Joe Biden rips into Donald Trump in fiery State of the Union speech

Biden delivers repeated broadsides at ‘my predecessor’ without ever mentioning Trump by name

President Joe Biden took aim repeatedly and forcefully at Donald Trump in a combative State of the Union address that sought to make a virtue of his 81 years of age.

Sparring with shouting Republicans in Congress, the Democrat used his 68-minute speech to frame his probable return match in November against Mr Trump as a choice between “hate” and hope, between defenders of democracy at home and abroad, and those who would usurp it. 

The speech, an annual showpiece of the US political calendar, was punctuated by standing ovations from Democratic lawmakers and chants of “four more years!” Many of the Democratic women were dressed in white, a nod to the historical suffragettes and to today’s fight to secure reproductive rights after the Supreme Court struck down federal protection for abortion.

Republicans came armed with their own props, including pro-Trump “Maga” (Make America Great Again) caps and badges to honour a woman in Georgia killed by an illegal migrant from Venezuela. The migration crisis, with millions crossing the US-Mexico border under Mr Biden, sparked the most sustained jeers from opposition seats in the chamber as the president insisted on the merits of his own plan to confront it.

President Joe Biden's Third State of the Union Address
Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress
AP

But Mr Biden also had to overcome anger on his own side, with the presidential motorcade en route to Capitol Hill forced to skirt around sitdown protests in the roads by protesters opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza. 

He did not mention Mr Trump by name but jabbed at “my predecessor” several times, including over huge tax cuts passed by the Republican for the wealthy during his tempestuous White House term, in contrast to action taken by Mr Biden aimed at redressing the economic balance for the “middle class”.

However polls show many Americans - like Britons - are still struggling with a cost-of-living crisis and are loath to give Mr Biden much credit as the economy begins to recover. The migration issue is another brake on his prospects for November. 

“THIS IS LIKE A SHOUTING MATCH, EVERY LINE IS BEING SHOUTED,” Mr Trump said in a response to the State of the Union, all in capitals, on Truth Social. “This was an angry, polarizing, and hate-filled Speech,” said the former president, who faces multiple lawsuits for his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, leading up to a deadly riot by his fans on Capitol Hill.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers State of the Union address at U.S. Capitol in Washington
Mr Biden delivers his speech with Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson watching on
REUTERS

But while the 77-year-old Mr Trump has a lock on the Republican nomination, the polls also show scant popular support for a rematch between the 2020 rivals, partly because of their ages.

Mr Biden, the oldest president yet, stumbled on some words, coughed a few times, and cited Moscow on a list of destinations where Americans were able to buy cheaper prescription drugs.

But the Democrat, who was first elected to the Senate in 1972, joked: "In my career, I’ve been told I was too young, and I’ve been told I’m too old." Young or old, however, "we're all created equal” and in a veiled attack on Mr Trump, he said: "Hate, anger, revenge, retribution, are the oldest of ideas.”

The president savaged the Republican and his allies for their refusal to back new aid for Ukraine, noting that Mr Trump had invited Vladimir Putin to invade Nato allies who fail to budget enough for defence.

“My message to President Putin is simple,” Mr Biden said. “We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers State of the Union address at U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.
US first lady Dr Jill Biden (right) watches on as her husband begins his address
REUTERS

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