

He announced that he’s directing the military to build a port on the Gaza coast to bring relief to the population there. 

That does not mean U.S. military personnel will be on the ground in the war torn region.  

White House officials offered no time line for when the pier will be built or where exactly it will be located but said its construction will allow more shipments of food, medicine and other essential items to be delivered to the 2.2 million Palestinians.

They said the White House will coordinate with the Israelis regarding security on the ground and with the United Nations and humanitarian groups on getting aid delivered. 

The temporary pier will allow for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day, the officials said. It will be an additional route for humanitarian aid, which is currently limited to two land crossings into the southern part of Gaza.

Other countries will be involved in its construction but it’s unclear if Israel will be. 

The project could take more than 30 to 60 days to construct and would involve hundreds or thousands of U.S. troops on ships just off shore. It will also require armed escorts and other protective measures.

The president has seen a concerning number of Democrats vote ‘uncommitted’ in primaries in key battleground states like Michigan and Minnesota, most of whom are unhappy with his treatment of Palestinians.

In Minnesota on Tuesday, nearly 20 percent of Democratic voters in the state voted uncommitted. The week before, more than 100,000 voters in Michigan voted the same.

Several hundred Pro-Palestinian protesters sat in the street to block Biden’s motorcade between the White House and Capitol before he headed to the Capitol to deliver his remarks.

A massive Palestinian flag was unfurled on the street with demonstrators sitting and standing around it and others held a banner with the message: ‘Biden’s legacy is genocide.’

The protesters held bullhorns, held ‘ceasefire’ signs, wore black shirts with messages demanding Biden get tough on Israel and were surrounded by law enforcement officials from all sidess.

But Biden’s motorcade did not go by the group in route to the Capitol, according to the pool of reporters traveling with him. 

In his remarks, Biden also cracked down on private jets as part of his plan to hike the taxes on the super rich as he tries to win over voters upset with his stewardship of the economy.

Biden proposed that billionaires would need to pay a minimum of 25% in federal taxes on their income as he targets the super wealthy like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. 

Another person who will be affected by his plans is his 2024 rival Donald Trump, who relies on his private jet – Trump Force One – to campaign across the country. Biden uses the military jet Air Force One for his travel.

The sweeping tax increases are targeted at bringing down the U.S. deficit but also raising Biden’s poll numbers as he heads into the November election. Polls show Trump in the lead – by a narrow margin – with eight months until Election Day.

Voters give Biden low marks for his handling of the economy. And Trump has hammered Biden repeatedly on the high rate of inflation that has raised food and fuel prices for consumers. 

The president’s proposals will also affect some of his allies: John Kerry, his former climate adviser, uses a private jet. So do celebrities like Taylor Swift and Leonardo DiCaprio, who support the president.

Biden proposed increasing the fuel tax on corporate and private jet travel and changing depreciation rules. The White House declined to say how much the fuel tax would be increased.

The president will also target corporations, proposing to raise the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 25 percent. 

Most of Biden’s tax proposals have little chance of enactment. Even when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress early in his presidency, Biden could not get the corporate tax rate raised.

The tax plans, however, are expected to form a core part of Biden’s re-election campaign, contrasting markedly with Trump whose 2017 ‘Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’ slashed taxes on companies and the wealthy.

Biden would use some of the revenue to pay for expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which would help lower-income families. And he is seeking to permanently make health insurance premiums lower for those who receive their medical coverage through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. 

The increased tax rate also is intended to cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade.

Additionally Biden pushed for a massive housing initiative as more and more young adults say they can’t afford to buy their first home.

Amid record-high inflation and rising mortgage interest rates, Biden will urge Congress to alleviate mortgage interest rates by offering first-time homebuyers a $5,000 credit each year for their first two years of home ownership to equate a total of $10,000.

The White House says this should equate to essentially knocking off 1.5 percent of homeowners’ interest rate for the medium home in the U.S.

Biden urged Congress to help free up some of the housing market by offering a one-year credit of up to $10,000 for families who sell their starter homes.

The average mortgage interest rate for a $300,000 loan is 7.9 percent for a 30-year fixed term. Meanwhile, the average cost of a home in the U.S. is upwards of $400,000.

By Brian Gallagher for Dailymail.com

Published: 10:00 PM EST, February 20, 2024 | Updated: 11:43 PM EST, February 20, 2024

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