State of the Union 2022 - Boebert doubles down on heckle as veteran’s widow calls for her removal
As it happened: Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address to Congress
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden has woken up an encouraging reception for his first State of the Union address, which snap polling says met with the approval of more than two-thirds of Americans – a rare bit of good news for a president whose ratings remain underwater.
Mr Biden at times received bipartisan standing applause in the House chamber last night, especially during his remarks on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked,” the president said. “He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and Nato wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.”
However, progressives have given a lukewarm reception to the domestic elements of Mr Biden’s speech, in which he promised to “fund the police” while declining to go as far as some wanted on key issues like immigration.
Speaking on MSNBC, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that “there’s some themes that are left a little bit to be desired for key constituencies in the Democratic base, but the president’s goal was very clear on really projecting a theme of unity and I think he’s still stuck to that.”
Meanwhile, the White House has hit back at heckling from far-right Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, with Press Secretary Jen Psaki remarking that their shouting at the president “says a lot more about them” than it does about the substance of his speech.
Manchin not keen to revisit Build Back Better
Senator Joe Manchin does not appear keen to revisit elements of President Biden’s Build Back Better legislation even when broken up.
Asked about supporting the pieces of the legislation the president brought up in his speech, the West Virginia Democrat answered: “Not until you get your financial house in order can you do that.”
He added: “I’ve never found that you can lower costs by spending more.”
Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney then chimed in: “You can’t say it better than that.”
In pictures: Biden delivers State of the Union 2022
Voices: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert were your embarrassing, xenophobic grandpa tonight
Holly Baxter says the Trumpists did everything they could to interrupt at only the most inappropriate moments.
MTG and Lauren Boebert were your cringey, xenophobic grandpa at Biden’s SOTU
The Trumpists did everything they could to interrupt at only the most inappropriate moments
‘Go get ‘em’
Joe Biden’s parting words to conclude his first State of the Union address left some viewers scratching their heads.
As he prepared to step back from the podium following a poignant hour-long speech before Congress and the nation on Tuesday night, the president declared: “Go get ‘em!”
Viewers sounding off on social media were quick to question what Mr Biden meant.
Megan Sheets reports.
‘Go get ‘em’: Biden’s final rallying cry at State of the Union causes confusion
‘My thoughts are with the White House speechwriter whose closing statement just got replaced with “go get em!”’
Marjorie Taylor Greene filmed a response to the State of the Union. It’s exactly what you’re expecting.
Marjorie Taylor Greene had her own wild conspiracy theory response to the President’s State of the Union.
In it she said Joe Biden is being blackmailed by Russia and China because they have the contents of his son Hunter’s laptop.
So there’s that.
Oh, and more.
The 6 most dramatic moments at Biden’s State of the Union
The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg recounts some of the top takeaways and moments from President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address — from heckling to Ukraine to Building a Better America.
From heckling to Ukraine: The 6 most dramatic moments at Biden’s State of the Union
Covid is no longer a central focus of Biden’s administration – and he wants Democrats to stop giving Republicans ammunition in the culture wars
We saw Joe Biden at his very human best
Joe Biden may not have surprised many viewers, writes Andrew Buncombe, but he was probably the best version of himself.
We saw Biden at his human best - including how he responded to very inhuman heckling
Joe Biden may not have surprised many viewers, writes Andrew Buncombe, but he was probably the best version of himself
Facebook whistleblower attends State of the Union as Biden calls for crackdown on social media firms
President Biden addressed the topics of mental health during his speech as he called for Congress to confront the “systematic role” social media platforms play in the mental health crisis among young people by strengthening privacy protections, banning targeted advertising to children and stopping the collection of their personal data.
“As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit,” he said.
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children. And let’s get all Americans the mental health services they need.”
Megan Sheets reports.
Facebook whistleblower attends SOTU as Biden calls for social media crackdown
Frances Haugen accused Facebook of prioritising money over public safety before Congress last fall
Marjorie Taylor Greene gives her own off-the-rails SOTU response
Far-right Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who made it clear during Mr Biden’s speech that she was unimpressed to say the least, gave probably the most bizarre of the various responses that members of Congress lined up to deliver.
“The president of the United States is totally compromised because every world leader has contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop and much more to blackmail him,” Ms Taylor Greene said, calling the president “a globalist... for the interest of China and for the interest of Russia.”
Anuj Pant has the story:
Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Biden being blackmailed by Russia in unhinged response
Georgia representative goes on a rant against Joe Biden and his son Hunter
Russia Today gives its take on SOTU
Kremlin-backed propaganda network RT has given its characteristically unflattering take on the State of the Union, or as it called it before Mr Biden even spoke, the “State of Disunion”.
As commentator Ben Swann said on air after the speech, Mr Putin had replaced Mr Trump as public enemy number one.
“The thing that surprised me most was what we did not hear, we did not hear the name Trump, he didn’t mention Trump at all. Russia replaced that,” he said.
“Had this the speech happened four weeks ago I think we would have heard that name, but we didn’t now as there is a new name, Putin. Putin is that name instead, he is the bad guy that we all have to focus on.”
Read more below.
Russia Today mocks Biden for making Putin a ‘boogeyman’ in State of Union
Kremlin-backed network claims Democrats now targeting Russian leader instead of Donald Trump
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