Wake up, democracy under threat: US President Joe Biden to lawmakers

President Joe Biden kicked off his State of the Union address by warning that democracy is endangered at home and abroad, a threat made more immediate by the prospect of his predecessor Donald Trump returning to the White House.

“My purpose tonight is to both wake up this Congress and alert the American people that this is no ordinary time either,” Biden told lawmakers, dignitaries and other guests at the Capitol on Thursday. “Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today.”

Biden’s speech took aim squarely at Trump, criticising him and Republicans for blocking aid to Ukraine and sympathising with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He sought to shame Trump as an isolationist, comparing Ronald Reagan’s 1980s exhortation to a Soviet leader to open up the Berlin Wall to Trump’s suggestion he would let Russia invade Nato allies that don’t meet defence-spending targets. “It wasn’t that long ago when a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, thundered “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” Biden said. “Now, my predecessor  failed the most basic duty any president owes the American people - the duty to care". “He also tells Putin ‘Do whatever the hell you want. That’s a quote. A former American President said that —bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it’s outrageous. It’s dangerous. And it’s unacceptable.”

Biden sought to highlight his first-term accomplishments and called on Congress to take action on immigration, abortion rights, higher taxes on the wealthy and lower drug prices. “Too many corporations raise prices to pad their profits. That’s why we’re cracking down on corporations that engage in price gouging and deceptive pricing.” During his speech, the president called out China’s “unfair economic practices,” renewed US support for Taiwan and reaffirmed his backing for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians “over time.”