president's speech

Full transcript: President Joe Biden delivers speech to joint session of Congress

The president spoke to a limited crowd due to the pandemic.

President Joe Biden delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, just one day prior to 100 days in office.

The setting was very different from a typical address, though. Due to the pandemic, tickets were limited and social distancing rules were in place.

But the message from Biden was one of progress and a return to normalcy from more than a year under limitations.

The transcript of Biden's speech was as follows:

It's good to be back. As Mitch [McConnell] and Chuck [Schumer] will understand, it is good to be almost home, down the hall.

Anyway, thank you all. Madam speaker, madam vice president. No president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words, and it's about time.

The first lady. I'm her husband. Second gentleman, chief justice, members of the United States Congress and the Cabinet, distinguished guests, my fellow Americans: while the setting tonight is familiar, this gathering is just a little bit different, a reminder of the extraordinary times we're in.

Throughout our history, presidents have come to this chamber to speak to Congress, to the nation, and to the world to declare war, to celebrate peace, to announce new plans and possibilities. Tonight, I come to talk about crisis and opportunity. About rebuilding a nation, revitalizing our democracy and winning the future for America.

I stand here tonight one day shy of the 100th day of my administration. One hundred days since I took the oath of office and lifted my hand off our family Bible and inherited a nation, we all did, that was in crisis. The worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

Now, after just 100 days, I can report to the nation America is on the move again.

Turning peril into possibility, crisis to opportunity, setbacks into strength. We all know life can knock us down, but in America, we never, ever, ever stay down. Americans always get up. Today, that's what we're doing. America is rising anew, choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, and light over darkness.

After 100 days of rescue and renewal, America is ready for a take-off, in my view. We're working again, dreaming again, discovering again, and leading the world again. We have shown each other and the world that there is no quit in America, none. 100 days ago, America's House was on fire. We had to act. And thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, and the overwhelming support of the American people, Democrats, independents and Republicans, we did act.

Together, we passed the American Rescue Plan, one of the most consequential rescue packages in American history. We're already seeing the results.

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We're already seeing the results. After I promised we'd get 100 million COVID-19 vaccine shots into people's arms in 100 days, we will have provided over 220 million COVID shots in those 100 days. Thanks to all the help of all of you. We're marshaling, with your help, everyone's help, we're marshaling every federal resource.

We have gotten vaccines to nearly 40,000 pharmacies and over 700 community health centers where the poorest of the poor can be reached. We're setting up community vaccination sites, developing mobile units to get to hard-to-reach communities. Today, 90% of Americans now live within five miles of a vaccination site. Everyone over the age of 16, everyone, is now eligible to get vaccinated right now, right away. [applause]

Go get vaccinated, America. Go and get the vaccination. They're available. You're eligible now. When I was sworn in on Jan. 20, less than 1% of the seniors in America were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. One hundred days later, 70% of seniors in America over 65 are protected, fully protected. Senior deaths from COVID-19 are down 80% since January, down 80% because of all of you.

And more than half of all the adults in America have gotten at least one shot. A mass vaccination center in Glendale, Arizona, I asked the nurse, I said, "What's it like?" She looked at me, and she said, "It's like every shot is giving a dose of hope." That was her phrase, "a dose of hope."

A dose of hope for an educator in Florida who has a child suffering from an autoimmune disease wrote to me, said she's worried -- that she was worried about bringing the virus home. She said she then got vaccinated at a -- at a large site in her car. She said she sat in her car when she got vaccinated and just cried, cried out of joy and cried out of relief.

Parents seeing the smiles on their kids faces for those who are able to go back to school because the teachers and school bus drivers and cafeteria workers have been vaccinated.

Grandparents hugging their children and grandchildren instead of pressing hands against the window to say good-bye. It means everything. Those things mean everything. You know, they're still -- you all know it, you know it better than any group of Americans. There is still more work to do to beat this virus. We can't let our guard down.

But tonight, I can say because of you -- the American people -- our progress these past 100 days against one of the worst pandemics in history has been one of the greatest logistical achievements -- logistical achievements this country has ever seen. What else have we done those first 100 days?

We kept our commitment, Democrats and Republicans, of sending $1,400 rescue checks to 85% of American households. We've already sent more than 160 million checks out the door. It's making a difference. You all know it, when you go home. For many people, it's making all the difference in the world.

A single mom in Texas who wrote me, she said she couldn't work. But she said the relief check put food on the table and saved her and her son from eviction from their apartment. A grandmother in Virginia who told me she immediately took her granddaughter to the eye doctor -- something she said she put off for months because she didn't have the money. One of the defining images, at least from my perspective in this this crisis has been cars lined up -- cars lined up for miles.

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And not -- not people who just barely ever start those cars. Nice cars. Lined up for miles. Waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk. I don't know about you, but I didn't ever think I'd see that in America?

That's why the rescue plan is delivering food and nutrition assistance to millions of Americans facing hunger -- and hunger is down sharply already. We're also providing rental assistance, you all know this but the American people, I want to make sure they understand -- keeping people from being evicted from their homes, providing loans to small businesses to reopen and keep their employees on the job.

During these 100 days, an additional 800,000 Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act when I established a special sign-up period to do that -- 800,000 in that period. We're making one of the largest one-time ever investments, ever, in improving health care for veterans. Critical investments to address the opioid crisis. And maybe most importantly, thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we're on track to put child poverty in America in half this year.

And in the process, while this is all going on, the economy created more than 1,300,000 new jobs in 100 days. More jobs than the first 100 days than any president on record.

The International Monetary Fund is now estimating our economy will grow at a rate of more than 6% this year. That will be the fastest pace of economic growth in this country in nearly four decades.

America is moving, moving forward. But we can't stop now. We're in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century. We're at a great inflection point in history. We have to do more than just build back better -- to build back -- we have to build back better, we have to compete more strenuously than we have.

Throughout our history, if you think about it, public investment in infrastructure has literally transformed America. Our attitudes as well as our opportunities. The transcontinental railroad, the interstate highways, united two oceans and brought a totally new age of progress to the United States of America.

Universal public schools and college aid opened wide the doors of opportunity. Scientific breakthroughs took us to the moon. Now we're on Mars, discovering vaccines, gave us the internet and so much more.

These are investments we made together, as one country, and investments that only the government was in a position to make. Time and again, they propel us into the future. That's why I propose the American Jobs Plan, a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself. This is the largest jobs plan since World War II. It creates jobs to upgrade our transportation infrastructure, jobs modernizing our roads, bridges, highways.

Jobs building ports and airports, rail corridors, transit lines. It's clean water. And today, up to 10 million homes in America and more than 400,000 schools and child care centers have pipes with lead in them, including drinking water -- a clear and present danger to our children's health. The American Jobs Plan creates jobs replacing 100% of the nation's lead pipes and service lines so every American can drink clean water.

In the process, we'll create thousands and thousands of good paying jobs. It creates jobs connecting every American with high-speed internet, including 35% of the rural America that still doesn't have it. This is going to help our kids and our businesses succeed in the 21st-century economy. And I'm asking the vice president to lead this effort, if she would, because I know it will get done.

It creates jobs building a modern power grid. Our grids are vulnerable to storms, hacks, catastrophic failures with tragic results, as we saw in Texas and elsewhere during the winter storms. The American Jobs Plan will create jobs that will lay thousands of miles of transmission lines needed to build a resilient and fully clean grid. We can do that.

Look, the American Jobs Plan will help millions of people get back to their jobs and back to their careers. Two million women have dropped out of the workforce during this pandemic -- 2 million. And too often because they couldn't get the care they needed to care for their child or care for an elderly parent who needs help.

Eight-hundred thousand families are on the Medicare waiting list right now to get home care for their aging parent or loved one with disability. If you think it's not important, check out in your own district, Democrat or Republican. Democrat or Republican voters, their great concern -- almost as much as their children, is taking care of an elderly loved one who can't be left alone.

Medicaid contemplated it, but this plan is going to help those families and create jobs for our caregivers with better wages and better benefits, continuing a cycle of growth.

For too long, we failed to use the most important word when it comes to meeting the climate crisis: jobs, jobs, jobs.

For me, when I think climate change, I think jobs. The American Jobs Plan will put engineers and construction workers to work building more energy efficient buildings and homes. Electrical workers, IBEW members installing 500,000 charges stations along our highways so we can own the electric car market. Farmers planting cover crops so they can reduce the carbon dioxide in the air and get paid for doing it.

Look, think about it. There is simply no reason why the blades for wind turbines can't be built in Pittsburgh instead of Beijing. No reason, none. No reason. So, folks, there is no reason why American workers can't lead the world in the production of electric vehicles and batteries. I mean, there is no reason. We have this capacity. We have the brightest, best trained people in the world.

The American Jobs Plan is going to create millions of good paying jobs, jobs Americans can raise a family on -- as my dad would then say -- "with a little breathing room." And all the investments in the American Job Plan will be guided by one principle: Buy American. Buy American. And I might note parenthetically, that does not violate any trade agreement. It's been the law since the '30s: Buy American. American tax dollars are going to be used to buy American products made in America to create American jobs. That's the way it is supposed to be, and it will be in this administration.

And I made it clear to all my cabinet people. Their ability to give exemptions has been strenuously limited. It will be American products. Now, I know some of you at home are wondering whether these jobs are for you. So many of you, so many of the folks I grew up with feel left behind, forgotten in an economy that's so rapidly changing it's frightening.

I want to speak directly to you, because you think about it. That's what people are most worried about: Can I fit in? Independent experts estimate the American Jobs Plan will add millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to economic growth in the years to come. It is a -- it is an eight-year program. These are good-paying jobs that can't be outsourced. Nearly 90% of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan do not require a college degree. Seventy-five percent don't require an associate's degree.

The American Jobs Plan is a blue collar blueprint to build America. That's what it is. And it recognizes something I’ve always said, in this chamber and the other. Good guys and women on Wall Street, but Wall Street didn't build this country. The middle class built the country, and unions built the middle class.

So that's why I'm calling on Congress to pass Protect the Right to Organize Act, the PRO Act and send it to my desk so we can support the right to unionize.

And by the way, while you’re thinking about sending things to my desk, let's raise the minimum wage to $15. No one -- no one working 40 hours a week, no one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line.

We need to ensure greater equity and opportunity for women. And while we're doing this, let's get the Paycheck Fairness Act to my desk as well. Equal pay. It's been much too long.

And if you wonder whether it’s too long, look behind you.

And finally, the American Jobs Plan will be the biggest increase in non-defense research and development on record. We'll see more technological change, and some of you know more about this than I do. We'll see more technological change in the next 10 years than we saw in the last 50. That's how rapidly artificial intelligence and so much more is changing.

And we're falling behind the competition with the rest of the world. Decades ago, we used to invest 2% of our gross domestic product in America, 2% of our gross domestic product in research and development. Today, Mr. Secretary, that's less than 1%. China and other countries are closing in fast. We have to develop and dominate the products and technologies of the future, the advanced batteries, biotechnology, computer chips, clean energy.

The secretary of defense can tell you, and those of you who work on national security issues know, the defense department has an agency called DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. The people who set up before I came here, and that's been a long time ago, to develop break-throughs that enhance our national security. That's their only job.

And it’s a semi-separate agency. It’s under the Defense Department. It's led to everything from the discovery of the internet to GPS and so much more. It's enhanced our security. The National Institutes of Health, the NIH, I believe, should create a similar advanced research project agency for health.

And here’s what it would do. It would have a singular purpose: to develop breakthroughs to prevent, detect and treat diseases like Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. I’ll still never forget when we passed the cancer proposal in the last year I was vice president, almost $9 million going to NIH.

And if you excuse the point of personal privilege, I’ll never forget you standing, Mitch, and saying, name it after my deceased son. It meant a lot. But so many of us have deceased sons, daughters, and relatives who died of cancer. I can think of no more worthy investment.

I know of nothing that is more bipartisan, so let's end cancer as we know it. It is within our power. It's within our power to do it.

Investments in jobs and infrastructure like the ones we’re talking about have often had bipartisan support in the past. Vice President Harris and I met regularly in the Oval Office with Democrats and Republicans to discuss the jobs plan. And I applaud a group of Republican senators who just put forward their own proposal. So let's get to work. I wanted to lay out before the Congress my plan before we got into the deep discussions.

I like to meet with those who have ideas that are different, that they think are better. I welcome those ideas. But the rest of the world is not waiting for us. I just want to be clear, from my perspective, doing nothing is not an option.

Look, we can't be so busy competing with one another that we forget the competition that we have with the rest of the world to win the 21st century. As Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken can tell you, I spent a lot of time with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping], traveled over 17,000 miles with him, spent over 24 hours in private discussions with him. When he called to congratulate me, we had a two-hour discussion.

He's deadly earnest about becoming the most significant, consequential nation in the world. He and others, autocrats, think that democracy can't compete in the 21st century with autocracies because it takes too long to get consensus. To win that competition for the future, in my view, we also need to make a once-in-a-generation investment in our families and our children.

That's why I’ve introduced the American Families Plan tonight, which addresses four of the biggest challenges facing American families and, in turn, America. First is access to good education. When this nation made 12 years of public education universal in the last century, it made us the best educated, best prepared nation in the world. It's, I believe, the overwhelming reason that propelled us to where we got in the 20th century. But the world has caught up or catching up. They're not waiting.

I would say parenthetically, if we were sitting down, we put a bipartisan committee together said, okay, we're going to decide what we do in terms of government providing for free education. I wonder whether we'd think, as we did in the 20th century, that 12 years is enough in the 21st century. I doubt it. Twelve years is no longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century.

That’s why the American Families Plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in America -- starting as early as we can.

We add two years of universal high-quality preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old, no matter what background they come from, puts them in a position to be able to compete all the way through 12 years and increases exponentially their prospect of graduating and going on beyond graduation.

Research shows when a young child goes to school, not day care, they're far more likely to graduate from high school and go to college, or something after high school. When you add two years of free community college on top of that, you begin to change the dynamic. We can do that.

And we’ll increase Pell grants and invest in historical Black colleges and universities, tribal colleges, minority-serving institutions. The reason is they don't have the endowments, but their students are just as capable of learning about cyber security, just as capable of learning about metallurgy, all the things that are going on that provide those jobs of the future. Jill is a community college professor who teaches today, as first lady.

She's long said -- if I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times: “Joe, any country that out educates us is going to outcompete us.” She will be deeply involved in leading this effort. Thank you, Jill. Second thing we need, American Families Plan will provide access to quality, affordable child care.

What I'm proposing in the legislation -- we guarantee that low and middle income families will pay no more than 7% of their income for high quality care for children up to the age of 5. The most hard-pressed working families won't have to spend a dime. Third, the American Families Plan will finally provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave and medical leave, family medical leave.

No one should have to choose between a job and a paycheck or taking care of themselves and their loved ones or parent or spouse or child. And, fourth, the American Family Plan puts directly into the pockets of millions of Americans. In March, we expanded the tax credit for every child in a family, up to $3,000 per child if they're over 6 years of age.

And $3,600 for children over 6 years of age. With two parents, two kids, that's $7,200 in the pockets that are going to help take care of your family. And that will help more than 65 million children and help cut child care poverty in half.

And we can afford it. So we did that in the -- in the last piece of legislation we passed. But let's extend that child care tax credit at least through the end of 2025. The American Rescue Plan lowered health care premiums for 9 million Americans who buy their coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

I know that’s really popular on this side of the aisle. [laughter] But, let's make that provision permanent so their premiums don't go back up.

In addition to my families plan, I’m going to work with Congress to address this year other critical priorities for American families. The Affordable Care Act has been a lifeline for millions of Americans protecting people with preexisting conditions, protecting women's health. And the pandemic has demonstrated how badly, how badly it's needed. Let's lower deductibles for working families on the Affordable -- in the Affordable Care Act. And let's lower prescription drug costs.

We know how to do this. The last president had that as an objective. We all know how outrageously expensive drugs are in America. In fact, we pay the highest prescription drug prices of anywhere in the world, right here in America. Nearly three times for the same drug, nearly three times what other countries pay.

We have to change that. And we can. Let's do what we talked about for all the years I was down here in this body, in Congress. Let's give Medicare the power to save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower drug prescription prices.

And by the way, it won’t just -- it won’t just help people on Medicare. It’ll lower prescription drug costs for everyone. And the money we save, which is billions of dollars, can go to strengthening the Affordable Care Act and expand Medicare benefits without costing taxpayers an additional penny. It is within our power to do it. Let's do it now.

We’ve talked about it long enough, Democrats and Republicans. Let's get it done this year. This is all about a simple premise: Health care should be a right, not a privilege in America.

So, how do we pay for my jobs and family plan? I made it clear, we can do without increasing the deficit. Let's start with what I will not do. I will not impose any tax increase on people making less than $400,000. But it is time for corporate America and the wealthiest 1% of Americans to just begin to pay their fair share. Just their fair share.

Sometimes I have arguments with my friends in the Democratic party. I think you should be able to become a billionaire and a millionaire, but pay your fair share. A recent study shows that 55 of the nation's biggest corporations paid zero federal tax last year. Those 55 corporations made in excess of $40 billion in profit.

A lot of companies also evaded taxes through tax havens in Switzerland and Bermuda and the Cayman islands. And they benefit from tax loopholes and deductions, for offshoring jobs and shifting profits overseas. It's not right. We’re going to reform corporate taxes so they pay their fair share and help pay for the public investments their businesses will benefit from as well.

We're going to reward work, not just wealth. We take the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1% of Americans, those making over $400,000 or more, back up to where it was when George W. Bush was president, when he started, 39.6%.

That's where it was when George W. was president. We're going to get rid of the loopholes allowing Americans to make more than a million dollars a year and pay a lower tax rate on their capital gains on Americans who receive a paycheck. We're only going to affect three-tenths of 1% of all Americans by that action. Three-tenths of 1%.

And the IRS is going to crack down on millionaires and billionaires who cheat on their taxes. It’s estimated to be billions of dollars by think tanks that are left, right, and center. I'm not looking to punish anybody. But I will not add a tax burden, additional tax burden to the middle class in this country. They're already paying enough.

I believe what I propose is fair. Fiscally responsible. And it raises revenue to pay for the plans I propose and it will create millions of jobs that will grow the economy and enhance our financial standing in the country. When you hear someone say they don't want to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% or corporate America, ask them, whose taxes do you want to raise? Instead, whose are we going to cut?

Look, the big tax cut of 2017, you remember it was supposed to pay for itself. That was how it was sold. And generate vast economic growth. Instead, it added $2 trillion to the deficit. It was a huge windfall for corporate America and those at the very top.

Instead of using the tax saving to raise wages and invest in research and development, it poured billions of dollars into the pockets of CEOs. In fact, the pay gap between CEOs and their workers is now among the largest in history. According to one study, CEOs make 320 times what the average worker in their corporation makes, it used to be in the -- below 100. The pandemic has only made things worse. 20 million Americans lost their job in the pandemic, working and middle class Americans.

At the same time, roughly 650 billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 trillion, in the same exact period. Let me say that again: 650 people increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion during this pandemic. And they're now worth more than $4 trillion.

My fellow Americans, trickle down -- trickle down economics has never worked, and it’s time to grow the economy from the bottom and the middle out.

You know, there is a broad consensus of economists left, right, and center, and they agree what I'm proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate historic economic growth. These are among the highest value investments we can make as a nation. I have often said, our greatest strength is the power of our example, not just the example of our power.

My conversations with world leaders, and I’ve spoken to over 38 -- 40 of them now. I have made it known. I have made it known that America is back. And you know what they say? The comment that I hear most of all from them? So they say, “We see America is back. But for how long? But for how long?”

My fellow Americans, we have to show not just that we're back, but that we're back to stay and that we aren't going to go alone.

We're going to do it by leading with our allies. No one nation can deal with all the crises of our time, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation, mass migration, cybersecurity, climate change as well as experiencing -- what we're experiencing now with pandemics.

There’s no wall high enough to keep any virus away. As our own vaccine supply grows to meet our needs -- and we are meeting them -- we will become an arsenal of vaccines for other countries -- just as America was the arsenal of democracy in World War II.

The climate crisis is not our fight alone, either. It’s a global fight. The United States accounts, as all of you know, for less than 15% of carbon emissions. The rest of the world accounts for 85%.

That’s why I kept my commitment to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement on my first day in office.

And I kept my commitment to convene a climate summit right here in America, with all of the major economies of the world -- from China and Russia to India and the European Union. And I said I would do it in my first 100 days. And I want to be very blunt about it.

My attempt was to make sure that the world could see there was a consensus, that we are at an inflection point in history. The consensus is if we act to save the planet, we can create millions of jobs and economic growth and opportunity to raise the standard of living of almost everyone around the world. If you watched any of it, and you were all busy, I’m sure you didn’t have much time, that's what virtually every nation said, even the ones that aren't doing their fair share.

The investments I propose tonight also advance the foreign policy, in my view, that benefits the middle class. That means making sure every nation plays by the same rules in the global economy, including China. My discussions -- in my discussions with President Xi, I told him, we welcome the competition. We're not looking for conflict.

But I made absolutely clear that we will defend America's interest across the board. America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and American industries like subsidies from state to state owned operations and enterprises and the theft of American technology and intellectual property.

I also told President Xi that we’ll maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific, just as we do with NATO and Europe. Not to start a conflict, but to prevent one.

I told him what I said to many world leaders, that America will not back away from our commitments, our commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to our alliances. And I pointed out to him, no responsible American President could remain silent when basic human rights are being so blatantly violated. An American President -- President has to represent the essence of what our country stands for.

America is an idea, the most unique idea in history: we are created, all of us, equal. It's who we are, and we cannot walk away from that principle. And, in fact, say “we're dealing with the American idea.”

With regard to Russia, I know it concerns some of you, but I made very clear to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that we're not going to seek escalation, but their actions will have consequence if they turn out to be true. And they turned out to be true, so I responded directly and proportionately to Russia's interference on our elections, and the cyberattacks on our government and our business.

They did both of these things, and I told them we would respond and we have. But we can also cooperate when it’s in our mutual interest. We did it when we extended the New START Treaty on nuclear arms, and we're working to do it on climate change. But he understands we will respond.

On Iran and North Korea, nuclear programs that present serious threats to American security and the security of the world, we're going to be working closely with our allies to address the threats posed by both of these countries through diplomacy as well as stern deterrence. And American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan.

We have, without hyperbole, the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. I’m the first president in 40 years who knows what it means to have a son serving in a war zone. Today, we have service members serving in the same war zone as their parents did. We have service members in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11.

The war in Afghanistan, as we remember the debates here, were never meant to be multi-generational undertakings of nation building. We went to Afghanistan to get terrorists -- the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. And we said we would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell to do it. If you’ve been in the upper Kunar Valley, you’ve kind of seen the gates of hell.

And we delivered justice to Bin Laden. We degraded the terrorist threat of al-Qaida and Afghanistan. And after 20 years of value, valor, and sacrifice, it’s time to bring those troops home.

Even as we do, we’ll maintain over the horizon capacity to suppress future threats to the homeland. And make no mistake, in 20 years, terrorism has metastasized. The threat has evolved way beyond Afghanistan. Those of you in the intelligence committees, the foreign relation community, defense communities, you know well. We have to remain vigilant against the threats to the United States wherever they come from. Al-Qaida and ISIS are in Yemen, Syria, Somalia, other places in Africa, in the Middle East and beyond.

And we won't ignore what our intelligence agency has determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: white supremacy's terrorism.

We're not going to ignore that either. My fellow Americans, look, we have to come together to heal the soul of this nation. It was nearly a year ago, before her father's funeral, when I spoke with Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s young daughter. She's a little tyke, so I was kneeling down to talk to her so I could look her in the eye. She looked at me, she said, “My daddy changed the world.”

Well, after the conviction of George Floyd's murderer, we can see how right she was if, if we have the courage to act as a Congress. We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black Americans. Now is our opportunity to make some real progress. The vast majority of men and women wearing the uniform and a badge serve our communities and they serve them honorably.

I know them. I know they want to help meet this moment as well. My fellow Americans, we have to come together to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve, to root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system and to enact police reform in George Floyd's name that passed the House already. I know Republicans have their own ideas, and are engaged in a very productive discussion with Democrats in the Senate. We need to work together to find a consensus, but let's get it done next month by the first anniversary of George Floyd's death.

The country supports this reform, and Congress should act -- should act. We have a giant opportunity to bend the ark of the moral universe towards justice, real justice. And with the plans outlined tonight, we have a real chance to root out systemic racism that plagues America and American lives in other ways.

A chance to deliver real equity, good jobs, good schools, affordable housing, clean air, clean water, being able to generate wealth and pass it down to generations because you have an access to purchase a house. Real opportunities in the lives of more Americans, Black, white, Latino, Asian Americans, Native Americans.

Look, I also want to thank the United States Senate for voting 94-1 to pass COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to protect Asian-American and Pacific Islanders. You acted decisively.

You can see on television the viciousness of the hate crimes we have seen over the past year and for too long. I urge the House to do the same and send that legislation to my desk, which I will gladly, anxiously sign. I also hope Congress will get to my desk the Equality Act to protect LGBTQ Americans.

To all transgender Americans watching at home, especially the young people, who are so brave, I want you to know your president has your back. Another thing: let's authorize the Violence Against Women Act, which has been law for 27 years. Twenty-seven years ago, I wrote it.

It will close -- the act that has to be authorized now, it will close the boyfriend loophole to keep guns out of the hands of abusers. The court order said “this is an abuser,” you can't own a gun. It’s to close that loophole that existed. You know, it’s estimated that 50 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month in America, 50 a month.

Let's pass it, and save some lives. And I need -- I need not tell anyone this but gun violence has become an epidemic in America. The flag at the White House was still flying at half mast for the eight victims of the mass shooting in Georgia when 10 more lives were taken in a mass shooting in Colorado.

And in the week in between those two events, 250 other Americans were shot dead in the streets of America. 250. Shot dead. I know how hard it is to make progress on this issue. In the 90s, we passed universal background checks, a ban on assault rifles and high capacity magazines that hold a hundred rounds that can be fired off in seconds. We beat the NRA. Mass shootings and gun violence declined.

Check out the report over ten years. But in the early 2000s, the law expired. We've seen daily bloodshed since. I'm not saying if the law continued we wouldn't see bloodshed. More than two weeks ago in the Rose Garden, surrounded by some of the bravest people I know, the survivors and families who lost loved ones to gun violence, I laid out several of the Department of Justice actions that are being to taken to impact in this epidemic.

One of them is banning so-called ghost guns. These are homemade guns built from a kit that includes directions on how to finish the firearm. The parts have no serial numbers. So they show up at crime scenes and they can't be traced. The buyers of these ghost gun kits aren't required to pass any background check.

Anyone, from a criminal or terrorist, could buy this kit and within 30 minutes have a weapon that's lethal, but no more. And I'll do everything in my power to protect the American people from this epidemic of gun violence, but it is time for Congress to act as well.

I don't want to become confrontational but we need more Senate Republicans to join the overwhelming majority of Democratic colleagues, and close the loopholes required in background checks purchases of guns. We need a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines. And don't tell me it can't be done. We did it before, and it worked.

Talk to most responsible gun owners and hunters, they'll tell you there is no possible justification for having a hundred rounds in a weapon. What do you think, deer are wearing kevlar vests? [laughter] They'll tell you that there are too many people today who are able to buy a gun but shouldn't be able to buy a gun.

These kinds of reasonable reforms have overwhelming support from the American people, including many gun owners. The country supports reform and this -- and Congress should act. This shouldn't be a red or blue issue, and no Amendment to the Constitution is absolute. You can't yell “fire” in a crowded theater. From the very beginning there were certain guns, weapons that could not be owned by Americans.

Certain people could not own those weapons ever. We're not changing the Constitution. We're being reasonable. I think this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. I think it's an American issue. And here's what else we can do. Immigration has always been essential to America. Let's end our exhausting war over immigration.

For more than 30 years, politicians have talked about immigration reform, and we've done nothing about it. It's time to fix it. On day one of my presidency, I kept my commitment to send a comprehensive immigration bill to the United States Congress. If you believe we need to secure the border, pass it, because it has a lot of money for high tech border security. If you believe in a pathway to citizenship, pass it. There’s over 11 million undocumented folks, the vast majority are here overstaying visas, pass it.

We can actually -- if you actually want to solve the problem, I've sent a bill to take a close look at it. We also have to get at the root problem of why people are fleeing ,particularly to our southern border of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The violence, the corruption, the gangs, the political instability, hunger, hurricanes, earthquakes, natural disasters. When I was president, my president -- when I was vice president, the president asked me to focus on providing help needed to address the root causes of migration.

And it helped keep people in their own countries instead of being forced to leave. The plan was working, but the last administration decided it was not worth it. I'm restoring the program, and I asked Vice President [Kamala] Harris to lead our diplomatic effort to take care of this. I have absolute confidence she'll get the job done.

Now look, if you don't like my plan, let's at least pass what we all agree on. Congress needs to pass legislation this year to finally secure protection for Dreamers. The young people who have only known America as their home. And permanent protection for immigrants who are here on temporary protective status who came from countries beset by man-made and natural made violence and disaster.

As well as a pathway to citizenship for foregn workers who put food on our tables. Look, immigrants have done so much for America during this pandemic and throughout our history. The country supports immigration reform. We should act. Let's argue over it. Let's debate it, but let's act. And if we truly restore -- want to restore the soul of America, we need to protect the sacred right to vote.

More people voted in the last Presidential election than any time in American history, in the middle of the worst pandemic ever. It should be celebrated. Instead, it's being attacked. Congress should pass HR-1, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and send it to my desk right away.

The country supports it, and Congress should act now. [applause, cont.] Look, in conclusion, as we gather here tonight, the images of a violent mob assaulting this Capitol, desecrating our democracy remain vivid in all our minds. Lives were put at risk, many of your lives. Lives were lost.

Extraordinary courage was summoned. The insurrection was an existential crisis, a test of whether our democracy could survive, and it did. But the struggle is far from over. The question of whether our democracy will long endure is both ancient and urgent, as old as our Republic, still vital today.

Can our democracy deliver on its promise that all of us created equal in the image of god have a chance to lead lives of dignity, respect, and possibility? Can our democracy deliver to the most pressing needs of our people? Can our democracy overcome the lies, anger, hate, and fears that have pulled us apart? America's adversaries, the autocrats of the world, are betting we can't. And I promise you they're betting we can't.

They believe we’re too full of anger and division and rage. They look at the images of the mob that assaulted the Capitol as proof that the sun is setting on American democracy. But they're wrong. You know it. I know it. But we have to prove them wrong. We have to prove democracy still works, that our government still works, and we can deliver for our people.

MORE: Congress prepares for 'strange' and 'extraordinary' presidential address

In our first 100 days together, we've acted to restore people's faith in democracy to deliver. We're vaccinating the nation, we're creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, we're delivering real results to people. They can see it, feel it in their own lives, opening doors of opportunity, guaranteeing some more fairness and justice. That’s the essence of America. That's democracy in action. Our Constitution opens with the words, as trite as it sounds, “we the people.”

Well, it's time to remember that we, the people, are the government. You and I. Not some force in a distant capital. Not some powerful force that we have no control over. It's us! It's we the people. In another era when our democracy was tested, Franklin Roosevelt reminded us, in America, we do our part, we all do our part. That's all I'm asking. That we do our part, all of us. If we do that, we will meet the center challenge of the age by proving that democracy is durable and strong.

Autocrats will not win the future, we will. America will. And the future belongs to America. As I stand here tonight before you in a new and vital hour of life and democracy of our nation, and I can say with absolute confidence, I have never been more confident or optimistic about America, not because I'm President. Because of what's happening with the American people.

We've stared into the abyss of insurrection and autocracy, pandemic and pain. And We, the people, did not flinch. At the very moment our adversaries were certain we'd pull apart and fail, we came together. We united. With light and hope, we summoned a new strength, new resolve to position us to win the competition of the 21st century.

On our way to a union more perfect, more prosperous, and more just as one people, one nation, and one America. Folks, as I told every world leader I ever met with over the years, it's never ever, ever been a good bet to bet against America and it still isn't.

We're the United States of America.

There is not a single thing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity. We can do whatever we set our minds to if we do it together. So let's begin to get together. God bless you all, and may god protect our troops. Thank you for your patience.

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Live: Biden warns democracy is at stake in pre-midterm speech

With Election Day for the 2022 midterms just around the corner, President Biden has delivered a prime-time speech touching on threats to democracy, including misinformation and possible election violence.

Here's what you need to know:

• Federal agencies released an internal bulletin late last week warning of a heightened threat from domestic violent extremists .
• The speech comes just days after Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, was attacked in his home .
• The speech, which was held at the Capitol-adjacent Union Station, was hosted by the Democratic National Committee.

You can re-watch the speech here .

This blog is over — but don't go too far

By Emily Olson

We're going to stop updating this live blog for today, but NPR's coverage of President Biden, the midterm elections, misinformation and domestic violence is far from over.

You can keep up with these topics by tuning in to The NPR Politics Podcast or by signing up for the Politics Newsletter .

And be sure to head back to NPR.org for Election Day next Tuesday. We'll bring you the live race results and helpful analysis you need to make sense of the elections.

See you soon!

The 2020 ‘Big Lie’ claims are still being litigated

By Dustin Jones

President Biden said in his Wednesday night address that former President Donald Trump's "Big Lie" that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him is at the root of America's uptick in political violence.

Trump's refusal to concede and admit that he lost has "fueled the dangerous rise of voter intimidation over the last few years," Biden said, including threats to election officials and, most recently, politicians and their families.

And even though it has been nearly two years since the 2020 election, litigation surrounding the "Big Lie" is ongoing.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, has been ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to testify before a grand jury in Georgia in line with a subpoena he had hoped to dodge.

Graham had requested that the high court block the subpoena under a constitutional clause protecting senators from being questioned about their legislative actions. The court denied his request but limited the questions that the grand jury can ask him.

Read more here .

State legislative races cast as democracy's front lines this election season

President Biden spent a portion of his speech explaining how this year's elections are echoing and amplifying 2020's false narrative of election fraud.

One place that narrative is impacting the elections is state legislative races .

NPR's Laura Benshoff reports: "Democratically aligned super PACs and party-affiliated groups are spending tens of millions of dollars around the country to try to change the composition of state legislatures in key swing states, warning that fair elections could hang in the balance."

The Republican Party, meanwhile, is trying to defend its majorities and flip chambers where Democrats currently hold the balance of power.

"In either scenario, these legislative bodies have become increasingly powerful in setting policy around health care, voting, education and reproductive rights," Benshoff writes.

And, critically, they could have more power if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to give state legislatures power over federal elections — it's hearing a case about it this fall.

You can read Benshoff's full story here .

Voters are already being intimidated this election season

During his address Wednesday night, President Biden said that every vote should count and that intimidation and violence have no place in American politics.

Having said that, there have already been cases of voter intimidation in the midterm elections. Election officials in Arizona reported incidents where voters were filmed and photographed while putting their ballots into drop boxes, and in one case, the voters were followed by a car out of a parking lot.

🧵On Friday, 2 armed individuals dressed in tactical gear were onsite at our Mesa ballot drop box. After @mcsoaz arrived, the individuals left. @MaricopaCounty Chairman Gates & @RecordersOffice Recorder Richer said they condemn these actions. Read more: https://t.co/iHFPCxeLFT pic.twitter.com/o8JCudzVCj — Maricopa County Elections Department (@MaricopaVote) October 23, 2022

In another case, two armed individuals wearing tactical gear were hanging around a drop box in Maricopa County.

It may take a while to know the full election results

By Ben Swasey

Emily Olson

President Biden tonight asked Americans to trust in the election process. This year, as in 2020, having trust also means having patience .

Here's a bit of an explanation from NPR's Ben Swasey , who covers voting and election administration:

"Recent years have seen a rise in mail voting, and states have different rules for when those mail ballots are due . States also have different procedures for when those ballots can be taken out of their envelopes to be processed and tallied. This can lengthen the count.

Wisconsin, for example, doesn't allow election officials to begin processing mail ballots until polls open on Election Day.

The vote count in Pennsylvania should be faster this year than in 2020, considering there will likely be fewer mail-in ballots. But those mail ballots will still take longer to count and will lead to the confusion of a “red mirage” or “blue shift,” where lots of mail-in ballots will be reported early, making Democrats look like they have the lead, but then in-person ballot results will come in, likely showing Republicans pulling ahead in a close race, and then the rest of the mail ballot results will trickle in later in the evening, because they take longer to tabulate, and will likely favor Democrats and shift things even more.

And those are just two states.

If that’s not enough, also keep in mind that election officials first report unofficial results . Certified results come days, if not weeks, later.

Legal challenges and recounts can also lengthen the time before a winner is determined. The battleground state of Arizona, for instance, has recently switched to automatic recounts for any contest that's separated by 0.5 percentage points or less."

Law enforcement warns of political violence ahead of elections

U.S. agencies are warning politicians, election officials, religious minorities and others to be on alert for potential violent attacks.

The Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the National Counterterrorism Center and the U.S. Capitol Police issued a bulletin last week — the same day Paul Pelosi was attacked — warning that other attacks could happen around Election Day.

Potential attacks would likely come from disgruntled extremists who hope to impact the elections, the bulletin said.

President Biden last week called on politicians from both sides of the aisle to speak up against political violence. He also tied the increase in threats of violence to conspiracy theories and the false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

"What makes us think that one party can talk about stolen elections, COVID being a hoax, it's all a bunch of lies — and it not affect people who may not be so well-balanced?" Biden said. "What makes us think that it's not going to corrode the political climate?"

Republican reactions to Biden's address about democracy under threat

Republicans accused President Biden of trying to divide the country after he told Americans that democracy was on the ballot this November.

Republican members of Congress fired back at Biden after he encouraged voters not to elect election deniers and extremist candidates.

"President Biden is trying to divide and deflect at a time when America needs to unite—because he can’t talk about his policies that have driven up the cost of living," Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tweeted . "The American people aren’t buying it."

The official Twitter account of the House Republicans echoed similar thoughts. "President Biden is trying to distract from the countless crises under his watch," the House Republicans' account tweeted .

pic.twitter.com/F5AvH9l94G — Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) November 2, 2022

The Senate Republicans' Twitter account shared an ominous meme that attributed an increase in murders, carjackings and robberies to the Biden administration.

Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker went one step further on Twitter , calling his Democratic opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock, and Biden the threat.

"Georgia knows and America knows the threat to democracy is @JoeBiden and @ReverendWarnock ," Walker tweeted.

Georgia knows and America knows the threat to democracy is @JoeBiden and @ReverendWarnock . https://t.co/mNb3oJrCLM — Herschel Walker (@HerschelWalker) November 2, 2022

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social once Biden's speech ended, posting endorsements for House candidates in Indiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Missouri.

During his speech, Biden encouraged Americans to stand up against extremism and political violence, pointing to Trump's claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen as the reason the nation is divided.

"As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America — for governor, for Congress, for attorney general, for secretary of state — who won’t commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in," Biden said. "That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it is un-American."

Here's what Biden said in his last speech about democracy under attack

It has been two months since President Biden first told the country that he believes some Republicans are a threat to democracy. Tonight's speech echoed his words then.

"Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal," he said on Sept. 1 . "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."

Biden warned that fringe Republicans with extremist views tied to conspiracy theories are trying to pull strings in state after state to give election deniers decision-making powers.

He also specified that he wasn't talking about the majority of Republicans and that they too have to fight for American democracy.

The RNC calls Biden's speech 'divisive'

The Republican National Committee issued a brief statement ahead of Biden's speech, calling it his "latest divisive speech" in the subject line of the email.

"Desperate and dishonest," wrote Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel .

"Joe Biden promised unity but has instead demonized and smeared Americans, while making life more expensive for all. While Republicans remain focused on the issues that matter most to voters, Biden and Democrats are flailing in the final days because they have lost touch with the concerns of families struggling to get by."

Biden said this election is about the 'soul of America'

President Biden wrapped up his speech by saying the nation is in a struggle for "the soul of America itself."

"As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America — for governor, for Congress, for attorney general, for secretary of state — who won’t commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in," Biden said.

"That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it is un-American."

The president asked Americans to confront misinformation and political violence now and to trust the election process. Votes should not be seen as partisan tools, accepted when wanted and tossed out when it's not beneficial.

"Violence and intimidation have no place in America," he said.

Biden concluded his speech without taking questions.

President Biden calls on voters to confront threats against democracy

During his speech Wednesday evening, President Biden said intimidation and violence against politicians and election officials are a result of "lies repeated over and over," which have to be confronted by truth.

He called on Americans from all parties and backgrounds to vote to confront the threats against democracy.

"We the people must decide to have free and fair elections, and every vote counts," Biden said.

He said that it's up to the people to ensure the rule of law prevails and that former President Donald Trump's inability to accept his election loss in 2020 is the root of the problem.

Biden begins his speech by addressing attack on Paul Pelosi

President Biden began his speech by recounting the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, pausing on the fact that the accused attacker was shouting the words, "Where is Nancy?" as he entered the house, according to police reports.

"Those were the very same words used by the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6th," Biden said to transition into the bigger picture. "It was an enraged mob that'd been whipped up into a frenzy by 'the big lie.'"

Biden blamed the 2021 attack on the Capitol — and continuing threats to democracy — firmly on former President Donald Trump.

Biden said the "big lie" that Trump started has "fueled the dangerous rise of voter intimidation over the last few years," as well as threats to poll workers.

Protesters chant 'Ashli Babbitt' as Biden's motorcade arrives

White House reporters traveling in the motorcade said that as President Biden pulled into Union Station, a handful of women stood near the eastern entrance holding a sign and chanting, "Ashli Babbitt."

Babbitt was one of many hundreds of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while attempting to stop lawmakers from carrying out their constitutional duty to certify the Electoral College results in favor of Biden.

Babbitt can be seen in footage from that day carrying a backpack and trying to breach a barricaded door. When Babbitt attempted to climb through a smashed door into the Speaker's Lobby, she was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer.

Many on the far right have characterized Babbitt as a martyr.

You can read more about her here .

Is this just a political play?

It's not every day that a sitting U.S. president gives a speech about the state of democracy — and threats of violence.

Historically, the party out of power has picked up more than 20 House seats in a president's first midterm, and that figure is even higher when that president has a low approval rating. Biden's has long been hovering below 50% .

So is this all just a political stunt?

There are a few things to consider here:

• This speech is being hosted by the Democratic National Committee , not the White House. The DNC is the principal fundraising arm of the Democratic Party.
• It's happening at Union Station , which is just a few blocks away from the Capitol but is not the Capitol building itself. White House senior adviser Anita Dunn said the Capitol Hill setting is important because it was the site of violence on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump supporters stormed the area. And the setting also helps distance Biden from his seat of power — he's speaking in a political capacity.

But then there's also this:

• The speech comes on the heels of a brutal attack on Paul Pelosi — some tangible proof that months of worries about domestic extremism may well be warranted.
• A recent NPR/ PBS NewsHour /Marist poll found that Republicans are OK with voting for election deniers as long as they're aligned on other issues, signaling that issues of democracy are far less likely to move an election needle than traditional pocketbook issues such as inflation and the economy. Biden could choose other topics for what's shaping up to be his grand finale before the midterm elections.

Conspiracies theories and Paul Pelosi's attacker

Not long after law enforcement identified Paul Pelosi's accused attacker, David DePape, journalists began investigating posts that appeared to be written by him that embrace far-right conspiracy theories and views.

DePape's daughter told The Los Angeles Times that her father wrote the posts, which included antisemitic remarks, false claims about the 2020 presidential election and COVID-19 vaccine conspiracy theories.

Conservative media outlets and high-profile personalities quickly responded by casting doubt that an individual who shared their beliefs had committed the attack.

Read more about it here .

The latest on the attack on Paul Pelosi

President Biden's speech is very likely to touch on Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was attacked in their San Francisco home last Friday.

David Wayne DePape, 42, faces a multitude of charges in connection with accusations that he attacked Paul Pelosi with a hammer and planned to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, the Justice Department said. Those charges could lead to 50 years in prison.

U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement Wednesday that the cameras in the home were not actively monitored while the House speaker was in Washington, D.C.

The Capitol Police also said they intend to “fast-track” efforts already underway to better protect politicians outside the Capitol.

Here's what we expect Biden will talk about

President Biden's address from Union Station in Washington, D.C., will touch on a series of topics concerning threats to democracy.

Two of the president's aides said he will talk about the following:

• the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and other cases of political violence, including last week's attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband
• how the counting of midterm election ballots will take several days

Anita Dunn, Biden’s senior adviser, said at an Axios event that the president believes that putting a name to the issues is imperative. “You have to be very straight with the American people — as he likes to say, from the shoulder," Dunn said.

"And he will be very clear tonight that he is speaking to people who don’t agree with him on any issues, who don’t agree on his agenda, but we really can unite behind this idea, this fundamental value of democracy.”

How to watch tonight's speech

It was just today that President Biden announced he'd deliver a speech on democracy from the Columbus Club at Union Station, which is adjacent to the Capitol.

The speech, which is a Democratic National Committee event, will kick off at 7 p.m. ET.

If you're planning to stream the speech online, here are a few places where you can watch it :

PBS NewsHour 's YouTube channel

CBS' online news stream

C-SPAN online

Biden urges aid for Israel and Ukraine and calls on Israel 'not to be blinded by rage'

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden spoke to the nation in a rare prime-time address Thursday, explaining why he believes it’s crucial for Israel and Ukraine to win the respective wars they’re fighting, as he looks to build support for a hefty aid package aimed at strengthening both countries.

Though Israel endured a horrifying attack from Hamas militants on Oct. 7, Biden said that he cautioned Israelis not to repeat the mistakes an angered U.S. made after terrorists attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001, an apparent reference to the prolonged U.S. military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"When I was in Israel yesterday, I said that when America experienced the hell of 9/11, we felt enraged, as well," Biden said. "While we sought and got justice, we made mistakes. So I cautioned the government of Israel not to be blinded by rage."

Biden’s Oval Office speech followed a quick visit Wednesday to Tel Aviv, where he met with Israeli leaders and discussed the next phase of a counterattack in Gaza that began with an aerial bombardment and may now shift to a risky ground incursion.

As with his trip to Ukraine in February, Biden ventured to an active war zone to show his solidarity with a U.S. ally battling an enemy that wants to wipe it out of existence.

“The terrorist group Hamas unleashed pure unadulterated evil in the world," Biden said in his address. "But sadly, the Jewish people know perhaps better than anyone that there is no limit to the depravity of people when they want to inflict pain on others."

He added that “Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people."

Biden sought to connect the two distant wars for an audience that might not see why U.S. interests are at stake. Both Hamas and Russian President Vladimir Putin aim to destroy neighboring democracies, and if they succeed they're bound to feel emboldened and look for more conquests, Biden said.

"History has taught us that when terrorists don't pay a price for their terror — when dictators don't pay a price for their aggression — they cause more chaos and death and more destruction. They keep going, and the costs of the threats to America and the world keep rising," he said.

Biden’s remarks also had a more immediate and practical purpose. He wants to put pressure on Congress to approve an emergency funding package that his administration plans to submit Friday. Biden may request $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and a total of $40 billion for Israel, Taiwan and the U.S.-Mexico border, people familiar with the matter said this week.

"It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations," he said. "We're going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading."

Biden is in a weakened posture as he tries to shape public opinion toward the wars. A CNBC poll taken this month found that only 31% of Americans approved of Biden’s handling of foreign policy, compared to 60% who disapproved.

He spoke to Americans who appear to be tiring of the war in Ukraine, which started in February 2022 with Russia’s invasion. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month found that 41% agreed with the statement that the U.S. should provide weapons to Ukraine — down from 46% in May.

The U.S. has sent about $44 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Russia first rolled its tanks toward Kyiv, according to the State Department.

Ahead of the speech, Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the status of the war with Russia, according to a White House readout of the conversation.

"President Biden underscored the continued strong bipartisan support in the United States for Ukraine's defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic future," according to the White House.

As the wars unfold overseas, the fallout at home is growing more pronounced.

Israel’s counterattack has already triggered angry demonstrations from American protesters demanding a cease-fire. On Capitol Hill, about 300 protesters were arrested after they massed inside a House office building Wednesday in a demonstration calling for an end to hostilities. Rabbis were among those who joined in the protest. Some of the demonstrators wore T-shirts reading: “Jews say ceasefire now.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., wrote on X this week that it is Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken's "job to protect Palestinian Americans."

"They are failing," she wrote.

More than 400 congressional staffers anonymously signed on to an open letter calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and saying they are “profoundly disturbed that such shows of humanity [for Israelis] have barely been extended to the Palestinian people.”

Separately, a State Department official working in a bureau overseeing U.S. arms sales resigned in protest this week , citing America's “continued — indeed, expanded and expedited” supply of weapons to Israel as it conducts its counterattack.

Josh Paul, the bureau’s director of congressional and public affairs, wrote in a resignation letter: “I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people.” Paul’s resignation was first reported by HuffPost.

An Oval Office address is a powerful forum that presidents typically reserve for national crises or messages of overriding importance. It's the stage John F. Kennedy selected to explain the Cuban Missile Crisis and the one George W. Bush chose to reassure a frightened nation the night of the 9/11 attack.

Biden spent part of the speech urging tolerance and compassion for people of all faiths. He mentioned an alleged hate crime in Chicago. Authorities say a landlord stabbed and killed a 6-year-old Muslim boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume , and also attacked the boy's mother. Law enforcement officials said both victims were targeted because of their Muslim faith.

"We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism," Biden said. "We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia. And to those of you that are hurting, I want you to know I see you. You belong. And I want to say this to you: You're all American. You're all American. In moments like these and when fear and suspicion, anger and rage run hard, we have to work harder than ever to hold on to the values that make us who we are."

Though Biden has aligned himself with Israel in the conflict, he and his senior Cabinet officials have made it clear that the powerful Israeli military cannot devastate Hamas at any cost. Through diplomatic means, he said, Biden has ensured that vulnerable Palestinian civilians in Gaza will receive humanitarian aid.

Flying home from Israel on Wednesday night, Biden told reporters that he had spoken by phone to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who had agreed to open a border crossing into Gaza that will permit aid to go through and assist the civilian population. If Hamas “confiscates” the aid, Biden added, the flow will stop.

Biden also obliquely suggested that he is pressing Israel to find an alternative to a ground attack that could result in large numbers of civilian casualties.

Asked whether Israel might forgo a ground incursion, Biden said: “We had a long talk about that and what alternatives there are."

Peter Nicholas is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

Photo via NASA on the Commons/Flickr

Celebrate Presidents Day with these 10 historic speeches

Reflecting back on our nation's greatest leaders..

Kristen Hubby

Posted on Feb 20, 2017   Updated on May 24, 2021, 11:27 pm CDT

Presidents Day is time to reflect and show appreciation for our nation’s greatest leaders, those who have led the country and lifted the people up with their inspiring words and courageous actions.  Acast , the Swedish podcast platform, recently released a new series, Presidents’ Day Collection , highlighting the most influential presidential speeches. The collection, which was done in collaboration with the National Archives, dates back to JFK’s memorable inaugural address in 1961.

“We thought, let’s do something political, but what everyone can feel good about, which is reminding people how powerful the U.S. presidents and the presidential post is,” said Caitlin Thompson, Acast’s U.S. director of content. “That this can be a clarion call to be optimistic and get people to work together.”

Listed below are Acast’s 10 most influential speeches from former U.S. presidents in the past 50 years to rouse inspiration and positivity that is sometimes forgotten.

1) John F. Kennedy

Screengrab via Presidents’ Day Collection/Acast

Former President John F. Kennedy was sworn in as president Jan. 20, 1961, as the 35th president of the United States. His inaugural address was memorable for many reasons, including his use of the phrase “my fellow citizens,” which was last issued by George Washington and rejected by former presidents due to its informal nature.

Here’s the final thrust of the address .

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility–I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man. Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.

2) Richard Nixon

President Richard Nixon delivered his first inauguration address Jan. 20, 1969. Nixon’s presidency was, of course, one of the most controversial, resulting in resignation. Despite the Nixon administration continuing the war in Vietnam in 1973, his inauguration address talked of peace and solidarity.

We are caught in war, wanting peace. We are torn by division, wanting unity. We see around us empty lives, wanting fulfillment. We see tasks that need doing, waiting for hands to do them. To a crisis of the spirit, we need an answer of the spirit. And to find that answer, we need only look within ourselves.

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3) Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the 39th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 1977. However, his inaugural address was not the pick for the podcast series. Instead, they chose his famous “Crisis of Confidence” address to the nation that was televised on July 15, 1979.

Little by little we can and we must rebuild our confidence. We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science. But we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources — America’s people, America’s values, and America’s confidence. I have seen the strength of America in the inexhaustible resources of our people. In the days to come, let us renew that strength in the struggle for an energy secure nation.

4) George H.W. Bush

President George H.W. Bush’s inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1989, carried on his campaign’s promise for a “kinder, gentler” nation and also emphasized the need to tackle the federal budget deficit.

Some see leadership as high drama and the sound of trumpets calling, and sometimes it is that. But I see history as a book with many pages, and each day we fill a page with acts of hopefulness and meaning. The new breeze blows, a page turns, the story unfolds. And so, today a chapter begins, a small and stately story of unity, diversity, and generosity — shared, and written, together.

5) George W. Bush

President George W. Bush gave one of the most memorable speeches at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., on Sept. 17, 2001, six days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a failed hijacking that resulting in a deadly crash in Pennsylvania.

In his speech, Bush stated “Islam is peace,” that the millions of Muslims in the U.S. are an “incredibly valuable contribution to our country,” and that American’s should treat each other with respect. In a time of crisis, Bush gave the speech to comfort the wounded country and bring the people together.

Jenna Bush, his daughter, recently shared the text of the speech  after President Trump issued his controversial travel ban.

“This is not the America I know…” just a reminder this am to teach acceptance and love to our kids for all races, all religions.. pic.twitter.com/32XohAGMv7 — Jenna Bush Hager (@JennaBushHager) January 31, 2017

6) Lyndon B. Johnson

President Lydon B. Johnson, or LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States. His speech on the Voting Rights Act before Congress on March 15, 1965, was one week after Bloody Sunday, where peaceful protestors were beaten in the famous walk from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery. His speech stated there “is only an American problem” when it comes to segregation and racism, delivering notes of unity, stating all Americans have the right to vote.

This was the first nation in the history of the world to be founded with a purpose. The great phrases of that purpose still sound in every American heart, North and South: “All men are created equal”—”government by consent of the governed”—”give me liberty or give me death.” Well, those are not just clever words, or those are not just empty theories. In their name Americans have fought and died for two centuries, and tonight around the world they stand there as guardians of our liberty, risking their lives. Those words are a promise to every citizen that he shall share in the dignity of man. This dignity cannot be found in a man’s possessions; it cannot be found in his power, or in his position. It really rests on his right to be treated as a man equal in opportunity to all others. It says that he shall share in freedom, he shall choose his leaders, educate his children, and provide for his family according to his ability and his merits as a human being.

7) Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. His inaugural remarks speech on Aug. 9, 1974, was impactful in the way he addressed the nation as “a straight talk among friends.”

As we bind up the internal wounds of Watergate, more painful and more poisonous than those of foreign wars, let us restore the golden rule to our political process, and let brotherly love purge our hearts of suspicion and of hate.

8) Ronald Reagan

The 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, made iconic remarks at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin on June 12, 1987.  Reagan addressed the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open up the Berlin Wall in 1987 saying, “Tear down this wall! “Tear down this wall!”

9) Bill Clinton

The 42nd president of the United States, Bill Clinton, became the first Democrat to serve as president in more than a decade when he took the oath of office. Clinton delivered his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1993, focusing on “American renewal.” Maya Angelou recited a poem, becoming the first poet at an inauguration address since Robert Frost spoke during John F. Kennedy’s address in 1961.

Today we do more than celebrate America. We rededicate ourselves to the very idea of America, an idea born in revolution and renewed through two centuries of challenge; an idea tempered by the knowledge that, but for fate, we, the fortunate, and the unfortunate might have been each other; an idea ennobled by the faith that our Nation can summon from its myriad diversity the deepest measure of unity; an idea infused with the conviction that America’s long, heroic journey must go forever upward.

10) Barack Obama

President Barack Obama made history as the first black president of the United States, and his first inaugural address on Jan.ry 20, 2009, recognized the financial crisis the nation was facing.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

“Whether you like any one of those presidents or not, you can’t deny the fact that their words were sort of filled with hope and optimism, and some leadership,” said Thompson. “I think, you know, we felt like it was a good time to remember that this Presidents Day.”

Kristen Hubby is a tech and lifestyle reporter. Her writing focuses on sex, pop culture, streaming entertainment, and social media, with an emphasis on major platforms like Snapchat, YouTube, and Spotify. Her work has also appeared in Austin Monthly and the Austin American-Statesman, where she covered local news and the dining scene in Austin, Texas.

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10 Modern Presidential Speeches Every American Should Know

By: Allison McNearney

Updated: October 18, 2023 | Original: February 16, 2018

Presidential speeches reveal the United States’ challenges, hopes, dreams and temperature of the nation, as much as they do the wisdom and perspective of the leader speaking them. Even in the age of Twitter, the formal, spoken word from the White House carries great weight and can move, anger or inspire at home and around the world.

Here are the 10 most important modern presidential speeches selected by scholars at the Miller Center —a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specializes in presidential scholarship—and professors from other universities, as well.

1. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address

When: 1933, during the Great Depression

What Roosevelt Said: “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself… Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war.”

Why It Was Important: Roosevelt is embarking on something audacious, proposing that the national government has an obligation to provide an economic safety net for its citizens to protect them from the unpredictability of the market. In making a case for bold intervention in markets, he’s also making a case for a stronger executive at the top. But for all the disruptive talk in this speech, Roosevelt delivers reassurance. I think a hallmark of the speeches that we remember the most by presidents from both parties are ones that not only address the circumstances at hand, but also give people some hope.

— Margaret O’Mara, professor of history, University of Washington

2. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat 'On Banking'

When: March 1933

What Roosevelt Said: “My friends, I want to talk for a few minutes with the people of the United States about banking…confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith. You must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem, my friends. Your problem no less than it is mine. Together, we cannot fail.”

Why It Was Important: Beginning with the simple phrase, “My friends,” the stage was set for the personalization of the presidency that continued throughout FDR’s administration. Roosevelt received an outpouring of support from the public and used the power of media to connect with his constituents. Recognizing publicity as essential to policymaking, he crafted a very intricate public relations plan for all of his New Deal legislation. The media allowed him to present a very carefully crafted message that was unfiltered and unchallenged by the press. Many newspapers were critical of his New Deal programs, so turning to radio and motion pictures allowed him to present his version of a particular policy directly to the people. Today, we see parallels in the use of Twitter to bypass opponents and critics of the administration to appeal directly to the American people. And that all started with FDR and his first fireside chat.

— Kathryn Cramer Brownell, Assistant Professor of History, Purdue University

3. Dwight Eisenhower’s 'Atoms for Peace' Speech to the United Nations

What Eisenhower Said: “I feel impelled to speak today in a language that, in a sense, is new. One which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use: That new language is the language of atomic warfare…Against the dark background of the atomic bomb, the United States does not wish merely to present strength, but also the desire and the hope for peace. To the makers of these fateful decisions, the United States pledges before you, and therefore before the world, its determination to help solve the fearful atomic dilemma. To devote its entire heart and mind to find the way by which the miraculous inventiveness of man shall not be dedicated to his death, but consecrated to his life.”

Why It Was Important: Eisenhower believed in the political power of nuclear weapons, but in this speech, he talks about their dangers. He speaks about the importance of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and proposes that the U.S. and Soviet Union cooperate to reduce their nuclear stockpiles. Keep in mind that there were just 1,300 nuclear weapons in the world in 1953 compared with more than seven times that number today. But Eisenhower is also a realist. He understands the importance of nuclear deterrence and he reminds his audience that his proposal comes from a position of American strength, not weakness.

— Todd Sechser, Professor of Politics, University of Virginia and Senior Fellow, Miller Center

4. Dwight Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

What Eisenhower Said: “Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense. We have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportion…In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic process.”

Why It Was Important: That speech gave a name to our modern era. Eisenhower was telling us that we now live in a time when government, the military and the corporate world all have joined together into a powerful alliance that shapes the basic democratic functioning of the country. Eisenhower understood that Americans wanted both security and liberty, and it’s a fundamental paradox of the American experiment. In order to have security, we need to have a large defense establishment. But he asks, who is going to be the guardian of our freedoms in a world where we have to have a permanent arms industry? What he was saying in the speech is that we have to learn how to live with it, and control it, rather than having it control us.

— Will Hitchcock, Randolph P. Compton Professor at the Miller Center and professor of history, University of Virginia

5. Lyndon B. Johnson’s 'Great Society' Speech at the University of Michigan

When: May 22, 1964

What Johnson Said: “For a century, we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century, we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people. The challenge of the next half-century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization. Your imagination and your initiative and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For, in your time, we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society. “

Why It Was Important: LBJ called on all Americans to move upward to a Great Society in which wealth is used for more than personal enrichment and is instead used to improve communities, protect the natural world, and allow all Americans, regardless of race or class, to fully develop their innate talents and abilities. The message of Johnson’s speech resonates today because we have lost not only that self-confidence and that idealism but also the vision to recognize that prosperity can be used for something greater than the self.

— Guian McKee, Associate Professor of Presidential Studies, the Miller Center

6. John F. Kennedy’s Address on the Space Effort

When: September 1962

What Kennedy Said: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the Industrial Revolution, the first waves of modern invention and the first wave of nuclear power. And this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space, we mean to be a part of it, we mean to lead it.”

Why It Was Important: We were in a new age of technology and space exploration. President Kennedy made Americans feel that there was nothing that we couldn’t do, no challenge we couldn’t conquer. It was before Vietnam, before Watergate, before the deaths of our heroes like Jack and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King —when we had a sense in this country that if we all joined together we could fulfill our loftiest goals.

— Barbara Perry, Director of Presidential Studies, the Miller Center

7. Ronald Reagan’s Speech Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

When: June 6, 1984

What Reagan Said: “The rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades, and the American rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs they began to seize back the continent of Europe… (to veterans) You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and Democracy is worth dying for because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.

Why It’s Important: That day in June of 1984, before  Band of Brothers  and  Saving Private Ryan  ever came to be, President Reagan paid tribute to the heroism of those we now call the Greatest Generation, the men and women who liberated Europe and ensured freedom for generations to come.  But for the first time, he also tied resistance to totalitarianism in World War II to opposition to the Soviet Union during the Cold War . President Reagan’s words at the end of that speech, again in the second person, to our Allies that “we were with you then, and we are with you now,” when he called upon the West to “renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it” kept the coalition in place that later defeated the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War. The “boys of Pointe du Hoc” saved the world, and, in many ways, they did so more than once.

— Mary Kate Cary, Senior Fellow, the Miller Center

8. Ronald Reagan’s Address on the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

When: January 1986

What Reagan Said: “The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted but to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we’ll continue to follow them…The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye, and slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.”

Why It Was Important: In our current era of political divisiveness, we tend to think of presidents as partisan leaders. But the president’s role as “comforter in chief” is one of the most important functions. The great presidents are distinguished by their ability to set aside partisanship in times of tragedy to speak words that comfort a nation and remind us that, despite our differences, we are all, in the end, Americans.

— Chris Lu, Senior Fellow, the Miller Center

9. George W. Bush’s 'Get On Board' Speech

When: After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks

What Bush Said: “When they struck they wanted to create an atmosphere of fear, and one of the great goals of this war is…to tell the traveling public: Get on board. Do your business around the country. Fly and enjoy America’s great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life the way we want it to be enjoyed.”

Why It Was Important: In short, Bush was saying don’t let the terrorists deter you from spending—the economy needs you. More specifically, Bush’s remarks demonstrated the importance that consumption had come to play in the economy by the twenty-first century. He was carrying out what had become an essential responsibility of the 21st-century president. Even as Bush modeled what it meant to be a strong commander in chief, he juggled another role that had become almost as important: “consumer in chief.”

— Brian Balogh, Dorothy Compton Professor of History, the Miller Center

10. Barack Obama’s 'A More Perfect Union' Speech

What Obama Said: “Contrary to the claim of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naïve to think as to believe we can get beyond our racial divisions on a single election cycle or with a single candidate, particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. But I have asserted a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people, that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice. We have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union…What we know, what we have seen, is that America can change. That is the true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gives us hope, the audacity to hope, for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”

Why It Was Important: Conventional wisdom wouldn’t recommend a speech on race. But Obama ran to the challenge, not away from it. Uniquely positioned to do so, he welcomed listeners to places many have never experienced—a predominantly black church, a cringe-worthy conversation with a beloved relative of a different race, the kitchen tables of white Americans who feel resentful and left behind—and he recounted Americans often divergent perspectives. He asked us to be honest about our past while connecting it to the structural barriers faced by African Americans and other people of color today…Direct, honest, but nuanced, Obama believed that most Americans were ready to hear the truth and make a choice, to move beyond racial stalemate, face our challenges, and act accordingly.

 — Melody Barnes, a Senior Fellow, the Miller Center

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The 15 most inspiring presidential speeches in american history.

• By Tara Kibler
• February 15, 2021
• History , Political Science

Over the centuries, millions upon millions of words have been used by U.S. presidents to motivate, caution, reassure, and guide the American people. Whether written in the news, spoken at a podium, or shared on Twitter, all of these words have carried weight, each with the potential to impact the trajectory of our nation. Only a handful of times, however, has the particular arrangement and context of these words been considered truly inspiring.

This Presidents’ Day, join HeinOnline in rediscovering some of the greatest presidential speeches in American history using our   U.S. Presidential Library  and other sources.

1. Washington’s Farewell Address

Date:  September 17th, 1796

Context:  Toward the end of his second term as the first U.S. president, George Washington announced his retirement from office in a letter addressed to the American people. Though many feared for a United States without Washington, the address reassured the young nation that it no longer required his leadership. Washington also used the opportunity to offer advice for the prosperity of the country. After witnessing the growing division between the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties, much of his advice was to warn against political parties, factions, and other animosities (domestic and foreign) that would eventually undermine the integrity and efficacy of the American government.

Notable Quote:  “This spirit [of party], unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind … [but] the disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.

“Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions … A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume.”

2. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Date:  November 19, 1863

Context:  Four months after Union armies defeated Confederates at Gettysburg during the American Civil War, President Lincoln visited the site to dedicate the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. In what were intended to be brief, appropriate remarks for the situation, Lincoln used the moment to offer his take on the war and its meaning. The ten sentences he spoke would ultimately become one of the most famous speeches in American history, an inspiration for notable remarks centuries later, and even a foundation for the wording of other countries’ constitutions.

Notable Quote:  “… from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they heregave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that the dead shall not have died in vain; that the Nation shall under God have a new birth of freedom, and that Governments of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

3. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inaugural Address

Date:  March 4, 1933

Context:  The inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt was held as the country was in the throes of the Great Depression, and as such, America anxiously awaited what he had to say. Roosevelt did not disappoint, offering 20 minutes of reassurance, hope, and promises for urgent action.

Notable Quote:  “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is … fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Fireside Chat

Date:  March 12, 1933

Context:  Just a few days after his inauguration, Roosevelt instituted what he called “fireside chats,” using the relatively new technology of radio to enter the living rooms of Americans and discuss current issues. In these moments, he could speak at length, unfiltered and uninterrupted by the press, while also offering a reassuring, optimistic tone that might otherwise have been lost in the written word. In this first fireside chat, he crafted a message to explain the American banking process (and its current difficulties) in a way that the average listener could understand.

Notable Quote:  “Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith. You must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system, and it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem, my friends. Your problem no less than it is mine. Together, we cannot fail.”

5. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” Speech

Date:  January 6, 1941

Context:  By 1941, many affected by the Great Depression had experienced economic recovery, but another world-changing phenomenon had reared its head—Hitler and his Nazi regime. World War II was raging in Europe and the Pacific, but the United States had thus far remained largely neutral. In light of the atrocities occurring overseas, Roosevelt sought to change that. He crafted his State of the Union address that January to highlight four freedoms which are deserved by all humans everywhere. The “Four Freedoms” speech, as it was ultimately known, later became the basis for  America’s intervention in World War II  and significantly influenced American values, life, and politics moving forward.

Notable Quote:  “In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression—everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way—everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want—which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peace of time life for its inhabitants—everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear—which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction, armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor—anywhere in the world.”

6. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” Speech

Date:  December 8, 1953

Context:  During World War II, Roosevelt formally authorized the Manhattan Project, a top-secret U.S. effort to weaponize nuclear energy. By 1945,  America had successfully created the atomic bomb , and President Truman had authorized its detonation in Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leveling the two cities and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Following the end of World War II, political and economic differences between the United States and Soviet Union drove the two countries to another war soon after, but this time, the Soviet Union had their own atomic bomb as well. The world was teetering on a frightening ledge built by access to nuclear power, causing President Eisenhower to launch an “emotion management” campaign with this speech to the United Nations about the very real risks but also peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Notable Quote:  “… the whole book of history reveals mankind’s never-ending quest for peace and mankind’s God-given capacity to build. It is with the book of history, and not with isolated pages, that the United States will ever wish to be identified. My country wants to be constructive, not destructive. It wants agreements, not wars, among nations. It wants itself to live in freedom and in the confidence that the peoples of every other nation enjoy equally the right of choosing their own way of life. … The United States knows that if the fearful trend of atomic military build-up can be reversed, this greatest of destructive forces can be developed into a great boon, for the benefit of all mankind.”

7. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address

Date:  January 17, 1961

Context:  As he came to the end of his term, President Eisenhower found himself in a nation much stronger, much richer, and much more advanced than when he began. Prepared as early as two years in advance, his farewell address acknowledged the pride all should have in these achievements, but also served to ground the American people in sobering reality—that how the United States uses this power and standing will ultimately determine its fate. Like Washington, his address was one of caution against dangers such as massive spending, an overpowered military industry, and Federal domination of scientific progress (or vice versa, the scientific-technological domination of public policy). In all things, he stressed the need to maintain balance as the country moves forward, for the preservation of liberty.

Notable Quote:  “Down the long lane of the history yet to be written America knows that this world of ours, ever growing smaller, must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect. Such a confederation must be one of equals. The weakest must come to the conference table with the same confidence as do we, protected as we are by our moral, economic, and military strength. That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield.”

8. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address

Date:  January 20, 1961

Context:  A few days after Eisenhower’s farewell speech, he turned over his office to the youngest-ever elected president, John F. Kennedy. Kennedy now found himself faced with the monumental task of strengthening the United States while also quelling American anxieties about the Cold War and avoiding nuclear warfare. His speech thus focused on unity, togetherness, and collaboration both domestically and abroad.

Notable Quote:  “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

9. Kennedy’s “We Choose to Go to the Moon” Speech

Date:  September 12, 1962

Context:  In the name of national security, the United States and USSR set their sights on spaceflight as a top priority during the Cold War. To the surprise (and fear) of people around the globe, the Soviet Union launched the first-ever artificial satellite in 1957, then sent the first human being into space in 1961, signaling to onlookers that its nation was a technological force to be reckoned with. Kennedy was determined to come up with a challenge in space technology that the United States actually stood a chance to win. In the early ’60s, he proposed that America focus on putting a man on the moon. In an uplifting speech at Rice University, Kennedy reminded his listeners of the country’s technological progress so far and of his administration’s determination to continue the pioneering spirit of early America into the new frontier of space.

Notable Quote:  “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”

Read about America’s successful moon landing in this blog post.

10. Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” Speech

Date:  May 22, 1964

Context:  Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President in 1963, immediately following  Kennedy’s assassination . Johnson vowed to continue the former president’s work on poverty, civil rights, and other issues. Inspired in part by FDR’s New Deal, he devised a set of programs intended to completely eliminate poverty and racial injustice. In 1964, he formally proposed some specific goals in a speech to the University of Michigan, where he coined the lofty ideal of a “Great Society.”

Notable Quote:  “Your imagination, your initiative, and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.”

11. Lyndon B. Johnson’s “We Shall Overcome” Speech

Date:  March 15, 1965

Context:  By the 1960s, blacks in areas of the Deep South found themselves disenfranchised by state voting laws, such as those requiring a poll tax, literacy tests, or knowledge of the U.S. constitution. Furthermore, these laws were sometimes applied subjectively, leading to the prevention of even educated blacks from voting or registering to vote. Inspired (and sometimes joined) by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., protests were planned throughout the region. Eight days after racial violence erupted around one of these protests in Selma, Alabama, President Johnson addressed Congress to declare that “every American citizen must have an equal right to vote” and that discriminatory policies were denying African-Americans that right.

Notable Quote:  “What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and State of America. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Their cause must be our cause too. Because it’s not just Negroes, but really it’s all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome …

“This great, rich, restless country can offer opportunity and education and hope to all, all black and white, all North and South, sharecropper and city dweller. These are the enemies: poverty, ignorance, disease. They’re our enemies, not our fellow man, not our neighbor. And these enemies too—poverty, disease, and ignorance: we shall overcome.”

12. Reagan’s D-Day Anniversary Address

Date:  June 6, 1984

Context:  During World War II, the Allied forces attacked German troops on the coast of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. A turning point for the war, the day came to be known as D-Day, and its anniversary is forever acknowledged. On its 40th anniversary, President Ronald Reagan honored the heroes of that day in a speech that also invoked a comparison of World War II’s Axis dictators to the Soviet Union during the ongoing Cold War. This reminder to the Allies that they once fought together against totalitarianism and must continue the fight now helped contribute to the ultimate dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Notable Quote:  “We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action. We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it. We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We’re bound by reality. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.”

13. Reagan’s Berlin Wall Speech

Date:  June 12, 1987

Context:  With the fall of Nazi Germany at the end of World War II, Western powers and the Soviet Union sought to establish systems of government in their respective occupied regions. West Germany developed into a Western capitalist country, with a democratic parliamentary government, while East Germany became a socialist workers’ state (though it was often referred to as communist in the English-speaking world). Many experiencing hunger, poverty, and repression in the Soviet-influenced East Germany attempted to move west, with the City of Berlin their main point of crossing. Ultimately, the Soviet Union advised East Germany to build a wall on the inner German border, restricting movement and emigration by threat of execution for attempted emigrants. Seen as a symbol of Communist tyranny by Western nations, the Berlin Wall persisted for nearly three decades. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan visited West Berlin and called upon Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to take down the wall as a symbol of moving forward.

Notable Quote:  “We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

14. George W. Bush’s Post-9/11 Speech

Date:  September 11, 2001

Context:  On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced  the single worst terrorist attack in human history , where four American planes were hijacked and flown into American buildings, killing nearly 3,000 people. Viewers around the world watched the news as five stories of the Pentagon fell and the World Trade Center buildings collapsed entirely. Later that evening, President George W. Bush addressed the nation with a brief but powerful message that chose to focus not on fear, but on America’s strength in unity.

Notable Quote:

“These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.”

15. Obama’s “More Perfect Union” Speech

Date:  March 18, 2008

Context:  While campaigning for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama came under fire for his relationship with pastor Jeremiah Wright, who had been heard to denounce the United States and accuse the government of racial crimes. To officially address the relationship and condemn Wright’s inflammatory remarks, Obama crafted a speech that discussed the history of racial inequality in America as well as the dissonance between that history and America’s ideals of human liberty. Importantly, however, he also highlighted the necessity for a unified American people to effectively combat those issues, rather than more racial division.

Notable Quote:  “[T]he remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren’t simply controversial. They weren’t simply a religious leader’s effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country—a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America ….

“[These] comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems—two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all ….

“The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through—a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.”

Read about Barack Obama’s presidency in this blog post.

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Frances Perkins’ Life of Service

Frances Perkins was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet when she became the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in 1933. Her career changed the lives of every working American.

Primaries vs. Caucuses: How Presidential Nominees Are Chosen

Last month, Iowa held its Republican presidential caucus. A week later, New Hampshire held the first primary election of the 2024 election season. All these primaries and caucuses might have you wondering, what’s the difference?

Decision in Trump’s Immunity Claim Now in HeinOnline

A three-judge panel dismissed Trump’s argument that he cannot be prosecuted because the allegations against him are tied to his official duties as president, denying him the ability to avoid a trial. This decision can be searched in HeinOnline.

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Trump's Georgia case hearing

Trump's Georgia election subversion case faces key hearing

By Hannah Rabinowitz , Holmes Lybrand , Nick Valencia and Dan Berman , CNN

The hearing on Trump's Georgia election case wrapped without a ruling. Here's a recap of what each side said 

From CNN staff

The hearing in Fulton County, Georgia, over efforts to dismiss the state election subversion case against Donald Trump and his co-defendant David Shafer on First Amendment grounds concluded after nearly two hours of arguments.

The judge did not rule from the bench, nor did he say when he would rule. The Georgia case is one of four criminal cases Trump is facing while his 2024 presidential campaign is underway — and the stakes are high for the former president and the country.

Here's a recap of what each side said during today's hearing :

Trump's attorney: Trump attorney Steve Sadow argued that the former president's statements about the 2020 presidential election in Georgia are " core political speech” and he therefore cannot be prosecuted. The attorney repeatedly argued that the charges against Trump should be dropped because his actions alleged in the indictment were protected under the First Amendment. Sadow also claimed that Fulton County prosecutors cannot prosecute the former president only on the basis that his allegations were “false.”

Fulton County prosecutors: Donald Wakeford, a prosecutor with the Fulton County district attorney’s office, said that it was “premature to consider” First Amendment arguments and that such arguments should be put before a jury during trial. Wakeford added that all the communication from Trump in the indictment related to charges in the case are not protected by the First Amendment. Wakeford pushed back on Trump’s argument that his false claims were protected, saying that his lies furthered a criminal conspiracy. “He’s never been prosecuted for lying,” Wakeford said. “He’s been prosecuted for lying to the government.” The prosecutor also pointed to a federal judge’s ruling against Trump's First Amendment argument in the parallel  election subversion case  in DC.

Shafer's attorney: Craig Gillen, an attorney for Shafer, the former chair of the Georgia Republican Party who allegedly acted as a 2020 fake elector in the state, disputed the allegation in the indictment that Shafer was not a “duly” appointed elector. Gillen also put forth an argument that other co-conspirators have also raised in the case: that they were merely following legal advice. 

No trial date yet: A trial date has not been set, but the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis still hopes to go to trial before the November election. Willis previously asked for the trial to start in August, and said she may re-up that request. Earlier this week, a judge ruled Trump's criminal hush money trial will start in April 15.

With reporting from CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand.

It's been a wild week of legal developments for Trump

From CNN's Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell

The Fulton County hearing today in the Georgia election subversion case is only one of the many legal developments former President Donald Trump has faced this week.

On Monday, Trump received both a lifeline from the courts and a trial date for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history.

The twin rulings, which came roughly within an hour of each other, hit the intersection of challenges to Trump’s image and his famed business empire as he seeks a second term in the White House.

Trump’s historic criminal trial in the New York hush money case against him will begin with jury selection on April 15, Judge Juan Merchan said Monday, after a dispute over the late production of documents caused the judge initially to  push back the start date . Trump attended the hearing.

For Trump, however, the more significant ruling Monday may have been a New York appeals court allowing him to post a  reduced $175 million bond  as he appeals the $464 million New York civil fraud judgment against him, his adult sons and his company. Trump told reporters he will cover the bond using cash as a collateral.

Read more about those rulings .

CNN legal analyst: Judge McAfee will likely reject Trump's First Amendment argument

From CNN's Dan Berman

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said he believes that Donald Trump's attempt to have the Georgia election subversion indictment dismissed on First Amendment grounds will fail given how another judge in Washington, DC, ruled regarding a similar argument.

"Trump’s legal team argues that his charged conduct here is political speech, protected by the First Amendment (even if the speech was false or unpopular). But prosecutors allege that Trump’s speech was part of a larger criminal plan to steal the election and hence not covered by the First Amendment," he said.

"Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding on the other, federal election subversion case, had already rejected a similar defense argument. Judge McAfee is not bound by that decision, but he likely will reach a similar conclusion," Honig added.

McAfee did not rule from the bench during Thursday's hearing, nor did he say when he would rule.

Georgia prosecutor says Trump is not being prosecuted for lying — but for lying to the government

From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz

Fulton County prosecutor Donald Wakeford pushed back on Donald Trump’s argument that his false claims were protected under the First Amendment, saying that his lies furthered a criminal conspiracy.

“He’s never been prosecuted for lying,” Wakeford said. “He’s been prosecuted for lying to the government.”

Trump’s attorneys are arguing that his false speech is protected by the First Amendment, Wakeford said.

“That’s not what the indictment says,” Wakeford argued. “It’s not just that he lied over and over and over again, as counsel for the defendant points out by listing all of the instances in the indictment.”

Instead, the Indictment alleges that “each of those was employed as part of criminal activity with criminal intentions.”

“In the end, no matter how much we hear about the noble protections afforded by the First Amendment, all of this is an effort to get your honor not to look at the basic fact that this speech, this expression, all this activity, is employed as part of a pattern of criminal conduct,” Wakeford said.

Defense lawyer calls the term fake electors "really nasty" in attempt to strike it from case

From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand

Fulton County prosecutors and a defense attorney for Donald Trump co-defendant David Shafer bickered Thursday over whether it was appropriate to refer to “fake electors” as part of the 2020 election interference case.

Craig Gillen, an attorney for Shafer, asked the judge to strike the term “fake elector” from the case, saying that the term was “pejorative,” a “legal conclusion” and “really nasty.”

Shafer served as one of the so-called “alternate electors” for Trump in Georgia.

“They want to have [the term] ingrained in the minds of the community and of jurors — a concept that if you are not a Democratic elector … then you are a ‘fake’ elector.”

Prosecutor Will Wooten shot back, saying that “nowhere in the indictment is the term ‘fake elector.’ It does not exist.”

Trump co-defendant tries range of arguments against Georgia election subversion case

From CNN's Holmes Lybrand

An attorney for one of the alleged fake electors in Georgia made several arguments in an effort to get charges in the election subversion case dismissed, including over who was a "duly" appointed elector for Georgia after the 2020 election.

Craig Gillen, an attorney for David Shafer, the former chair of the Georgia Republican Party who allegedly acted as a 2020 fake elector in the state, disputed the allegation in the indictment that Shafer was not a “duly” appointed elector.

In December, when Shafer and others allegedly submitted a false document claiming to be Georgia electors, declaring Trump had won Georgia, “there were no duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the state of Georgia,” Gillen argued Thursday.

Gillen also put forth an argument that other co-conspirators have also raised in the case: that they were merely following legal advice. In his court filing on the matter, Gillen wrote that Shafer was “attempting to comply with the advice of legal counsel” and trying to follow the law that governs the electoral count when he submitted the allegedly fake document declaring Trump had won the state.

Gillen also has argued that, under the law, Shafer never acted as a “public officer,” as the indictment alleges and pushed back on the notion that Shafer committed forgery in signing the elector document.

Key things to know about the Supreme Court ruling on military medals that Trump’s lawyer is citing

From CNN's Devan Cole

During today's hearing, Trump attorney Steve Sadow has repeatedly cited a 2012 Supreme Court case dealing with free speech to bolster his argument that the charges against the former president should be dismissed.

The court, in US v. Alvarez, struck down a law that had made it a crime to falsely claim that military medals were earned. Writing for a majority, then-Justice Anthony Kennedy said that the law violated free speech protections. 

“The nation well knows that one of the costs of the First Amendment is that it protects the speech we detest as well as the speech we embrace,” he wrote. 

Then-Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in a concurrence that the government could find "less restrictive ways" to "achieve its legitimate objectives."  Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia dissented, saying that the law did not go too far.

Alito, writing for the three justices, said that the court’s ruling “breaks sharply from a long line of cases recognizing that the right to free speech does not protect false factual statements that inflict real harm and serve no legitimate interest.”

Sadow on Thursday invoked both Alito and Breyer.

“Essentially, the state's position is, ‘because, as alleged what President Trump said, speech-wise, or expressed either through his speech or conduct, which is still freedom of expression, because that's false in the eyes of the state it’s lost all protection of the First Amendment.’ And the concurring opinion and the dissenting opinion in Alvarez suggests just the opposite. If anything, under the circumstances, it needs more protection, not less protection,” he said.

Previous First Amendment challenges by former Trump co-defendants have been unsuccessful

From CNN's Nick Valencia and Jason Morris

In a hearing this morning, Donald Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia is arguing that the indictment should be dismissed because the former president’s political speech is protected by the First Amendment. 

Previous First Amendment challenges by former Trump co-defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell were unsuccessful.

Chesebro and Powell were two of the former president’s lawyers who later pleaded guilty in exchange for their testimony and cooperation. They had attempted to have the indictment dismissed under the US Constitution’s supremacy clause but failed.

In his denial at the time, Judge Scott McAfee ruled that various case law pointed to facts and evidence needing to be established in a courtroom before a First Amendment challenge can even be considered.

Federal judge in Washington, DC, case already said Trump's speech isn't protected, prosecutor notes

Responding to Donald Trump’s argument that the indictment against him in Georgia should be dismissed because his actions were protected by the First Amendment, a prosecutor for Fulton County’s District Attorney pointed to a federal judge’s decision on the same issue in Trump’s parallel election subversion case in Washington, DC.

“To address the first elephant in this courtroom,” prosecutor Donald Wakeford said during Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tanya Chutkan “has evaluated all these questions” under Supreme Court precedent.

Chutkan is overseeing the election subversion case against Trump brought by special counsel Jack Smith in DC. The case has been on pause for several months as the Supreme Court is set to take up Trump’s arguments of immunity in the case.

In denying Trump’s effort to dismiss the election subversion charges against him in Washington, DC – arguing he had absolute immunity as president – Chutkan wrote in December that the First Amendment “does not protect speech that is used as an instrument of a crime.”

Wakeford argued that Trump’s lies were in furtherance of criminal activity, seeking to overturn election results in the state.

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Presidential Speeches

January 19, 2021: farewell address, about this speech.

Donald Trump

January 19, 2021

President Donald Trump gives his farewell address the night before leaving Washington, DC. He did not attend Joe Biden's inauguration, becoming the first president since 1869 to skip his successor's inauguration. In this address, Trump recounts highlights from his time in office.

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My fellow Americans: Four years ago, we launched a great national effort to rebuild our country, to renew its spirit, and to restore the allegiance of this government to its citizens. In short, we embarked on a mission to make America great again — for all Americans.

As I conclude my term as the 45th President of the United States, I stand before you truly proud of what we have achieved together. We did what we came here to do — and so much more.

This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous. We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck — a very important word.

I’d like to begin by thanking just a few of the amazing people who made our remarkable journey possible.

First, let me express my overwhelming gratitude for the love and support of our spectacular First Lady, Melania. Let me also share my deepest appreciation to my daughter Ivanka, my son-in-law Jared, and to Barron, Don, Eric, Tiffany, and Lara. You fill my world with light and with joy.

I also want to thank Vice President Mike Pence, his wonderful wife Karen, and the entire Pence family.

Thank you as well to my Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows; the dedicated members of the White House Staff and the Cabinet; and all the incredible people across our administration who poured out their heart and soul to fight for America.

I also want to take a moment to thank a truly exceptional group of people: the United States Secret Service. My family and I will forever be in your debt. My profound gratitude as well to everyone in the White House Military Office, the teams of Marine One and Air Force One, every member of the Armed Forces, and state and local law enforcement all across our country.

Most of all, I want to thank the American people. To serve as your President has been an honor beyond description. Thank you for this extraordinary privilege. And that’s what it is — a great privilege and a great honor.

We must never forget that while Americans will always have our disagreements, we are a nation of incredible, decent, faithful, and peace-loving citizens who all want our country to thrive and flourish and be very, very successful and good. We are a truly magnificent nation.

All Americans were horrified by the assault on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.

Now more than ever, we must unify around our shared values and rise above the partisan rancor, and forge our common destiny.

Four years ago, I came to Washington as the only true outsider ever to win the presidency. I had not spent my career as a politician, but as a builder looking at open skylines and imagining infinite possibilities. I ran for President because I knew there were towering new summits for America just waiting to be scaled. I knew the potential for our nation was boundless as long as we put America first.

So I left behind my former life and stepped into a very difficult arena, but an arena nevertheless, with all sorts of potential if properly done. America had given me so much, and I wanted to give something back.

Together with millions of hardworking patriots across this land, we built the greatest political movement in the history of our country. We also built the greatest economy in the history of the world. It was about “America First” because we all wanted to make America great again. We restored the principle that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Our agenda was not about right or left, it wasn’t about Republican or Democrat, but about the good of a nation, and that means the whole nation.

With the support and prayers of the American people, we achieved more than anyone thought possible. Nobody thought we could even come close.

We passed the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history. We slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration had ever done before. We fixed our broken trade deals, withdrew from the horrible Trans-Pacific Partnership and the impossible Paris Climate Accord, renegotiated the one-sided South Korea deal, and we replaced NAFTA with the groundbreaking USMCA — that’s Mexico and Canada — a deal that’s worked out very, very well.

Also, and very importantly, we imposed historic and monumental tariffs on China; made a great new deal with China. But before the ink was even dry, we and the whole world got hit with the China virus. Our trade relationship was rapidly changing, billions and billions of dollars were pouring into the U.S., but the virus forced us to go in a different direction.

The whole world suffered, but America outperformed other countries economically because of our incredible economy and the economy that we built. Without the foundations and footings, it wouldn’t have worked out this way. We wouldn’t have some of the best numbers we’ve ever had.

We also unlocked our energy resources and became the world’s number-one producer of oil and natural gas by far. Powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We reignited America’s job creation and achieved record-low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women — almost everyone.

Incomes soared, wages boomed, the American Dream was restored, and millions were lifted from poverty in just a few short years. It was a miracle. The stock market set one record after another, with 148 stock market highs during this short period of time, and boosted the retirements and pensions of hardworking citizens all across our nation. 401(k)s are at a level they’ve never been at before. We’ve never seen numbers like we’ve seen, and that’s before the pandemic and after the pandemic.

We rebuilt the American manufacturing base, opened up thousands of new factories, and brought back the beautiful phrase: “Made in the USA.”

To make life better for working families, we doubled the child tax credit and signed the largest-ever expansion of funding for childcare and development. We joined with the private sector to secure commitments to train more than 16 million American workers for the jobs of tomorrow.

When our nation was hit with the terrible pandemic, we produced not one, but two vaccines with record-breaking speed, and more will quickly follow. They said it couldn’t be done but we did it. They call it a “medical miracle,” and that’s what they’re calling it right now: a “medical miracle.”

Another administration would have taken 3, 4, 5, maybe even up to 10 years to develop a vaccine. We did in nine months.

We grieve for every life lost, and we pledge in their memory to wipe out this horrible pandemic once and for all.

When the virus took its brutal toll on the world’s economy, we launched the fastest economic recovery our country has ever seen. We passed nearly $4 trillion in economic relief, saved or supported over 50 million jobs, and slashed the unemployment rate in half. These are numbers that our country has never seen before.

We created choice and transparency in healthcare, stood up to big pharma in so many ways, but especially in our effort to get favored-nations clauses added, which will give us the lowest prescription drug prices anywhere in the world.

We passed VA Choice, VA Accountability, Right to Try, and landmark criminal justice reform.

We confirmed three new justices of the United States Supreme Court. We appointed nearly 300 federal judges to interpret our Constitution as written.

For years, the American people pleaded with Washington to finally secure the nation’s borders. I am pleased to say we answered that plea and achieved the most secure border in U.S. history. We have given our brave border agents and heroic ICE officers the tools they need to do their jobs better than they have ever done before, and to enforce our laws and keep America safe.

We proudly leave the next administration with the strongest and most robust border security measures ever put into place. This includes historic agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, along with more than 450 miles of powerful new wall.

We restored American strength at home and American leadership abroad. The world respects us again. Please don’t lose that respect.

We reclaimed our sovereignty by standing up for America at the United Nations and withdrawing from the one-sided global deals that never served our interests. And NATO countries are now paying hundreds of billions of dollars more than when I arrived just a few years ago. It was very unfair. We were paying the cost for the world. Now the world is helping us.

And perhaps most importantly of all, with nearly $3 trillion, we fully rebuilt the American military — all made in the USA. We launched the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces in 75 years: the Space Force. And last spring, I stood at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and watched as American astronauts returned to space on American rockets for the first time in many, many years.

We revitalized our alliances and rallied the nations of the world to stand up to China like never before.

We obliterated the ISIS caliphate and ended the wretched life of its founder and leader, al Baghdadi. We stood up to the oppressive Iranian regime and killed the world’s top terrorist, Iranian butcher Qasem Soleimani.

We recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East. Nobody believed it could happen. The Abraham Accords opened the doors to a future of peace and harmony, not violence and bloodshed. It is the dawn of a new Middle East, and we are bringing our soldiers home.

I am especially proud to be the first President in decades who has started no new wars.

Above all, we have reasserted the sacred idea that, in America, the government answers to the people. Our guiding light, our North Star, our unwavering conviction has been that we are here to serve the noble everyday citizens of America. Our allegiance is not to the special interests, corporations, or global entities; it’s to our children, our citizens, and to our nation itself.

As President, my top priority, my constant concern, has always been the best interests of American workers and American families. I did not seek the easiest course; by far, it was actually the most difficult. I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that’s what you elected me to do. Your needs were my first and last unyielding focus.

This, I hope, will be our greatest legacy: Together, we put the American people back in charge of our country. We restored self-government. We restored the idea that in America no one is forgotten, because everyone matters and everyone has a voice. We fought for the principle that every citizen is entitled to equal dignity, equal treatment, and equal rights because we are all made equal by God. Everyone is entitled to be treated with respect, to have their voice heard, and to have their government listen. You are loyal to your country, and my administration was always loyal to you.

We worked to build a country in which every citizen could find a great job and support their wonderful families. We fought for the communities where every American could be safe and schools where every child could learn. We promoted a culture where our laws would be upheld, our heroes honored, our history preserved, and law-abiding citizens are never taken for granted. Americans should take tremendous satisfaction in all that we have achieved together. It’s incredible.

Now, as I leave the White House, I have been reflecting on the dangers that threaten the priceless inheritance we all share. As the world’s most powerful nation, America faces constant threats and challenges from abroad. But the greatest danger we face is a loss of confidence in ourselves, a loss of confidence in our national greatness. A nation is only as strong as its spirit. We are only as dynamic as our pride. We are only as vibrant as the faith that beats in the hearts of our people.

No nation can long thrive that loses faith in its own values, history, and heroes, for these are the very sources of our unity and our vitality.

What has always allowed America to prevail and triumph over the great challenges of the past has been an unyielding and unashamed conviction in the nobility of our country and its unique purpose in history. We must never lose this conviction. We must never forsake our belief in America.

The key to national greatness lies in sustaining and instilling our shared national identity. That means focusing on what we have in common: the heritage that we all share.

At the center of this heritage is also a robust belief in free expression, free speech, and open debate. Only if we forget who we are, and how we got here, could we ever allow political censorship and blacklisting to take place in America. It’s not even thinkable. Shutting down free and open debate violates our core values and most enduring traditions. In America, we don’t insist on absolute conformity or enforce rigid orthodoxies and punitive speech codes. We just don’t do that. America is not a timid nation of tame souls who need to be sheltered and protected from those with whom we disagree. That’s not who we are. It will never be who we are.

For nearly 250 years, in the face of every challenge, Americans have always summoned our unmatched courage, confidence, and fierce independence. These are the miraculous traits that once led millions of everyday citizens to set out across a wild continent and carve out a new life in the great West. It was the same profound love of our God-given freedom that willed our soldiers into battle and our astronauts into space.

As I think back on the past four years, one image rises in my mind above all others. Whenever I traveled all along the motorcade route, there were thousands and thousands of people. They came out with their families so that they could stand as we passed, and proudly wave our great American flag. It never failed to deeply move me. I knew that they did not just come out to show their support of me; they came out to show me their support and love for our country.

This is a republic of proud citizens who are united by our common conviction that America is the greatest nation in all of history. We are, and must always be, a land of hope, of light, and of glory to all the world. This is the precious inheritance that we must safeguard at every single turn.

For the past four years, I have worked to do just that. From a great hall of Muslim leaders in Riyadh to a great square of Polish people in Warsaw; from the floor of the Korean Assembly to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly; and from the Forbidden City in Beijing to the shadow of Mount Rushmore, I fought for you, I fought for your family, I fought for our country. Above all, I fought for America and all it stands for — and that is safe, strong, proud, and free.

Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. There’s never been anything like it. The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day.

As long as the American people hold in their hearts deep and devoted love of country, then there is nothing that this nation cannot achieve. Our communities will flourish. Our people will be prosperous. Our traditions will be cherished. Our faith will be strong. And our future will be brighter than ever before.

I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart, an optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come.

Thank you, and farewell. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

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Judge Imposes Gag Order on Trump in Manhattan Criminal Trial

The order limiting the former president’s speech came after Justice Juan M. Merchan set an April 15 trial date for the case, which involves a sex scandal cover-up.

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By Ben Protess and William K. Rashbaum

The New York judge presiding over one of Donald J. Trump’s criminal trials imposed a gag order on Tuesday that prohibits him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors, the latest effort to rein in the former president’s wrathful rhetoric about his legal opponents.

The judge, Juan M. Merchan, imposed the order at the request of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the case against Mr. Trump. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, has accused Mr. Trump of covering up a potential sex scandal during and after his 2016 campaign.

The ruling comes on the heels of Justice Merchan’s setting an April 15 trial date, rejecting Mr. Trump’s latest effort to delay the proceeding while he seeks to reclaim the White House. It will mark the first prosecution of a former American president, and it might be the only one of Mr. Trump’s criminal cases to go to trial before voters head to the polls in November.

Under the judge’s order, Mr. Trump cannot make, or direct others to make, statements about witnesses’ roles in the case. Mr. Trump is also barred from commenting on prosecutors, court staff and their relatives if he intends to interfere with their work on the case. Any comments whatsoever about jurors are banned as well, the judge ruled, citing an array of hostile remarks Mr. Trump has made about grand jurors, prosecutors and others.

“His statements were threatening, inflammatory, denigrating,” Justice Merchan wrote in the Tuesday order.

There is one notable exception to the gag order: Mr. Trump is not prohibited from attacking Mr. Bragg, who has received numerous death threats in recent months. Mr. Bragg voluntarily carved himself out of the order; in other Trump cases, prosecutors are also left out of the gag orders.

Although Justice Merchan did not specify how he might enforce the narrowly tailored order, judges typically impose fines. In extraordinary circumstances, they can send someone to jail, though that seems unlikely in this case.

The gag order, along with Justice Merchan’s other recent ruling protecting the identities of potential jurors in the case, reflects the volatile atmosphere that has swirled around Mr. Trump’s four criminal cases and several civil trials.

The order hewed closely to the terms of one in another of Mr. Trump’s criminal cases that was upheld by a federal appeals court in Washington, which wrote that “Mr. Trump’s documented pattern of speech and its demonstrated real-time, real-world consequences pose a significant and imminent threat.”

And in seeking the order last month, Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors highlighted Mr. Trump’s “longstanding history of attacking witnesses, investigators, prosecutors, judges, and others involved in legal proceedings against him” — comments that the judge seized on in his ruling.

Mr. Trump, for example, has taken aim at Michael D. Cohen, his onetime fixer and one of Mr. Bragg’s central witnesses, calling him a “liar” and a “rat.” And in a rambling and angry post on his social media site on Tuesday, Mr. Trump made an ominous reference to Mr. Cohen, claiming without explanation that his former fixer was “death.” He also referred to one of Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors in pejorative terms.

Both comments would now arguably violate the gag order. On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen issued a statement thanking the judge for issuing the order.

In another post, Mr. Trump took aim at Justice Merchan and his family, claiming that the judge “hates me,” though those comments do not appear to cross the line the judge has now set.

In Mr. Trump’s other cases, the heated rhetoric has preceded violent threats. After Mr. Trump recently lost his civil fraud case in New York, which was brought by the state attorney general, envelopes of white powder were sent to both the attorney general’s office and the judge who had overseen the case. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, was also the victim of a hoax bomb threat at his home.

Mr. Trump, who called Justice Engoron a “nut job,” has also targeted the prosecutors in all his criminal cases, falsely accusing them of working in concert with President Biden. He called Mr. Bragg, a Democrat who is Black, a “racist.”

Mr. Trump’s lawyers had opposed the order in the Manhattan case, arguing that it “would be unconstitutional and unlawful to impose a prior restraint on President Trump’s First Amendment speech.”

A spokesman for Mr. Trump’s campaign, Steven Cheung, echoed that claim on Tuesday, calling the order unconstitutional and saying that it prevents the former president “from engaging in core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment.”

Mr. Cheung also said that “American voters have a fundamental right to hear the uncensored voice of the leading candidate for the highest office in the land.”

Justice Merchan is just the latest judge to impose a gag order on the former president.

In addition to the order in the Washington criminal case, which involves accusations that Mr. Trump plotted to overturn the 2020 election, Mr. Trump was ordered not to comment on court staff members in the civil fraud case after he attacked Justice Engoron’s principal law clerk. Justice Engoron imposed $15,000 in fines on the former president when he ran afoul of that order.

Ultimately, the judge ruled in favor of the attorney general, inflicting a more than $450 million judgment on Mr. Trump.

In the Manhattan criminal case, Mr. Trump faces up to four years in prison. The case stems from a hush-money payment that Mr. Cohen made — to a porn star looking to sell her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump — during the 2016 campaign. After he was elected, Mr. Trump helped falsify business records related to his reimbursement of Mr. Cohen, according to prosecutors, further covering up the scandal from voters.

After Mr. Bragg filed the case last year, Justice Merchan initially stopped short of adopting a gag order, while instructing Mr. Trump to refrain from making statements “likely to incite violence or civil unrest.” But since then, Mr. Trump has continued to attack witnesses and prosecutors, prompting Mr. Bragg to seek a more formal order.

Separately, the judge’s recent order protecting prospective jurors in the case effectively barred Mr. Trump from exposing their identities, emphasizing a need to protect those who might decide the highly sensitive case.

The judge also ordered that their addresses be kept secret from everyone except the lawyers in the case, a measure that Mr. Trump’s legal team did not oppose.

In an unrelated order Tuesday, Justice Merchan issued a stern warning to Mr. Trump’s lawyers as well. He reminded them to behave professionally, or risk being held in contempt.

“This court emphasizes that it hopes for and fully expects zealous advocacy from counsel as well as spirited contribution from witnesses and parties alike,” Justice Merchan wrote. “Nonetheless, the court expects that the line between zealous advocacy and willful disregard of its orders will not be crossed.”

Jesse McKinley , Maggie Haberman and Kate Christobek contributed reporting.

Ben Protess is an investigative reporter at The Times, writing about public corruption. He has been covering the various criminal investigations into former President Trump and his allies. More about Ben Protess

William K. Rashbaum is a senior writer on the Metro desk, where he covers political and municipal corruption, courts, terrorism and law enforcement. He was a part of the team awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. More about William K. Rashbaum

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Case

The manhattan district attorney has filed charges against former president donald trump over a hush-money payment to a porn star on the eve of the 2016 election..

Taking the Case to Trial: Trump is all but certain to become the first former U.S. president to stand trial on criminal charges after a judge denied his effort to delay the proceeding and confirmed it will begin on April 15 .

Implications for Trump: As the case goes to trial, the former president’s inner circle sees a silver lining in the timing. But Trump wouldn’t be able to pardon himself  should he become president again as he could if found guilty in the federal cases against him.

Michael Cohen: Trump’s former fixer was not an essential witness in the former president’s civil fraud trial in New York  that concluded in January. But he will be when he takes the stand in the hush-money case .

Stormy Daniels: The chain of events flowing from a 2006 encounter that the adult film star said she had with Trump has led to the brink of a historic trial. Here's a look inside the hush-money payout .

Liz Cheney says US can't 'survive' another Trump presidency during Drake speech

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, said the Republican party is currently threatening democracy, and that the nation is undergoing a political shift.

She made her remarks during a speech at Drake University’s Knapp Center on Wednesday. The lecture, part of Drake's Bucksbaum Lecture series, was moderated by Lee Ann Colacioppo, the executive editor of the Denver Post. Colacioppo is a Drake graduate and previously worked for the Des Moines Register.

Liz Cheney: Nation's politics undergoing a 'tectonic shift'

Cheney said the county’s politics are undergoing a “tectonic shift,” citing instances of members of the Republican party supporting Trump’s claims of the election having been stolen as key evidence.

“Certainly, what’s happening in the Republican party is dangerous,” Cheney said. “We now have one of our two major political parties that has abandoned the Constitution.” 

Cheney, who advocates for the defeat of Trump in the polls in November, said she hopes one of the outcomes of the political shift will be a reevaluation of how Americans engage with politics.

“We all have a responsibility to encourage our public officials to engage in substantive debate (and) to be respectful,” Cheney said. “I hope we will walk back from … the edge of the abyss that we’re looking into that has become so divisive and partisan — and so toxic — in so many ways.” 

The nation can’t survive a president who would 'torch the Constitution'

Cheney said although Trump saw sweeping success across the nation in Republican primaries, he should not feel confident going into the general election.

“In a number of these primaries, what we saw was that in some instances, close to 30% of the Republicans said they won’t vote for Donald Trump,” Cheney said. “So although he won, that is not a basis on which someone should go into a general election feeling any comfort about being able to prevail in the general.”

Cheney said the future of America's democracy hinges on Trump's defeat in November.

“We know (Trump) tried once not to leave office, and he will have no incentive to guarantee a peaceful transfer of power and to leave office should he be elected again,” Cheney said. “As frustrated as I know people get sometimes with policy disagreements you might have — and I certainly have policy disagreements with the Biden administration — I know the nation can survive bad policy. We can't survive a president who is willing to torch the Constitution.”

Cheney doubts Trump’s longevity in the Republican Party

Cheney said Trump is being supported by Republican officials who continue to excuse and enable his actions on Jan. 6, adding that their continued support of Trump creates a degree of legitimacy amongst voters.

“Republican elected officials excuse the behavior — enabled the behavior — and by doing that, it created a situation where voters thought, ‘Well, you know, it must not be that he’s that dangerous, because if he were, then you would have more people saying so,’” Cheney said.

Cheney said the continued support of Trump prevents the party from presenting candidates who are popular among constituents. 

Biong M. Biong is a reporter at the Register. Reach him at [email protected]

Donald Trump's lawyer in Georgia: election lies are protected speech

Prosecutors charge that trump's lies about the 2020 election were part of a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the results. no immediate decision from judge..

• Trump lawyer Steven Sadow argued that Georgia election racketeering charges against the former president should be dropped because the First Amendment protects his political speech even if he's wrong.
• Prosecutors charged Trump with lying to government officials and spurring others to wrongdoing through his false statements alleging widespread fraud in the election.

Donald Trump’s lawyer argued Thursday the former president can’t be prosecuted in Georgia for trying to steal the 2020 election because his alleged conduct was political speech that must be protected under the First Amendment − even speech that was lies.

“Falsity alone is not enough,” Trump's lawyer, Steven Sadow , said. “Clearly, being president at the time, dealing with elections and campaigning, calling into question what had occurred – that’s the height of political speech.”

Sadow urged Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee to dismiss the charges against Trump because they are based on his statements questioning the election results and pressuring state officials to overturn them.

“It’s the speech that’s being punished,” Sadow said. “Take out the political speech, no charges.”

McAfee didn’t rule immediately on the request. But he sounded skeptical that he could make any decision about whether the First Amendment protected Trump before holding the trial.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

Prosecutors argued Trump’s statements contributed to a wide-ranging conspiracy of making false statements to government officials, submitting false and forged documents and impersonating public officials. Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to "find" the votes he would need to carry the Peach State.

“It’s not just that he lied over and over and over again,” said prosecutor Donald Wakeford. “It’s that each of those was employed as part of criminal activity with criminal intentions.”

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has already rejected Trump’s argument that his statements are protected by the First Amendment, in a federal case with similar charges of election interference. Wakeford directed McAfee to her reasoning for a detailed explanation for why Trump is wrong.

“It’s not a basis for dismissing the indictment,” Wakeford added.

Trump and 14 co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to election racketeering. Four defendants have pleaded guilty. McAfee hasn’t scheduled the trial yet but prosecutors have proposed starting in August.

Co-defendant Shafer argues Georgia had no legitimate presidential electors in 2020

Another defendant, David Shafer, who is chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, also sought to dismiss his charges Thursday. His lawyer, Craig Gillen, also asked to erase phrasing in the indictment describing Shafer as a “fake” presidential elector .

Shafer and two others are charged with impersonating public officials and forgery for meeting Dec. 14, 2020, and submitting paperwork as if they were Republican presidential electors for Trump. President Joe Biden narrowly won the state and Congress recognized his Democratic electors as legitimate.

Gillen argued that no electors – neither Republicans nor Democrats – should have been recognized because a Trump and Shafer lawsuit challenging the results was still pending Dec. 14, 2020.

“There were no duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the state of Georgia,” Gillen said.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp certified the election results and the electors, which Congress accepted.

Shafer, state GOP chair, objects to being called 'fake elector'

Gillen also complained about prosecutors calling Shafer and others “fake electors” and argued the phrase should be removed from the indictment.

“It’s a pejorative statement,” Gillen said.

Will Wooten, another prosecutor, said the term “fake elector” doesn’t appear in the indictment, which does refer to as “unlawful” or “false Electoral College documents.”

Watch CBS News

Biden New York City fundraiser with Obama and Clinton on hand is expected to bring in over $25 million

By Aaron Navarro

Updated on: March 28, 2024 / 7:46 PM EDT / CBS News

President Biden is expected to raise over $25 million at a star-studded fundraiser in New York City on Thursday with former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. 

The campaign has billed it the "most successful political fundraiser in American history." Obama accompanied Mr. Biden on the Air Force One flight from Washington, D.C., to New York earlier in the day.

During a swing through Texas earlier this month, the Biden campaign raised a combined $7 million from three separate fundraisers. A fundraiser for Mr. Biden in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday raised $2.3 million. 

Mr. Biden's largest single-day haul prior to Thursday came in the 24 hours after his  State of the Union address earlier in March, when he raised $10 million, according to his campaign.

But Thursday's staggering sum is a new record for the campaign, and it further illustrates the growing cash gap between Mr. Biden and his presumptive general election opponent, former President Donald Trump. 

Trump raised $20 million in the whole month of February and $8.8 million in January. He's also been dogged by legal bills and payments , with his campaign and the political action committees supporting him spending over $10 million in legal fees this year.

Mr. Biden's campaign committees have more than double the cash on hand of Trump's equivalent groups, $155 million for Mr. Biden and $74 million for Trump as of late March.

"Unlike our opponent, every dollar we're raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the President's historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election," said Biden-Harris campaign co-chair and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg. 

Trump's campaign sent out two fundraising emails Wednesday mentioning Mr. Biden's Thursday fundraiser, with one calling on "one million Trump supporters to donate to beat the "Obama-Clinton cartel" and the other reading, "We can't lose to Obama!"

Thursday's New York City fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall will be hosted by actress Mindy Kaling and will feature performances by several musical guests and artists, including Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele. The event will end with a discussion between Mr. Biden, Obama and Clinton moderated by "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert. 

More than 5,000 tickets have been sold for the fundraiser.

• Democratic Party

Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter covering Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign and the 2024 election. He was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.

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Biden to raise $25 million in ‘historic’ fundraiser with Obama, Clinton

The record event comes as biden has sought to present his financial edge over trump as a broader sign of strength and momentum.

In a show of force his campaign is calling the “most successful political fundraiser in American history,” President Biden is slated to raise more than $25 million during a New York event Thursday featuring former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the sold-out event at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, Biden’s campaign said, with guests paying anywhere from $225 to $500,000. The massive haul comes as Biden and his allies have sought to present their growing financial advantage in the race against former president Donald Trump as a broader sign of strength and momentum.

The highest-paying donors at the event will have access to perks such as a photo with the three presidents. Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz is on tap to take portraits of donors with Biden, Clinton and Obama.

“This historic raise is a show of strong enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice President Harris and a testament to the unprecedented fundraising machine we’ve built,” Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, a campaign co-chair, said in a statement. “Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the president’s historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election.” That was a shot at Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee whose fundraising is going in part to defray his legal expenses .

The event caps a stepped-up stretch of campaign activity for Biden in the wake of his fiery March 7 State of the Union address, and it is the latest push by the president’s allies to counter concerns about his advanced age and sagging approval ratings. Biden is 81 and Trump is 77.

If Democratic voters at large are wary of Biden’s political standing, the star-studded event in New York is designed to offer a joyous counterpoint to the sense of angst. It will feature musical guests including Queen Latifah, Lizzo and Ben Platt. Mindy Kaling will serve as host. An after-party for 500 VIP guests will be co-hosted by first lady Jill Biden and DJ D-Nice.

For the evening’s main event, comedian Stephen Colbert will moderate a conversation between Biden, Obama and Clinton.

The Biden campaign has begun relying more on Obama to boost its fundraising in recent months, after the former president came to the White House last year to express concerns about the state of the race. In a private lunch with Biden, Obama urged Biden to bolster his campaign apparatus and move more aggressively to block Trump’s planned march to the White House.

Biden officials said fundraising efforts that feature Obama or his signature have already generated $15.4 million for Democrats. Obama participated in a “Meet the Presidents” fundraising drive in December that brought in nearly $3 million, they said.

Biden has also used Obama as a sounding board, as both men see blocking Trump’s return to the White House as key to securing their own political legacies.

“Given the stakes of this election, President Obama will do all he can to support President Biden’s reelection,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to Obama, said in a statement, adding that the former president will also help down-ballot Democrats this year. “Our strategy will be based on driving impact, especially where and when his voice can help move the needle.”

While some Trump aides have acknowledged a need to close the fundraising gap — Trump’s campaign raised $20 million in February, compared to $53 million for Biden — they dismissed the Biden-Obama-Clinton event as a gathering of establishment politicians with shoddy records.

“The three people who has been responsible for death, destruction, and misery across the globe,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung posted on X in response to Biden’s post about the event.

Trump himself has indirectly played down the money gap, accusing Biden without evidence of targeting him for political reasons, including in a series of court cases that have strained his finances. Trump said earlier this week that Democrats were determined to use the legal system to “try to take as much of his money as possible.”

Trump has often boasted of winning the presidential election in 2016 despite being outspent heavily by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and he has pointed to polls showing him leading Biden in key battleground races and nationally. While Biden has appeared to gain ground in some recent surveys, Trump’s consistently strong polling position has been a constant source of Democratic anxiety.

Still, Trump moved to overhaul leadership at the Republican National Committee recently as his campaign trailed Biden on the money front.

The Biden campaign last week reported $71 million cash on hand as of the end of February, more than twice the $33.5 million reported by Trump’s campaign. Trump has spent tens of millions of dollars on his legal troubles, which include criminal indictments and civil trials.

Biden’s aides have sought to highlight that contrast as evidence that their campaign is rolling while Trump’s is foundering. The Biden team has announced plans to open more than 100 offices this month and has launched a $30 million spring advertising campaign in key states.

The $25 million event in New York could further bolster Biden’s ability to sell his message to voters. In addition to the 5,000 attendees, thousands of donors have signed up to watch the program online.

Tyler Pager contributed to this report.

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Joe Biden’s Radio City Fundraiser With Barack Obama And Bill Clinton Set To Raise More Than $25 Million, Campaign Says

By Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson

Political Editor

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Joe Biden ‘s New York fundraiser this evening with Barack Obama and Bill Clinton is expected to raise more than $25 million, an enormous haul for a one-evening event.

Biden’s reelection campaign has heavily promoted the Radio City Music Hall gathering, which will include musical performances by Queen Latifah, Ben Platt, Lizzo, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele, among others.

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The Biden campaign said that the event was “the most successful political fundraiser in history.” In a statement, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-chair of the campaign, called the $25 million sum a “historic raise” and said that the event was “a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to re-elect the Biden-Harris ticket.”

The Biden campaign has been out raising the president’s Republican rival, Donald Trump, who has paid a substantial portion of his legal bills through a network of political action committees, according to The New York Times. Biden’s campaign noted that the $25 million from tonight’s event is $5 million more than the Trump campaign raised in all of February.

The fundraiser will start with a virtual event featuring campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez in conversation with Biden, Obama and Clinton. Mindy Kaling will emcee the in-person event, with remarks by First Lady Jill Biden, the musical performances, and Stephen Colbert moderating the on-stage talk with the presidents.

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