introducing the president speech

Highlights from Biden's first address to joint session of Congress

President Joe Biden delivered his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday, outlining his vision for the country and speaking to what he sees as his administration's initial accomplishments as he approaches 100 days in office.

Biden told Congress that it must that "prove democracy still works" and that it "can deliver for the people," according to excerpts released by the White House before the speech.

The address, which lasted an hour and five minutes, was held in the House chamber and due to security concerns following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and Covid-19 safety measures, only about 200 people were in attendance.

This live coverage has ended. For more politics coverage, head to NBCNews.com .

-'Help is here': 100 days of the Biden doctrine

-Timeline of President Biden's first days in office

House Minority Leader McCarthy appears unimpressed

This whole thing could have just been an email. — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 29, 2021

Five takeaways from Biden's first big speech to Congress

Sahil Kapur

In his first big  speech  to  Congress  on Wednesday,  President Joe Biden  repeatedly spoke off the cuff and made a populist pitch to "forgotten" voters, urging lawmakers to pass his multitrillion-dollar economic agenda.

Biden sought to strike a balance between optimism and pragmatism, celebrating the progress in the battle against Covid-19, attributed to the widespread availability of vaccines and economic aid to struggling Americans, while emphasizing the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.

"America is on the move again," he said — but the country has "more work to do" to beat the coronavirus, put people back to work and restore faith in democracy. "We're at a great inflection point in history."

Click here for the five takeaways from Biden's speech .

Sen. Tim Scott delivers Republican response to Biden's speech

Allan Smith

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., delivered the Republican response to Biden's address, criticizing the president's policies and Biden himself for not doing more to work with his party.

Biden and Democrats "are pulling us further apart," Scott said.

After a speech in which Biden urged support for his infrastructure and family proposals, which total about $4 trillion in spending, Scott said Biden's plans go far beyond the country's needs. He also called for bipartisan consensus on infrastructure and said the country needs to find common ground on race.

"From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we haven't made any progress, by doubling down on the divisions we've worked so hard to heal," Scott said. "You know this stuff is wrong. Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country."

Similar to Biden, Scott called on Americans not to treat one another as "adversaries."

"We are not adversaries. We are family. We are all in this together. And we get to live in the greatest country on Earth," he said.

Democrat Mark Kelly says Biden's address lacked solutions for border crisis

Dartunorro Clark

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in a statement afterward that Biden's joint congressional address lacked focus on immediately addressing the crisis at the southern border. 

"While I share President Biden's urgency in fixing our broken immigration system, what I didn't hear tonight was a plan to address the immediate crisis at the border," Kelly said. "And I will continue holding this administration accountable to deliver the resources and staffing necessary for a humane, orderly process as we work to improve border security, support local economies, and fix our immigration system."

Kelly, won a special election in November to serve out the rest of the late Sen. John McCain's term, faces re-election to a full term next year. 

Since he took office, Biden has faced a surge of migrant children at the border, putting the administration on the defense. 

Biden has said his policies were not the cause of the increase in children arriving at the border, as Republicans have claimed . He has instead blamed former President Donald Trump for neglecting Central America and for implementing policies that led to overcrowding in facilities at the border.

Biden lingers in House Chamber to hobnob with lawmakers

After the end of his speech, Biden did something that comes very naturally to him — he spent several minutes on the House floor hobnobbing with lawmakers. 

He was seen speaking to other Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, and fist-bumped Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican in the House. He was also heard asking a lawmaker, "How's mom?" 

Even after the joint session was gaveled out, Biden, who had put his mask back on after the speech, was still in the chamber talking to people. 

Fact check: Biden promotes new jobs created in first 100 days

Adam Edelman

Biden said "the economy created more than 1.3 million new jobs" in his first 100 days.

This appears to be true. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data , total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March and by 486,0000 in February. That's a total of 1.4 million.

While the gains under Biden are true, the same BLS data also showed that the economy had already begun recovering during Donald Trump's final months in office. According to the data, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 from October through December, Trump's final full month in office.

The unemployment rate during that time ticked down to 6.7 percent from 6.9 percent. According to the latest data, through March, the unemployment rate is 6.0 percent.

Biden calls Jan. 6 attack 'existential crisis' for America

Biden bookended his speech by referring to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, which left several people dead. 

He called on lawmakers to show unity and consensus after the attack. 

"We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy — of pandemic and pain — and we the people did not flinch," he said. "At the very moment our adversaries were certain we would pull apart and fail, we came together."

He added: "We have to prove democracy still works. That our government still works — and can deliver for the people."

Fact check: Biden proposes restoring top tax bracket rate to George W. Bush level

Biden said he's proposing raising "the top tax bracket for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, those making $400,000 or more, back up to 39.6 percent."

"That's where it was when George W. Bush became president," Biden said.

This is technically true, but it changed early in Bush's presidency.

The top tax bracket, for families making more than $374,000 , was, in fact, 39.6 percent  when Bush became president in 2001. 

But in June 2001, just months into his presidency, he cut it, as part of a massive tax cut called the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Relief Act, to 35 percent.

Photo: Military security near the Capitol during joint address

Biden speaks for just more than an hour

That's a wrap for Biden's speech. He clocked in at about 1 hour and 5 minutes as he addressed a joint session of Congress.

Biden goes off script to warn Russia, China

Alex Seitz-Wald

Biden, who has been occasionally ad-libbing, went beyond his prepared remarks to offer some talk tough on foreign policy, swearing he would retaliate against Russia and pledging to counter China. 

"As we did when we extended the New START Treaty on nuclear arms — and as we're working to do on the climate crisis. He understands, we will respond," Biden said, adding the last sentence, which was not included his prepared remarks.

"I made very clear to President Putin that while we don't seek escalation, their actions have consequences," he added.

On China, he said the U.S. is in "a competition" with the communist-run country "to win the 21st century." 

Biden said he has told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that "we welcome the competition — and that we are not looking for conflict." But he added, "I made absolutely clear that I will defend American interests across the board."

Biden says Harris will lead rural broadband initiative

Vice President Kamala Harris will add another role to her portfolio, heading up efforts to expand rural broadband access, Biden announced.

Biden underlined the need for modern infrastructure investment, including broadband, as part of his American Jobs Plan, calling it "the largest jobs plan since World War II."

"It creates jobs connecting every American with high-speed internet, including 35 percent of rural America that still doesn't have it. It's 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," Biden said. "Because I know it will get done."

During her discontinued 2020 presidential campaign, Harris proposed an $80 billion investment in rural broadband to connect every household to high-speed internet by 2024. It included a $2 billion annual subsidy to bring broadband to small towns, contingent on making internet options affordable for low-income people.

Last week, Harris touted broadband during a trip to New Hampshire, and last month she tweeted a campaign moment from Iowa about the issue.

Fact check: Biden's numbers on Covid, seniors and vaccinations

Jane C. Timm

"When I was sworn in, less than 1 percent of seniors were fully vaccinated against Covid-19," Biden said during his address. "One hundred days later, nearly 70 percent of seniors are fully protected. Senior deaths from Covid-19 are down 80 percent since January. Down 80 percent. And more than half of all adults in America have gotten at least one shot."

Some of these numbers appear to need a closer look.

It's technically true that very few seniors were fully vaccinated when he took office — vaccinations began only in mid-December in the U.S. — but about 34 million seniors are now fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's 64.5 percent of the nation's estimated 54 million seniors . It's also true that more than half of all adults in the U.S. have gotten one shot.

But senior deaths have fallen by around 50 percent, according to The Associated Press, citing the best available data , not 80 percent. Senior hospitalizations have fallen by more than 70 percent, as well.

The White House, responding to request from NBC News, pointed to this CDC data set that suggests senior deaths are down at least 85 percent.

Biden calls on Congress to pass George Floyd policing bill by next month

Biden invoked the murder of George Floyd to call on the nation to reckon with racism and other forms of discrimination. 

"We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black America. Now is our opportunity to make some real progress," Biden said, adding that the majority of police officers serve "honorably."

"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.

"We need to work together to find a consensus. Let's get it done next month, by the first anniversary of George Floyd's death."

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 60 percent of Americans say the country should do more to hold police accountable for mistreatment of Black people.

Biden also called on Congress to pass protections for LGBTQ Americans after Congress recently passed an anti-Asian hate crime bill. 

Biden says it's time to end the 'forever war' in Afghanistan

Biden, who announced this month that all American troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, said U.S. leadership "means ending the forever war in Afghanistan."

"Today we have service members serving in the same war as their parents once did," he said. "We have service members in Afghanistan who were not yet born on 9/11. War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking of nation-building."

"We went to Afghanistan to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11," he said. "We delivered justice to Osama Bin Laden, and we degraded the terrorist threat of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it's time to bring our troops home."

Biden says raising taxes on wealthy is how to pay for his plan; no GOP lawmakers applaud

Biden reiterated his commitment to raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for his plan to shepherd the American economic recovery. 

"Look, I'm not out to punish anyone. But I will not add to the tax burden of the middle class of this country," Biden said. "They're already paying enough."

He said his administration will work to get rid of the loopholes that allow Americans who make more than $1 million a year to pay a lower rate on their capital gains and use the IRS to crack down on millionaires and billionaires who cheat on their taxes, among other measures. 

Notably, no GOP lawmakers applauded the plan. 

Biden says trickle-down economics have 'never worked'

Biden, in addressing the accumulation of wealth by some of the richest Americans, said: "My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked."

Biden, who was speaking about the need to raise taxes on the wealthy and on corporations, noted that America's billionaires greatly grew their wealth during the pandemic.

"It's time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out," he said.

Biden calls for legislative effort to lower the cost of prescription drugs

Biden called on Congress to lower the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prices — something that was not in his latest proposal, the American Families Plan .

"We all know how outrageously expensive they are," he said. "In fact, we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world right here in America — nearly three times as much as other countries.

"Let's do what we've always talked about," he added. "Let's give Medicare the power to save hundreds of billions of dollars by negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs. ... We've talked about it long enough — Democrats and Republicans. Let's get it done this year."

Republicans did not clap or cheer during this part of Biden's address.

Biden goes off script to thank lawmakers for honoring late son

Biden strayed a bit from his prepared remarks while talking about the goal to end cancer by funding more research.

He recalled the passage of federal funding for cancer research at the end of his time as vice president, which was one of his major priorities in the Obama administration. 

In a moment of bipartisanship, he thanked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for suggesting that the previous bill's cancer provisions be named after Beau Biden, who died from cancer in 2015.

"You'll excuse the point of personal privilege. I'll never forget you standing, Mitch, and saying name it after my deceased son," Biden said.

Biden gives a shoutout to electric workers union

Henry J. Gomez

Biden, tying solutions to the climate crisis to the creation of new jobs, singled out by name the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.

The shoutout appeared to be unscripted; it did not appear in prepared remarks from the White House. 

Biden weaved in the reference as he was talking about "electrical workers installing 500,000 charging stations along our highways." Biden eventually wound up on a common talking point from his 2020 campaign: "Unions build the middle class."

Unions — the IBEW, in particular — were a big part of Biden's campaign and among his earliest supporters at times he was struggling in the Democratic primaries. The IBEW endorsed Biden on Feb. 5, 2020 , two days after he finished a distant fourth in the Iowa caucuses, when his campaign was in real jeopardy.

Fact check: Biden says most jobs created under his infrastructure plan wouldn't require a college degree

Biden, promoting his infrastructure plan, made a specific claim about the types of jobs his plan would create.

"Nearly 90 percent of the infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan don't require a college degree. Seventy-five percent don't require an associate's degree," he said.

The 75 percent figure is accurate, according to at least one study — a  research paper published this year  by a pair of academics at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

Analyzing census data and Biden's infrastructure plan, the study concluded that the "proposal would create jobs at every education level, but the majority of infrastructure jobs (75 percent) will be for people with no more than a high school diploma and some non-degreed short-term training — those who have been harmed most by technology change and trade since the mid-1980s."

Those jobs, the study found, "will consist of both those directly related to infrastructure — including jobs for tradesmen, construction workers, and material moving and transportation workers — as well as downstream jobs only somewhat related to infrastructure, such as in offices and retail services."

Biden: 'Go get vaccinated America!'

Biden highlights cutting childhood poverty, hunger.

Biden highlighted one of the benefits of his American Rescue Plan, which is its focus on childhood poverty and hunger. 

"Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are on track to cut child poverty in America in half this year," Biden said. 

His Covid-19 relief bill restructured the child tax credit, giving a boost to low-income families. The Biden administration also announced this month that it will launch a summer food program to feed more than 30 million low-income children. 

Photo: A socially distanced standing ovation for the president

Biden announced by first Black House sergeant-at-arms

There are a number of historic firsts tonight, including Army Maj. Gen. William Walker's leading President Biden into the House Chamber and announcing his entry. 

He is the first Black House sergeant-at-arms. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi picked Walker, then the head of the Washington, D.C. National Guard, for the post in March, and he was officially sworn in this week. The change of leadership follows the deadly  Jan. 6 Capitol riot , after which the heads of security in both the House and the Senate resigned, along with the chief of the Capitol Police. 

Photo: First lady and second gentleman from the upper level

Who Biden gave fist bumps to on his walk through the House chamber

Biden entered the chamber just after 9 p.m. and gave a series of fist and elbow bumps to lawmakers, as well as a half-hug with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Biden acknowledged a number of mask-clad lawmakers as he walked toward the podium. Recipients of fist bumps or other acknowledgments included Reps. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Harris as she made her way through Rotunda

. @VP Harris crosses through the Capitol rotunda on her way to Pres Biden’s joint address: pic.twitter.com/bjccIMVB2p — Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) April 29, 2021

Biden arrives at the Capitol

The presidential motorcade departed from the South Lawn driveway at 8:30 p.m. and took a short trip up to the Capitol complex as Biden, approaching his 100th day in office, prepares to address the nation. 

This is the president's first trip to the Capitol since his inauguration and his first major address to the nation following the deadly Jan. 6 attack. He will preside over a historic moment with the first female vice president and the first female House Speaker. 

An elbow bump greeting as Harris takes her place next to Pelosi

Vice President Harris took her place next to House Speaker Pelosi in a historic moment before Biden arrives at the Capitol — and the pair greeted each other with an elbow bump

Harris led a group of Democratic lawmakers in the House, masked and wearing a pale yellow pantsuit.

Photos: Social distancing limits crowd in House chamber

Cheney, McCarthy to sit near each other as the GOP leaders take different paths post-Jan. 6

Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., will be separated by seven seats from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tonight. It will be interesting to see how the two top Republicans — Cheney is the No. 3 in the conference — react to Biden's address.

McCarthy and Cheney have taken opposite paths in laying out the future of the GOP after the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol. Cheney has wanted the party to put former President Donald Trump in the rearview mirror, while McCarthy has sought to remain close with him. 

When they are seated near each other, it will be easy to see whether they have any varying reactions to Biden's address — particularly if and when the president addresses the Capitol riot.

With the room much less filled than for a typical address, any individual reactions will be amplified.

Cruz calls it a 'privilege' to be attendance for speech, but still makes Biden basement crack

. @SenTedCruz tells me he will attend Biden's joint address tonight because it's a "privilege and a responsibility" to do so. "A lot of us who know Joe and worked with Joe are wondering what happened to that guy? Seems like he's tied up in a basement somewhere...” — Julie Tsirkin (@JulieNBCNews) April 28, 2021

'Lost in the shuffle': Republicans battle around Biden — for now

Republicans have spent the past few months under President Joe Biden waging a campaign against "cancel culture" and  locking horns with corporate America .

In state legislatures, GOP lawmakers have prioritized contentious bills to tighten voting access, crack down on protests, further limit abortion access and ban transgender athletes from school sports.

But in many of the  battles  the Republican Party has fought during Biden's early days in office, there's one person the GOP has largely ignored: Biden himself.

"It's not really a unified front against him," a Republican Senate aide said, adding that Republicans need to better link progressive policies and culture war issues that enthrall the GOP voter base to the president. "He sort of gets lost in the shuffle sometimes."

Click here to read the full story.

Biden to propose free community college. One GOP state already has a model program.

With Biden set to propose free community college, advocates for affordable higher education across the political spectrum are pushing a simple approach: Look to the states.

One state in particular — a Southern, reliably Republican one — has risen above the rest, lawmakers, education and policy think tanks said: Tennessee.

The Volunteer State's Tennessee Promise program, passed in 2014 by the GOP-controlled Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, offers two years of tuition-free community college or technical school to all high school graduates. An expansion of the program adopted in 2017, called Tennessee Reconnect, guaranteed two years of free community college or technical school to all adults in Tennessee who didn't already have degrees or credentials.

Click here for the full story.

A timeline of President Joe Biden's first 100 days in office

Mark Murray

President Joe Biden took the oath of office more than three months ago during a pandemic after a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol and the second impeachment of his predecessor.

And in the nearly 100 days since then, the nation has witnessed the impeachment trial and an acquittal, multiple mass shootings, passage of Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package, milestones and presidential promises in the battle against the coronavirus, an influx of unaccompanied migrant children at the border, a U.S. airstrike in Syria,  a guilty verdict in the trial over the death of George Floyd  and one formal presidential news conference, as well as one in-person meeting with a foreign leader.

Read the full timeline of what has happened during Biden's presidency as he approaches 100 days in the Oval Office.

Just one Supreme Court justice will be there for the speech

Pete Williams

The Supreme Court says only Chief Justice John Roberts will be in attendance when President Biden speaks.

The court says that because of the pandemic, the chief justice was the only member of the court who was invited and that he plans to attend.

Limited number of lawmakers to attend Biden's address

Julie Tsirkin

Frank Thorp V producer and off-air reporter

A limited number of lawmakers will be in the audience at Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress because of Covid-19 restrictions. 

A final determination of the number of attendees has not been made yet, but around 200 people total are likely to be in the House Chamber. For context, about 1,600 people are usually packed into the chamber for a joint session.

Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., plan to attend, according to their offices. The total number of House Democrats and Republicans attending has not been disclosed, but it is estimated to be 25 from each side, including House caucus chairs. Here's a list of senators indicating they will attend, according to an NBC News tally:

Democratic senators

Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), Michael Bennet (Colorado), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Ben Cardin (Maryland), Tom Carper (Delaware), Bob Casey (Pennsylvania), Chris Coons (Delaware), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Dianne Feinstein (California), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Maggie Hasan (New Hampshire), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), John Hickenlooper (Colorado), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Patrick Leahy (Vermont), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Bob Menendez (New Jersey), Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Jon Ossoff (Georgia), Alex Padilla (California), Jack Reed (Rhode Island), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Debbie Stabenow (Michigan), Chris Van Hollen (Maryland), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) and Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island). 

GOP senators 

John Barrasso (Wyoming), Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Roy Blunt (Missouri), Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Ted Cruz (Texas), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Deb Fischer (Nebraska), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Bill Hagerty (Tennessee), John Hoeven (North Dakota), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi), John Kennedy (Louisiana), Roger Marshall (Kansas), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Rob Portman (Ohio), Jim Risch (Idaho), Mitt Romney (Utah), Rick Scott (Florida), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), John Thune (South Dakota), Tommy Tuberville (Alabama) and, likely, Todd Young (Alaska). 

Inside the Capitol ahead of Biden's speech, stark differences from past years

Heightened security and social distancing have caused Biden's address to look and feel very different. The event is normally attended by over 1,000 people — this year, just 200 will be in the chamber.

• The chamber itself looks completely different from past years. Chairs that have white papers sitting on them are blocked because of Covid-19 restrictions.
• Every seat where a guest will be has a printed placard on top of it to show the assigned seats.
• Security screening at the Capitol is extraordinarily tight — even for members of the House. In the past, members of Congress haven't had to go through security screening to attend joint addresses or State of the Union speeches — although it's consistent with the new rules of the House, which post-Jan. 6 require magnetometer screenings before people go onto the House floor.
• House members also have to provide proof of vaccinations or negative Covid-19 tests to attend. Again, this is very unusual in a building that typically gives every prerogative to members of Congress. (NBC News has not yet been able to confirm whether senators are also being subjected to health and security screening; most members of the Senate have been vaccinated.) 
• Staffers and security personnel are lined up waiting to go through health screening; members are being screened at different locations. The goal is to prevent crowding around the House floor.
• Under normal circumstances, 1,600 people are in the chamber, and the hallways after the speech are packed. This year, just 200 people will be in the chamber. The Capitol itself feels like a ghost town in comparison to past addresses, although there are more people inside here than I think I've seen since the pandemic started.

Major focus of speech will be on racial justice

Shannon Pettypiece

Even as most of the White House discussion this week has been about Biden's economic agenda, officials said viewers should expect racial justice, and specifically police reform, to be front and center.

Biden's first 100 days have been dominated by his administration's response to the coronavirus, which was also the primary focus of his campaign last year. But closely behind that was what he has said is a national reckoning over racial justice, and officials said he will discuss the moment that animated so much of that movement less than a year ago: the murder of George Floyd .

The connection Biden made with the Floyd family will be the centerpiece of that part of his speech, with Biden invoking the words of Floyd's daughter when he met her last summer: "Daddy changed the world." And he plans to make what an official said would be an "effusive push" for the legislation that bears Floyd's name, hoping to add momentum to bipartisan negotiations to push the House-passed bill through the Senate.

Click here for more on what to watch for in tonight's address. 

What to watch for in Biden's first address to Congress

Carol E. Lee Carol E. Lee is the Washington managing editor.

Mike Memoli

Geoff Bennett

When  President Joe Biden  marks his 99th day in office by giving his first address to a joint session of  Congress  on Wednesday, he will lay out his goals for his next  100 days  and beyond in front of a socially distanced chamber that will look starkly different from the one that greeted his predecessors.

And few know the night's usual scene better than Biden. After six full Senate terms and two as vice president, it's possible that no president has addressed Congress with more experience as a member of the audience: It has been 47 years since he sat in the House chamber for his first State of the Union address, listening to President Richard Nixon tell lawmakers, "One year of Watergate is enough."

Biden is expected to stick with the message he has been hammering away at for more than a year, focusing on vaccinations, infrastructure and child care — topics that have  polled  well with both Republicans and Democrats.

Click here  for the full story.

In GOP response to Biden, Tim Scott to credit Trump for receding pandemic

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., will tout the pre-coronavirus economy and credit the Trump administration for the pandemic's receding in the Republican Party's official response to his speech to Congress.

"This administration inherited a tide that had already turned. The coronavirus is on the run!" Scott will say, according to excerpts of his prepared speech. "Thanks to Operation Warp Speed and the Trump administration, our country is flooded with safe and effective vaccines."

Scott will say the pre-Covid-19 era was the "most inclusive economy in my lifetime," which he will attribute to Republican policies, including tax cuts and criminal justice reform.

"Our best future won't come from Washington schemes or socialist dreams. It will come from you — the American people," he will say, according to the excerpts.

McConnell: Curious to hear how Biden 'squares his rhetoric with the administration's actions'

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spoke on the Senate floor this morning ahead of President Biden's joint address to Congress tonight, saying, "I'll be curious to hear how the president tries to square his rhetoric with the administration's actions over the past 100 days."

McConnell hammered the administration over immigration to climate to troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. "Over a few short months, the Biden administration seems to have given up on selling actual unity in favor of catnip for their liberal base, covered with a hefty coat of false advertising."

"But it's not too late," McConnell stressed. "This White House can shake off its daydreams of a sweeping socialist legacy that will never happen in the United States. ... That is what the American people want."

White House releases speech excerpts; Biden will ask Congress to turn 'crisis into opportunity'

President Joe Biden will tell Congress on Wednesday night that it must that "prove democracy still works" and that it "can deliver for the people," according to excerpts released by the White House before the speech.

"Now — after just 100 days — I can report to the nation: America is on the move again. Turning peril into possibility. Crisis into opportunity. Setback into strength," he will say, according to the excerpts.

Biden will sell his $2.25 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan as one that would create "millions of jobs," predominantly for those without college degrees or associate's degrees. He'll call it "a blue-collar blueprint to build America."

Biden discusses whether democracy can work in 21st century

Winston Wilde

Biden sat down Wednesday with several representatives from the major news networks at a luncheon — a tradition in modern American politics — to discuss his speech and recap his first 100 days in office before his address to Congress tonight.

NBC News' Lester Holt attended the luncheon on behalf of the network. Much of the conversation was off the record, but on the record, the president said that he feels an urgency to shepherd America's recovery and that this moment in history will be written about as a crossroads. 

"About whether or not democracy can function in the 21st century. Not a joke. [Or] whether autocracy is the answer," he said, adding that Chinese President "Xi does not believe we can. That's what he's betting on."

He also said he didn't want his American Rescue Plan to fail. 

"I kept saying to the staff: 'We can't afford to lose out of the box. We cannot afford to lose this first effort. We got to make sure whatever we pick and what we do, we can't afford to lose,'" he said. 

Harris and Pelosi will be making history

Haley Talbot

The address will be the first time two women will be sitting behind the president for a formal speech to Congress: Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It was just 14 years ago that Pelosi became the first woman to sit behind a president (George W. Bush) for an address to Congress.

Because of the pandemic, attendees will be required to wear masks, including Harris and Pelosi, per a source. 

Biden's first 100 days as consoler-in-chief

Joe Biden  wanted a vacation. Instead, he got another funeral.

It was May of last year. Biden had recently  secured  the Democratic presidential nomination, and he wanted to take some time off the virtual campaign trail to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the death of his son Beau.

But then  George Floyd  was killed, the country exploded into a racial reckoning, and the man who has been dubbed " America's Grief Counselor ," the " Emissary of Grief " and the " Designated Mourner " felt compelled, once again, to eulogize.

"Unlike most, you must grieve in public," Biden told Floyd's family at the funeral. "And it's a burden. A burden that is now your purpose."

Public grieving has been Biden's burden and purpose since he was first sworn into the Senate from a podium erected  next to the hospital bed  where his sons were convalescing from the car accident that had killed their mother and sister.

And it's the burden Biden now carries for the nation 100 days into being president of a country that has lost more than 570,000 people to a pandemic while martyrizing people like Floyd.

Click here for the full story. 

Biden to propose free preschool, community college in address to Congress

Lauren Egan

President  Biden  will announce a roughly $1.8 trillion plan to invest in universal preschool, free community college and expanded access to child care in his  joint address to Congress  on Wednesday night, the White House said.

The proposal, which the White House calls the American Families Plan, would also increase taxes on the wealthy to offset the cost over 15 years. It is the second phase of Biden's two-part push to reshape the economy, following the $2 trillion  American Jobs Plan , which he announced last month..

The American Families Plan would provide universal preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as two years of free community college. Both programs would be available regardless of income. The plan would also extend the expansion of the  federal child tax credit  in the American Rescue Plan through 2025 and permanently make the tax credit fully refundable.

Click here for the full story

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The President’s Speech, From First Draft to Delivery

By: History.com Staff

Updated: May 18, 2023 | Original: October 15, 2012

Why did you decide to undertake this project? Presidential speeches are direct communications between the nation’s chief executive and the people of the country. They articulate policy and distill the president’s beliefs, and as such they literally make history. Since the founding of America, presidential speeches have quelled fears and raised hopes. They have urged their fellow citizens to take courses of action that have had vital consequences for the growth, and even the survival, of the nation. As historical artifacts, presidential speeches deserve the closest and most thorough examination.

But they do not simply happen. The occasion for a speech can be a ceremony, as in presidential inaugurals. It can be a response to an imperative—the declaration of war or defusing a diplomatic or economic crisis. It also can be an initiative—a statement of policy by the president intended to set the nation on a new course. Or it can be some combination of the three. Each major presidential address begs a number of questions. What prompted the speech? How was it drafted, and by whom? Did the president write it himself, or was he a passive recipient of someone else’s ideas? How did the speech develop and who influenced its development? What were the circumstances under which it was delivered? What was its impact? In short, how did some of the most important documents in American history change between conception and delivery, and was that a good or bad thing?

As a working speechwriter who has made an academic study of the history of rhetoric, these are questions that fascinate me. This book is an attempt to answer those questions for a sampling of the most important presidential speeches in our history, and in doing so to help us to understand how our history was shaped and how things might have gone differently.

How did you go about your research for this book?

The premise for the book is the way a presidential speech changes between the first draft and delivery. I identified a universe of significant presidential speeches, then began winnowing them down based on the availability of first and intermediate drafts and supporting documents. Documentation could be spotty for early presidents, but more recent administrations presented the opposite difficulty. All of the drafts of a major speech by Lincoln would fill an envelope, but all of the drafts of a major speech by Ronald Reagan could fill several file boxes in his presidential library. After selecting a list of speeches satisfying the criteria, I set about obtaining copies of the drafts and identifying books, articles, letters and other papers containing significant information concerning the genesis and development of the speeches. I read my way through, analyzed the content and made authorial decisions as to what was significant and what was peripheral. I then tried to distill all the details into simple, clear narratives accompanied by facsimiles of representative documents to illustrate the process.

Can you share a story or two about a particularly interesting revision?

I think that the most significant single edit was by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his address to the U.S. Congress after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In his opening sentence, he changed the words of the draft presented to him from “a date which will live in history” to “a date which will live in infamy.” That one altered word assured the immortality of the phrase. Roosevelt made a number of other changes and rejected a lot of bad advice, crafting a very short but eternally memorable address.

One surprise concerned Lincoln’s first inaugural address. Lincoln was a superb, almost poetical writer and is almost universally believed to have crafted personally all of the memorable words he spoke. However, in the case of his first inaugural address, he sought the advice of his new secretary of state, William H. Seward. Lincoln barely knew Seward, and in fact they had been recent rivals for the Republican Party presidential nomination. Seward nevertheless made many suggestions softening the tone of the speech, and Lincoln accepted them. Lincoln replaced his own literal saber-rattling “shall it be peace or the sword?” closure with Seward’s “better angels of our nature” conclusion, altering Seward’s words in his own inimitable fashion to hold out an olive branch to the secessionist South. It is a rare instance of a significant contribution by another person to Lincoln’s speeches, although Seward continued as a close advisor and confidante to Lincoln throughout his presidency.

What does the book tell us about each president’s involvement in crafting his own addresses, as well as the role of speechwriters throughout American history?

There is a broad spectrum of involvement. Early presidents gave fewer formal remarks, and generally turned to high-level advisers for their writing help. Washington could call on both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, for example, not to mention Thomas Jefferson. James Monroe made extensive use of the writing talents of John Quincy Adams, another future president who earned the nickname “Old Man Eloquent” in his post-presidential terms in the House of Representatives. Jefferson himself was a great writer but a mediocre speaker, and so some of his “speeches” were published but never delivered live. Some of the more forgettable presidents had equally forgettable helpers in preparing their sparse remarks. Woodrow Wilson, meanwhile, was an academic by training and profession. In preparing his major addresses, he mobilized literally hundreds of scholars and experts in an effort to gather enormous volumes of pertinent information and absorbed and distilled that in preparing his remarks. But for all the research assistance Wilson had, he was a fine writer and speaker who largely crafted the final versions of most of his important speeches personally. Teddy Roosevelt was a prolific writer who wrote most of his own speeches, while his distant cousin Franklin recruited the top talent available to produce drafts—including Pulitzer Prize winners Archibald MacLeish and Robert Sherwood—but left his own unmistakable imprint on a host of great speeches.

Starting with FDR, the demands for presidential remarks dramatically escalated, and professional speechwriters bearing that job title began to appear. In fact, Warren G. Harding employed the first such writer, a former reporter named Judson Welliver, but managed to mangle that man’s words to the point where Harding speeches became the butt of jokes. After FDR, the ranks of speechwriters at the White House swelled with each new administration, but they have been held in ever-diminishing esteem. As I note on several occasions in my book, ever since the Ford Administration the habit of the White House is to circulate speech drafts to dozens and dozens of minions throughout government. Speeches are produced and revised on an assembly-line basis. One or, more likely, a group of speechwriters produces a draft, and then it is trampled to death in the editing process. The first draft will invariably come back utterly unrecognizable. If a memorable phrase survives, it’s entirely by accident. The most notable case in point is Reagan’s immortal “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” phrase, about which I write. It very nearly didn’t make the speech at all, and even then was buried in a mass of diplomatic jargon. Fortunately, it was bright enough to shine through.

Which president do you think was the best speaker or speechwriter, and what favorite speeches stand out in your mind?

The best speakers, in my mind, were FDR and John F. Kennedy. Both had remarkable speechwriters to produce memorable drafts—Kennedy’s symbiotic relationship with the late, great Ted Sorensen is well known—but both had enormously impressive senses of occasion and linguistic capabilities, and both improved their speeches in performance. Of course, Ronald Reagan’s delivery was impeccable every time out, but after he lost the inimitable Peggy Noonan and other top writers during his second term, his performance declined, as I note in the book.

Speechwriting is a separate skill from speaking, and 20th- and 21st-century presidents rarely if ever have sat down and drafted major addresses from beginning to end. I think that in the main Jefferson and Lincoln stand out as writers. We can’t know how they sounded—Lincoln was reputed to be a good speaker despite a high, rather thin voice, and Jefferson from all accounts delivered his words perfunctorily. For a combination of writer and speaker, though, I think I would go with Teddy Roosevelt. He wrote most of his own speeches and delivered them with great energy. Among lesser-regarded presidents, I think Calvin Coolidge deserves mention. Despite his “Silent Cal” reputation, he was self-schooled in the arts of rhetoric, and in fact, published several volumes of his own speeches before ever becoming president. I uncovered some first-rate speeches of his while doing research, but regrettably, he did not make the book because he unfortunately burned all of the preliminary drafts of his speeches, and so left no paper trail as to development.

Can you tell us a bit more about your background, and how did your own experiences with speechwriting shape this book?

I have made my living primarily as a speechwriter for more than 40 years. Like many speechwriters of my era, I started out on newspapers—as a sportswriter, at age 20. My first sports editor gave me great advice for a future speechwriter: cut every word in half, cut every sentence in half. From there, I was lucky enough to be named editorial page editor of a suburban New Jersey daily when I was 23. When I wrote editorials, I was writing to persuade, and that’s great training for a speechwriter, as well. With a young family, I continued to follow the money from newspapers to magazines and began to specialize in energy. Then came the energy crises of the 1970s and I was hired as a speechwriter for the head of the hastily formed federal energy apparatus—the “Energy Czar.” I had never written a speech, as such, but they assumed that since I was a writer, I could—and so did I. I survived that very chaotic situation, and when the dust cleared and the gas pumps started working again, I found myself chief speechwriter of the newly formed U.S. Department of Energy. Knowledgeable energy writers were in short supply at the time, and during the energy crises, I wound up detailed to the White House during both the Ford and Carter administrations. In the 1980s, when energy cooled off, so to speak, I left government to write speeches for the CEOs of some of the country’s largest energy companies before becoming freelance. I guess I’ve written somewhere over 1,000 speeches, counting all of the brief ceremonial remarks as well as the formal addresses.

Having written and edited speeches at the White House, Cabinet-level agencies and Fortune 50 corporations, I know all too well that a speech does not always turn out the way it begins. It can change 180 degrees. I have seen some speeches delivered that never should have been, with disastrous results, and some speeches killed or watered down that would have had a great positive impact. The process a speech goes through from first draft to delivery is fascinating, and large parts of that fascination are the politics and other human interactions that affect the words on the page. I have always thought that the stories behind the development of speeches—particularly at the presidential level, where history can be changed for good or ill by the words delivered—would be worth telling.

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What’s it like to introduce the president of the United States?

Author: Lori Kurtzman

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It didn’t hit her until she got into her car. That moment had happened. Really. 

She’d walked up to that podium and stood there in front of all those cameras and talked for three minutes and four seconds about what the Affordable Care Act had meant to patients at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

And then she’d introduced the man waiting behind her.

“Please join me in welcoming to the podium,” Tameka Hairston said, “President Joseph R. Biden.”

And now Tameka Hairston was in her car watching the congratulatory messages roll in on her cell phone, and when a cousin in Atlanta sent a picture of her taken from the television, it finally struck Hairston that those three minutes and four seconds had stretched far beyond that room in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James).

This had been a big deal.

Now it was feeling huge.

“I called my husband and said, ‘OK, was something on TV? Was there something that I missed?’”

Biden visited the medical center on March 23 to mark the 11th anniversary of the ACA and tout the health care components of his American Rescue Plan. Hairston, manager of the case management and social work department at East Hospital, was tapped to speak on Ohio State’s behalf during Biden’s address from the OSUCCC – James and introduce the president before his remarks.

“I truly didn’t know the magnitude at the time,” Hairston said. “That’s probably what kept me calm. When I got to the podium, I was OK.”

She was more than OK. Her voice caught a few times, but once she hit her stride she looked as polished as any speaker at that podium. Her remarks were sandwiched between Biden’s and U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty’s and were broadcast on live television feeds throughout the country. 

When she finished, Biden thanked her by name. 

“Everybody kept saying, ‘Thank you,’” she said, “and I kept going, ‘Thank you for what? What am I doing?’ I’m like, ‘You’re welcome?’”

This whole thing had been a whirlwind.

Hairston, a 20-year Ohio State employee, had gotten a Sunday night call from East Hospital Executive Director Mary Howard asking if she’d be willing to introduce the president and talk about how the ACA’s measures had affected patient lives. Hairston said sure, believing that the president they were discussing was Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson, until there was talk of Social Security numbers and the White House, and Hospital Division Chief Administrative Officer Elizabeth Seely clarified: We’re talking about the president of the United States here.

Even then, Hairston kept her cool. Maybe it was her military training — four years active duty in the U.S. Army and seven years in the reserves had helped steel her nerves — or maybe it was plain old denial. Either way, that calm got her through writing her speech, sending it off to the White House for edits, rehearsing it at length with marketing and communications Senior Consultant Kim Knight, and then waiting, in a back room, for Biden’s arrival.

That’s when she started to feel a little rattled.

“I panicked a little bit to myself, with myself, all by myself, in my head. I said, ‘Tameka, your heart is beating really fast. Stop it. You don’t want to embarrass Ohio State.’”

She steadied herself. Some light conversation with Beatty put her at ease. Biden posed with her for a picture and thanked her for her work with patients, and that helped too. She thought about her Ohio State family, and how her colleagues had applauded her when they found out where she was headed, and how out there in the audience were a bunch of familiar faces, including Chief Clinical Officer Andy Thomas, one of the people who’d helped train her when she first walked through Ohio State’s doors.

And while her heart continued to race, she found herself comforted when she, Beatty and Biden all lined up to head to the podium. 

“OK, Tameka,” Biden said. “I’m following you.”

• President Joe Biden paid a special visit to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Read more

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Dr. Andrew Thomas and his decades of leadership experience at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have been vital in the state’s fight against COVID-19.

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Dozens of other Ohio National Guardsmen have been sent to assist in non-clinical roles, including environmental services, nutrition services and patient transportation. And more are expected in the coming weeks.

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Presidential Speeches

March 1, 2022: state of the union address, about this speech.

March 01, 2022

President Joe Biden delivers his first State of the Union address. As is typical for State of the Union addresses, his speech covers many topics. He begins with a pledge to defend the country of Ukraine from the Russian invasion and details the steps the United States has taken with its NATO allies to thwart President Vladimir Putin of Russia. He then talks about the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts that the US government has taken to help the American people. He also advocates for lower prescription drug prices, especially for insulin, and lays out his plan to help support American workers and businesses. 

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SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI: Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States. 

THE PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Justices of the Supreme Court. My fellow Americans.  

Last year COVID-19 kept us apart. This year we are finally together again. 

Tonight, we meet as Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. But most importantly as Americans. 

With a duty to one another to the American people to the Constitution. 

And with an unwavering resolve that freedom will always triumph over tyranny. 

Six days ago, Russia’s Vladimir Putin sought to shake the foundations of the free world thinking he could make it bend to his menacing ways. But he badly miscalculated. 

He thought he could roll into Ukraine and the world would roll over. Instead he met a wall of strength he never imagined. 

He met the Ukrainian people. 

From President Zelenskyy to every Ukrainian, their fearlessness, their courage, their determination, inspires the world. 

Groups of citizens blocking tanks with their bodies. Everyone from students to retirees, teachers turned soldiers defending their homeland. 

In this struggle as President Zelenskyy said in his speech to the European Parliament “Light will win over darkness.” The Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States is here tonight. 

Let each of us here tonight in this Chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world. 

Please rise if you are able and show that, Yes, we the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people. 

Throughout our history, we’ve learned this lesson when dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos.   

They keep moving.   

And the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising.   

That’s why the NATO Alliance was created to secure peace and stability in Europe after World War 2. 

The United States is a member along with 29 other nations. 

It matters. American diplomacy matters. American resolve matters. 

Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked. 

He rejected repeated efforts at diplomacy. 

He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. 

And he thought he could divide us at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready. Here is what we did.   

We prepared extensively and carefully. 

We spent months building a coalition of other freedom-loving nations from Europe and the Americas to Asia and Africa to confront Putin. 

I spent countless hours unifying our European allies. We shared with the world in advance what we knew Putin was planning and precisely how he would try to falsely justify his aggression.  

We countered Russia’s lies with truth.   

And now that he has acted, the free world is holding him accountable. 

Along with twenty-seven members of the European Union including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and many others, even Switzerland. 

We are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than ever. 

Together with our allies, we are right now enforcing powerful economic sanctions. 

We are cutting off Russia’s largest banks from the international financial system.  

Preventing Russia’s central bank from defending the Russian Ruble, making Putin’s $630 Billion “war fund” worthless.   

We are choking off Russia’s access to technology that will sap its economic strength and weaken its military for years to come.  

Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime, no more. 

The US Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs.  

We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains. 

And tonight, I am announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American air space to all Russian flights—further isolating Russia and adding an additional squeeze on their economy. The Ruble has lost 30 percent of its value. 

The Russian stock market has lost 40 percent of its value and trading remains suspended. Russia’s economy is reeling, and Putin alone is to blame. 

Together with our allies, we are providing support to the Ukrainians in their fight for freedom. Military assistance. Economic assistance. Humanitarian assistance. 

We are giving more than $1 Billion in direct assistance to Ukraine. 

And we will continue to aid the Ukrainian people as they defend their country and to help ease their suffering.  

Let me be clear, our forces are not engaged and will not engage in conflict with Russian forces in Ukraine.  

Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies—in the event that Putin decides to keep moving west.  

For that purpose, we’ve mobilized American ground forces, air squadrons, and ship deployments to protect NATO countries including Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. 

As I have made crystal clear, the United States and our Allies will defend every inch of territory of NATO countries with the full force of our collective power.  

And we remain clear-eyed. The Ukrainians are fighting back with pure courage. But the next few days weeks, months, will be hard on them.  

Putin has unleashed violence and chaos. But while he may make gains on the battlefield, he will pay a continuing high price over the long run. 

And a proud Ukrainian people, who have known 30 years of independence, have repeatedly shown that they will not tolerate anyone who tries to take their country backwards.  

To all Americans, I will be honest with you, as I’ve always promised. A Russian dictator, invading a foreign country, has costs around the world. 

And I’m taking robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at Russia’s economy. And I will use every tool at our disposal to protect American businesses and consumers. 

Tonight, I can announce that the United States has worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves around the world.  

America will lead that effort, releasing 30 million barrels from our own Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  And we stand ready to do more if necessary, unified with our allies.  

These steps will help blunt gas prices here at home. And I know the news about what’s happening can seem alarming. 

But I want you to know that we are going to be okay. 

When the history of this era is written, Putin’s war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger. 

While it shouldn’t have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what’s at stake, now everyone sees it clearly. 

We see the unity among leaders of nations and a more unified Europe, a more unified West. And we see unity among the people who are gathering in cities in large crowds around the world, even in Russia, to demonstrate their support for Ukraine.  

In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security. 

This is a real test. It’s going to take time. So let us continue to draw inspiration from the iron will of the Ukrainian people. 

To our fellow Ukrainian Americans who forge a deep bond that connects our two nations, we stand with you. 

Putin may circle Kyiv with tanks, but he will never gain the hearts and souls of the Ukrainian people. 

He will never extinguish their love of freedom. He will never weaken the resolve of the free world. 

We meet tonight in an America that has lived through two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced. 

The pandemic has been punishing. 

And so many families are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to keep up with the rising cost of food, gas, housing, and so much more. 

I understand. 

I remember when my dad had to leave our home in Scranton, Pennsylvania to find work. 

I grew up in a family where if the price of food went up, you felt it. 

That’s why one of the first things I did as President was fight to pass the American Rescue Plan.  

Because people were hurting. We needed to act, and we did. 

Few pieces of legislation have done more in a critical moment in our history to lift us out of crisis. 

It fueled our efforts to vaccinate the nation and combat COVID-19. It delivered immediate economic relief for tens of millions of Americans.  

Helped put food on their table, keep a roof over their heads, and cut the cost of health insurance. 

And as my dad used to say, it gave people a little breathing room. 

And unlike the $2-trillion tax cut passed in the previous administration that benefitted the top 1 percent of Americans, the American Rescue Plan helped working people—and left no one behind. 

And it worked. It created jobs. Lots of jobs. 

In fact—our economy created over 6.5 million new jobs just last year, more jobs created in one year than ever before in the history of America. 

Our economy grew at a rate of 5.7 percent last year, the strongest growth in nearly 40 years, the first step in bringing fundamental change to an economy that hasn’t worked for the working people of this nation for too long.  

For the past 40 years, we were told that if we gave tax breaks to those at the very top, the benefits would trickle down to everyone else. 

But that trickle-down theory led to weaker economic growth, lower wages, bigger deficits, and the widest gap between those at the top and everyone else in nearly a century. 

Vice President Harris and I ran for office with a new economic vision for America. 

Invest in America. Educate Americans. Grow the workforce. Build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.  

Because we know that when the middle class grows, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy do very well. 

America used to have the best roads, bridges, and airports on Earth. 

Now our infrastructure is ranked 13 th  in the world. 

We won’t be able to compete for the jobs of the 21 st  Century if we don’t fix that. 

That’s why it was so important to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—the most sweeping investment to rebuild America in history. 

This was a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank the members of both parties who worked to make it happen. 

We’re done talking about infrastructure weeks. 

We’re going to have an infrastructure decade. 

It is going to transform America and put us on a path to win the economic competition of the 21st Century that we face with the rest of the world—particularly with China.  

As I’ve told Xi Jinping, it is never a good bet to bet against the American people. 

We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America. 

And we’ll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of the climate crisis and promote environmental justice. 

We’ll build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations, begin to replace poisonous lead pipes—so every child—and every American—has clean water to drink at home and at school, provide affordable high-speed internet for every American—urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities. 

4,000 projects have already been announced. 

And tonight, I’m announcing that this year we will start fixing over 65,000 miles of highway and 1,500 bridges in disrepair. 

When we use taxpayer dollars to rebuild America—we are going to Buy American: buy American products to support American jobs. 

The federal government spends about $600 Billion a year to keep the country safe and secure. 

There’s been a law on the books for almost a century to make sure taxpayers’ dollars support American jobs and businesses. 

Every Administration says they’ll do it, but we are actually doing it. 

We will buy American to make sure everything from the deck of an aircraft carrier to the steel on highway guardrails are made in America. 

But to compete for the best jobs of the future, we also need to level the playing field with China and other competitors. 

That’s why it is so important to pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act sitting in Congress that will make record investments in emerging technologies and American manufacturing. 

Let me give you one example of why it’s so important to pass it. 

If you travel 20 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, you’ll find 1,000 empty acres of land. 

It won’t look like much, but if you stop and look closely, you’ll see a “Field of dreams,” the ground on which America’s future will be built. 

This is where Intel, the American company that helped build Silicon Valley, is going to build its $20 billion semiconductor “mega site.” 

Up to eight state-of-the-art factories in one place, 10,000 new good-paying jobs. 

Some of the most sophisticated manufacturing in the world to make computer chips the size of a fingertip that power the world and our everyday lives. 

Smartphones. The Internet. Technology we have yet to invent. 

But that’s just the beginning. 

Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, who is here tonight, told me they are ready to increase their investment from $20 billion to $100 billion. 

That would be one of the biggest investments in manufacturing in American history. 

And all they’re waiting for is for you to pass this bill. 

So let’s not wait any longer. Send it to my desk. I’ll sign it.  

And we will really take off. 

And Intel is not alone. 

There’s something happening in America. 

Just look around and you’ll see an amazing story. 

The rebirth of the pride that comes from stamping products “Made in America.” The revitalization of American manufacturing.   

Companies are choosing to build new factories here, when just a few years ago, they would have built them overseas. 

That’s what is happening. Ford is investing $11 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs across the country. 

GM is making the largest investment in its history—$7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan. 

All told, we created 369,000 new manufacturing jobs in America just last year. 

Powered by people I’ve met like JoJo Burgess, from generations of union steelworkers from Pittsburgh, who’s here with us tonight. 

As Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown says, “It’s time to bury the label “Rust Belt.” 

It’s time. 

But with all the bright spots in our economy, record job growth and higher wages, too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills.  

Inflation is robbing them of the gains they might otherwise feel. 

I get it. That’s why my top priority is getting prices under control. 

Look, our economy roared back faster than most predicted, but the pandemic meant that businesses had a hard time hiring enough workers to keep up production in their factories. 

The pandemic also disrupted global supply chains. 

When factories close, it takes longer to make goods and get them from the warehouse to the store, and prices go up. 

Look at cars. 

Last year, there weren’t enough semiconductors to make all the cars that people wanted to buy. 

And guess what, prices of automobiles went up. 

So—we have a choice. 

One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer.  

I have a better plan to fight inflation. 

Lower your costs, not your wages. 

Make more cars and semiconductors in America. 

More infrastructure and innovation in America. 

More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. 

More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. 

And instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America. 

Economists call it “increasing the productive capacity of our economy.” 

I call it building a better America. 

My plan to fight inflation will lower your costs and lower the deficit. 

Seventeen Nobel laureates in economics say my plan will ease long-term inflationary pressures. Top business leaders and most Americans support my plan. And here’s the plan: 

First—cut the cost of prescription drugs. Just look at insulin. One in ten Americans has diabetes. In Virginia, I met a 13-year-old boy named Joshua Davis.  

He and his dad both have Type 1 diabetes, which means they need insulin every day. Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make.  

But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his dad up to 30 times more. I spoke with Joshua’s mom. 

Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin and have no idea how you’re going to pay for it.  

What it does to your dignity, your ability to look your child in the eye, to be the parent you expect to be. 

Joshua is here with us tonight. Yesterday was his birthday. Happy birthday, buddy.  

For Joshua, and for the 200,000 other young people with Type 1 diabetes, let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so everyone can afford it.  

Drug companies will still do very well. And while we’re at it let Medicare negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, like the VA already does. 

Look, the American Rescue Plan is helping millions of families on Affordable Care Act plans save $2,400 a year on their health care premiums. Let’s close the coverage gap and make those savings permanent. 

Second—cut energy costs for families an average of $500 a year by combatting climate change.  

Let’s provide investments and tax credits to weatherize your homes and businesses to be energy efficient and you get a tax credit;  

Double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind, and so much more;  

Lower the price of electric vehicles, saving you another $80 a month because you’ll never have to pay at the gas pump again. 

Third—cut the cost of child care. Many families pay up to $14,000 a year for child care per child.  

Middle-class and working families shouldn’t have to pay more than 7 percent of their income for care of young children.  

My plan will cut the cost in half for most families and help parents, including millions of women, who left the workforce during the pandemic because they couldn’t afford child care, to be able to get back to work. 

My plan doesn’t stop there. It also includes home and long-term care. More affordable housing. And Pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old.  

All of these will lower costs. 

And under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in new taxes. Nobody.  

The one thing all Americans agree on is that the tax system is not fair. We have to fix it.  

I’m not looking to punish anyone. But let’s make sure corporations and the wealthiest Americans start paying their fair share. 

Just last year, 55 Fortune 500 corporations earned $40 billion in profits and paid zero dollars in federal income tax.  

That’s simply not fair. That’s why I’ve proposed a 15-percent minimum tax rate for corporations. 

We got more than 130 countries to agree on a global minimum tax rate so companies can’t get out of paying their taxes at home by shipping jobs and factories overseas. 

That’s why I’ve proposed closing loopholes so the very wealthy don’t pay a lower tax rate than a teacher or a firefighter.  

So that’s my plan. It will grow the economy and lower costs for families. 

So what are we waiting for? Let’s get this done. And while you’re at it, confirm my nominees to the Federal Reserve, which plays a critical role in fighting inflation.  

My plan will not only lower costs to give families a fair shot, it will lower the deficit. 

The previous Administration not only ballooned the deficit with tax cuts for the very wealthy and corporations, it undermined the watchdogs whose job was to keep pandemic relief funds from being wasted. 

But in my administration, the watchdogs have been welcomed back. 

We’re going after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans.  

And tonight, I’m announcing that the Justice Department will name a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud. 

By the end of this year, the deficit will be down to less than half what it was before I took office.  

The only president ever to cut the deficit by more than one trillion dollars in a single year. 

Lowering your costs also means demanding more competition. 

I’m a capitalist, but capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. 

It’s exploitation—and it drives up prices. 

When corporations don’t have to compete, their profits go up, your prices go up, and small businesses and family farmers and ranchers go under. 

We see it happening with ocean carriers moving goods in and out of America. 

During the pandemic, these foreign-owned companies raised prices by as much as 1,000 percent and made record profits. 

Tonight, I’m announcing a crackdown on these companies overcharging American businesses and consumers. 

And as Wall Street firms take over more nursing homes, quality in those homes has gone down and costs have gone up.  

That ends on my watch. 

Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve and expect. 

We’ll also cut costs and keep the economy going strong by giving workers a fair shot, provide more training and apprenticeships, hire them based on their skills not degrees. 

Let’s pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and paid leave.  

Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and extend the Child Tax Credit, so no one has to raise a family in poverty. 

Let’s increase Pell Grants and increase our historic support of HBCUs, and invest in what Jill—our First Lady who teaches full-time—calls America’s best-kept secret: community colleges. 

And let’s pass the PRO Act when a majority of workers want to form a union—they shouldn’t be stopped.  

When we invest in our workers, when we build the economy from the bottom up and the middle out together, we can do something we haven’t done in a long time: build a better America. 

For more than two years, COVID-19 has impacted every decision in our lives and the life of the nation. 

And I know you’re tired, frustrated, and exhausted. 

But I also know this. 

Because of the progress we’ve made, because of your resilience and the tools we have, tonight I can say we are moving forward safely, back to more normal routines.  

We’ve reached a new moment in the fight against COVID-19, with severe cases down to a level not seen since last July.  

Just a few days ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—the CDC—issued new mask guidelines. 

Under these new guidelines, most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free.   

And based on the projections, more of the country will reach that point across the next couple of weeks. 

Thanks to the progress we have made this past year, COVID-19 need no longer control our lives.  

I know some are talking about “living with COVID-19.” Tonight I say that we will never just accept living with COVID-19. 

We will continue to combat the virus as we do other diseases. And because this is a virus that mutates and spreads, we will stay on guard. 

Here are four common sense steps as we move forward safely.  

First, stay protected with vaccines and treatments. We know how incredibly effective vaccines are. If you’re vaccinated and boosted, you have the highest degree of protection. 

We will never give up on vaccinating more Americans. Now, I know parents with kids under 5 are eager to see a vaccine authorized for their children. 

The scientists are working hard to get that done and we’ll be ready with plenty of vaccines when they do. 

We’re also ready with anti-viral treatments. If you get COVID-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90 percent.  

We’ve ordered more of these pills than anyone in the world. And Pfizer is working overtime to get us 1 million pills this month and more than double that next month.  

And we’re launching the “Test to Treat” initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they’re positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.  

If you’re immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments and free high-quality masks. 

We’re leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone’s needs as we move forward. 

And on testing, we have made hundreds of millions of tests available for you to order for free.   

Even if you already ordered free tests tonight, I am announcing that you can order more from covidtests.gov starting next week. 

Second—we must prepare for new variants. Over the past year, we’ve gotten much better at detecting new variants. 

If necessary, we’ll be able to deploy new vaccines within 100 days instead of many more months or years.  

And, if Congress provides the funds we need, we’ll have new stockpiles of tests, masks, and pills ready if needed. 

I cannot promise a new variant won’t come. But I can promise you we’ll do everything within our power to be ready if it does.  

Third—we can end the shutdown of schools and businesses. We have the tools we need. 

It’s time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again. People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office.   

We’re doing that here in the federal government. The vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person. 

Our schools are open. Let’s keep it that way. Our kids need to be in school. 

And with 75 percent of adult Americans fully vaccinated and hospitalizations down by 77 percent, most Americans can remove their masks, return to work, stay in the classroom, and move forward safely. 

We achieved this because we provided free vaccines, treatments, tests, and masks. 

Of course, continuing this costs money. 

I will soon send Congress a request. 

The vast majority of Americans have used these tools and may want to again, so I expect Congress to pass it quickly.   

Fourth, we will continue vaccinating the world.     

We’ve sent 475 million vaccine doses to 112 countries, more than any other nation. 

And we won’t stop. 

We have lost so much to COVID-19. Time with one another. And worst of all, so much loss of life. 

Let’s use this moment to reset. Let’s stop looking at COVID-19 as a partisan dividing line and see it for what it is: A God-awful disease.  

Let’s stop seeing each other as enemies, and start seeing each other for who we really are: Fellow Americans.  

We can’t change how divided we’ve been. But we can change how we move forward—on COVID-19 and other issues we must face together. 

I recently visited the New York City Police Department days after the funerals of Officer Wilbert Mora and his partner, Officer Jason Rivera. 

They were responding to a 9-1-1 call when a man shot and killed them with a stolen gun. 

Officer Mora was 27 years old. 

Officer Rivera was 22. 

Both Dominican Americans who’d grown up on the same streets they later chose to patrol as police officers. 

I spoke with their families and told them that we are forever in debt for their sacrifice, and we will carry on their mission to restore the trust and safety every community deserves. 

I’ve worked on these issues a long time. 

I know what works: Investing in crime prevention and community police officers who’ll walk the beat, who’ll know the neighborhood, and who can restore trust and safety. 

So let’s not abandon our streets. Or choose between safety and equal justice. 

Let’s come together to protect our communities, restore trust, and hold law enforcement accountable. 

That’s why the Justice Department required body cameras, banned chokeholds, and restricted no-knock warrants for its officers. 

That’s why the American Rescue Plan provided $350 billion that cities, states, and counties can use to hire more police and invest in proven strategies like community violence interruption—trusted messengers breaking the cycle of violence and trauma and giving young people hope.  

We should all agree: The answer is not to Defund the police. The answer is to FUND the police with the resources and training they need to protect our communities. 

I ask Democrats and Republicans alike: Pass my budget and keep our neighborhoods safe.  

And I will keep doing everything in my power to crack down on gun trafficking and ghost guns you can buy online and make at home—they have no serial numbers and can’t be traced. 

And I ask Congress to pass proven measures to reduce gun violence. Pass universal background checks. Why should anyone on a terrorist list be able to purchase a weapon? 

Ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. 

Repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can’t be sued. 

These laws don’t infringe on the Second Amendment. They save lives. 

The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote—and to have it counted. And it’s under assault. 

In state after state, new laws have been passed, not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert entire elections. 

We cannot let this happen. 

Tonight. I call on the Senate to: Pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. And while you’re at it, pass the Disclose Act so Americans can know who is funding our elections. 

Tonight, I’d like to honor someone who has dedicated his life to serve this country: Justice Stephen Breyer—an Army veteran, Constitutional scholar, and retiring Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Breyer, thank you for your service. 

One of the most serious constitutional responsibilities a President has is nominating someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court. 

And I did that 4 days ago, when I nominated Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. One of our nation’s top legal minds, who will continue Justice Breyer’s legacy of excellence. 

A former top litigator in private practice. A former federal public defender. And from a family of public-school educators and police officers. A consensus builder. Since she’s been nominated, she’s received a broad range of support—from the Fraternal Order of Police to former judges appointed by Democrats and Republicans. 

And if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure the border and fix the immigration system. 

We can do both. At our border, we’ve installed new technology like cutting-edge scanners to better detect drug smuggling.  

We’ve set up joint patrols with Mexico and Guatemala to catch more human traffickers.  

We’re putting in place dedicated immigration judges so families fleeing persecution and violence can have their cases heard faster. 

We’re securing commitments and supporting partners in South and Central America to host more refugees and secure their own borders. 

We can do all this while keeping lit the torch of liberty that has led generations of immigrants to this land—my forefathers and so many of yours. 

Provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers. 

Revise our laws so businesses have the workers they need and families don’t wait decades to reunite. 

It’s not only the right thing to do—it’s the economically smart thing to do. 

That’s why immigration reform is supported by everyone from labor unions to religious leaders to the US Chamber of Commerce. 

Let’s get it done once and for all. 

Advancing liberty and justice also requires protecting the rights of women. 

The constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade—standing precedent for half a century—is under attack as never before. 

If we want to go forward—not backward—we must protect access to health care. Preserve a woman’s right to choose. And let’s continue to advance maternal health care in America. 

And for our LGBTQ+ Americans, let’s finally get the bipartisan Equality Act to my desk. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong. 

As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your President, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential. 

While it often appears that we never agree, that isn’t true. I signed 80 bipartisan bills into law last year. From preventing government shutdowns to protecting Asian-Americans from still-too-common hate crimes to reforming military justice. 

And soon, we’ll strengthen the Violence Against Women Act that I first wrote three decades ago. It is important for us to show the nation that we can come together and do big things. 

So tonight I’m offering a Unity Agenda for the Nation. Four big things we can do together.  

First, beat the opioid epidemic. 

There is so much we can do. Increase funding for prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery.  

Get rid of outdated rules that stop doctors from prescribing treatments. And stop the flow of illicit drugs by working with state and local law enforcement to go after traffickers. 

If you’re suffering from addiction, know you are not alone. I believe in recovery, and I celebrate the 23 million Americans in recovery. 

Second, let’s take on mental health. Especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down.  

The American Rescue Plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning.  

I urge every parent to make sure your school does just that. And we can all play a part—sign up to be a tutor or a mentor. 

Children were also struggling before the pandemic. Bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media. 

As Frances Haugen, who is here with us tonight, has shown, we must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit. 

It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children. 

And let’s get all Americans the mental health services they need. More people they can turn to for help, and full parity between physical and mental health care. 

Third, support our veterans. 

Veterans are the best of us. 

I’ve always believed that we have a sacred obligation to equip all those we send to war and care for them and their families when they come home. 

My administration is providing assistance with job training and housing, and now helping lower-income veterans get VA care debt-free.  

Our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan faced many dangers. 

One was stationed at bases and breathing in toxic smoke from “burn pits” that incinerated wastes of war—medical and hazard material, jet fuel, and more. 

When they came home, many of the world’s fittest and best trained warriors were never the same. 

Headaches. Numbness. Dizziness. 

A cancer that would put them in a flag-draped coffin. 

I know. 

One of those soldiers was my son Major Beau Biden. 

We don’t know for sure if a burn pit was the cause of his brain cancer, or the diseases of so many of our troops. 

But I’m committed to finding out everything we can. 

Committed to military families like Danielle Robinson from Ohio. 

The widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson.  

He was born a soldier. Army National Guard. Combat medic in Kosovo and Iraq. 

Stationed near Baghdad, just yards from burn pits the size of football fields. 

Heath’s widow Danielle is here with us tonight. They loved going to Ohio State football games. He loved building Legos with their daughter. 

But cancer from prolonged exposure to burn pits ravaged Heath’s lungs and body. 

Danielle says Heath was a fighter to the very end. 

He didn’t know how to stop fighting, and neither did she. 

Through her pain she found purpose to demand we do better. 

Tonight, Danielle—we are. 

The VA is pioneering new ways of linking toxic exposures to diseases, already helping more veterans get benefits. 

And tonight, I’m announcing we’re expanding eligibility to veterans suffering from nine respiratory cancers. 

I’m also calling on Congress: pass a law to make sure veterans devastated by toxic exposures in Iraq and Afghanistan finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they deserve. 

And fourth, let’s end cancer as we know it. 

This is personal to me and Jill, to Kamala, and to so many of you. 

Cancer is the #2 cause of death in America—second only to heart disease. 

Last month, I announced our plan to supercharge the Cancer Moonshot that President Obama asked me to lead six years ago. 

Our goal is to cut the cancer death rate by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, turn more cancers from death sentences into treatable diseases.  

More support for patients and families. 

To get there, I call on Congress to fund ARPA-H, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. 

It’s based on DARPA—the Defense Department project that led to the Internet, GPS, and so much more.  

ARPA-H will have a singular purpose—to drive breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and more. 

A unity agenda for the nation. 

We can do this. 

My fellow Americans—tonight, we have gathered in a sacred space—the citadel of our democracy. 

In this Capitol, generation after generation, Americans have debated great questions amid great strife, and have done great things. 

We have fought for freedom, expanded liberty, defeated totalitarianism and terror. 

And built the strongest, freest, and most prosperous nation the world has ever known. 

Now is the hour. Our moment of responsibility. Our test of resolve and conscience, of history itself. 

It is in this moment that our character is formed. Our purpose is found. Our future is forged. 

Well, I know this nation. We will meet the test. To protect freedom and liberty, to expand fairness and opportunity. 

We will save democracy. 

As hard as these times have been, I am more optimistic about America today than I have been my whole life. 

Because I see the future that is within our grasp. 

Because I know there is simply nothing beyond our capacity. 

We are the only nation on Earth that has always turned every crisis we have faced into an opportunity. 

The only nation that can be defined by a single word: possibilities. 

So on this night, in our 245 th  year as a nation, I have come to report on the State of the Union. 

And my report is this: the State of the Union is strong—because you, the American people, are strong. 

We are stronger today than we were a year ago. 

And we will be stronger a year from now than we are today. 

Now is our moment to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. 

And we will, as one people. 

One America. 

The United States of America. 

May God bless you all. May God protect our troops. 

More Joe Biden speeches

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How To Write A Presidential Speech

Katie Clower

The Importance of a Presidential Speech

Presidential speeches have been a prevalent and important part of our country’s society and culture since Washington’s inauguration in April of 1789 in which the first inaugural address, and presidential speech in general, was delivered. Since then, we as a country have beared witness to countless presidential and political speeches. Some have been moving, some inspirational and motivating, some heartbreaking and tear-jerking. Others have made us cringe out of anger, fear, or disappointment. Some have simply fallen flat, having been described as boring or awkward or unsettling.

Many presidential speeches are remembered and regarded to this day, despite how many decades or centuries ago they were delivered. Often, we remember and reflect on those which were the most special and important. But, in some cases the horribly written or delivered ones stick out in our minds, too. This writing guide is designed, in part, for those presidential or politician candidates and hopefuls to use as a tool to ensure their own speeches will be remembered and reflected on for years to come, for their positive messages and audience responses, not the opposite.

If you are not or do not plan to be a politician or president, do not stop reading! This guide is also written with the average person, even one with little to no political ties or aspirations, in mind. Public speech is a large aspect and topic of discussion in our society, one that has become critical to the presidential process. As such, many of us may be fascinated by and curious about the process of constructing and delivering a successful presidential speech. This guide will convey all of this information via data and analyses of previous both renowned and failed presidential speeches, deductions of what it was that made them so great or so catastrophic, syntheses of expert research and findings on the topic, and more. It does so in a casual, easy-to-follow tone, further making it a read for all.

Another reason this guide is applicable to everyone is because the speech-making tips and techniques shared throughout the text are true for not just political speech, but any form. Everyone has to deliver pitches, speeches, or presentations at some point in their lives or careers. The conclusion section emphasizes how the information and advice shared in this guide can apply to and help with all other forms of speech writing and delivering. With all of this in mind, this guide is meant for truly anyone who wants to take the time to read and be informed.

Goals of the Speech

Presidential speeches have become increasingly important over time as a means to connect with and appeal to the people in order to articulate and drive forward presidential goals, deliver or reflect on tragic or positive news, and more. As Teten put it in his study, “speeches are the core of the modern presidency” (334). He finds that while “in the past, speechmaking, as well as public appeal in the content of speeches, was not only infrequent but discouraged due to precedent and technology,” today it is one of the most important and most frequently utilized presidential tools (Teten, 334). Allison Mcnearney states that “even in an 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.” These findings make perfecting this method of communication with the people even more crucial to master. One part of doing so requires keeping in mind what the main, general goals of these speeches are.

Connection to Audience

While presidents and politicians deliver many different types of speeches which often have contrasting tones and messages depending on the occasion, there is always an exigence for politicians to make efforts to connect with their audience. This in turn results in a more positive audience perception and reaction to both the president and his speech. Later in the guide, specific rhetorical and linguistic strategies and moves will be discussed which have proven effective in fostering a connection with audience members through speech.

This overall notion of establishing connection works to break down barriers and make the audience feel more comfortable with and trusting of the speech giver. McNearney points to FDR as a president who successfully connected with the people, largely, she claims, through his fireside chats. The fireside chats exemplified a president making use of the media for the first time “to present a very carefully crafted message that was unfiltered and unchallenged by the press” (McNearney). Today, we often see our presidents use Twitter as a media avenue to connect and present their “unfiltered” version of a policy or goal.

Lasting Message

Another central and overarching goal presidents and politicians should keep in mind when writing and delivering a speech is to make it lasting and memorable. It is challenging to predict what exactly will resonate with people in a way that makes a speech long remembered. Many of the various rhetorical and linguistic techniques outlined in section III have helped former presidents deliver speeches that have become known as some of “the greats.”

Sometimes it is a matter of taking risks with a speech. Martin Luther King and Barack Obama are among some of the most powerful speech-givers our country has seen. Both men took risks in many of their speeches. Mcnearney points to Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech as being “risky” in its focus and discussion on racial tensions in the country, an often avoided or untouched conversation. But, the speech was well-received and well-remembered, proving this risk was worth it.

What to Do: Rhetorical and Linguistic Moves

A conjunction of previous findings from various scholars and my own research make up this section to portray the effective rhetorical and linguistic strategies that have been employed in successful presidential speech.

Emotive Language

In section II one of the central goals discussed in a presidential speech is to appeal to one’s audience . An effective way to do so is through emotive language and general emotional appeal. In their study, Erisen et al. note the value of “strik[ing] an emotional chord with the public” as a means to gain public support, increase public awareness, and overall aid presidents in pursuing their political agendas (469). They work to prove the effectiveness of this strategy through an analysis of an Obama speech, delivered during a time of growing economic crisis in the country.

Erisen et al. identify Obama’s implementation of both emotional and optimistic tones as rhetorical moves to connect with and appeal to his audience of constituents. The success of his use of emotionally-related rhetorical strategies are evident findings that came out of a survey that “reported that 68% of speech-watchers had a ‘positive reaction’ and that 85% felt ‘more optimistic’ about the direction the country was heading” (Erisen et al., 470). Stewart et al. also find that “more emotionally evocative messages… lead to higher levels of affective response by viewers” (125). This clear data indicates the power connecting with an audience through emotion can have on their response and future outlook.

Optimistic Tone

Along with Obama’s “optimistic tone” described above, others have employed what has been described as both hopeful and reassuring tones as rhetorical moves to appeal to an audience. Two of the ten “most important modern presidential speeches,” as selected by the nonpartisan affiliated scholars of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, are JFK’s address on the space effort and FDR’s first inaugural address (McNearney). JFK’s address was successful and well-received because of the hopeful tone he employs when discussing the goal to land a man on the moon. He gave the people an optimistic perspective on this lofty goal, making “Americans feel like there was nothing we couldn’t do” (McNearney). In his inaugural address, Roosevelt too pairs bold claims with optimism and reassurance to his audience.

Inclusive Language

Another found strategy utilized by presidents to appeal to their audience through speech is the use of inclusive language. In Teten’s study, he looks at the use of the words “we” and “our”, specifically, in presidential State of the Union Addressesses over time. His findings revealed a steady increase in these words within the speeches over time. The usage of these “public address and inclusion words” create an appeal with presidents’ audiences because they help presidents in creating “an imagined community in which the president and his listeners coexist on a level plane (Teten, 339-342). These findings illustrate the importance of not presenting oneself as an omnipotent power and leader, but rather a normal citizen of the country like all of those watching. Identifying oneself with the audience this way breaks down any barriers present.

Persuasive Language

Persuasion is another often-used rhetorical strategy, especially during presidential campaigns. In their study about “language intensity,” Clementson et al. look at the use of “persuasive language” as a strategy presidential candidates employ during their campaigns. They assert that “candidates seem to vary their language as they try to persuade audiences to perceive them favorably” (Clementson et al., 592). In referring to this persuasive rhetorical strategy, they utilize the term “problem-solution structure” as one which is often well-received by an audience. People appreciate hearing exactly how a president or presidential candidate plans to fix a problem at hand.

What Not to Do

  As stated earlier, while there are many speeches that are excellently written and delivered, there, too, are many speeches that flop. Alexander Meddings wrote an article which spotlights a number of political speeches which he deems some of the “worst” in modern history. In comparing what makes a good versus a bad speech he asserts that “a bad speech must, by definition, be flat, garbled and publicly damaging either for the speaker or for the cause they’re seeking to promote” (Meddings). In looking at some of the characteristics that make up some of the “worst” speeches, this section will highlight what not to do in the process of working to compose and deliver a successful speech.

The research demonstrates that length of speech actually proves very important. In Teten’s study, in addition to looking at inclusive language over time in presidential State of the Union Addresses, he also graphically measured the length, specifically number of words, of the addresses across time. His results proved interesting. There was a rise in length of these speeches from the first one delivered to those delivered in the early 1900s and then there was a sudden and far drop. There was a movement around the time of the drop to make speeches more concise, and it is clear, since they have remained much shorter as time has gone on, this choice was well-received.

Meddings alludes to this in his piece, describing both William Henry Harrison’s presidential inaugural address and Andrew Johnson’s vice-presidential inaugural address as some of the worst speeches, largely because of how dragged out they were. A very important aspect of speech-giving is capturing the audience’s attention, and this cannot be accomplished through a lengthy, uninteresting oration.

Lying And/or Contradiction

Though it should be fairly obvious that one should not lie in a speech, for the consequences will be great, there have been a number of presidents and politicians who have done so. Regan, Clinton, and Trump are all among the presidents and politicians who have made false statements or promises within speeches. Though it is understandable that a politician would want to speak towards what he or she knows will resonate and appeal to the audience, doing so in a false or manipulative way is not commendable and will lead to much greater backlash than just being honest.

Word Choice

Some politicians have been caught lying in speeches when trying to cover up a controversy or scandal. Though one should try to avoid any sort of controversy, a president or person in power has to expect to have to talk on some difficult or delicate topics. This is where careful word choice becomes vital. Often the way to ensure a speech is written eloquently, carefully, and inoffensively is through various rounds of editing from a number of different eyes.

Applications to All Forms of Speech-Giving

This guide should prove helpful for not only those looking to run for office, but for everyone. The various strategies and techniques given within this guide are, for the most part, broad enough that they can be applied to any form of speech-giving or presenting. We will all have to give a speech, a toast, a presentation, and countless other forms of written or oral works in our lives. Refer to this guide when doing so.

In terms of political or presidential speech specifically, though, in a sense there is not a clear formula for how to write and deliver them. In studies looking at various different successful presidential speeches, orators, and speechwriters, it is clear they all have their own unique style and form that works for them. But, the tips provided in this guide will certainly work to help to create a proficient and successful political speech writer and orator.

Works Cited

Clementson, David E., Paola Pascual-Ferr, and Michael J. Beatty. “When does a Presidential Candidate seem Presidential and Trustworthy? Campaign Messages through the Lens of Language Expectancy Theory.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 46.3 (2016): 592-617.  ProQuest. Web. 10 Dec. 2019.

Erisen, Cengiz, and José D. Villalotbos. “Exploring the Invocation of Emotion in Presidential Speeches.” Contemporary Politics , vol. 20, no. 4, 2014, pp. 469–488., doi:10.1080/13569775.2014.968472.

McNearney, Allison. “10 Modern Presidential Speeches Every American Should Know.”

History.com , A&E Television Networks, 16 Feb. 2018, www.history.com/news/10-modern-presidential-speeches-every-american-should-know.

Meddings, Alexander. “The 8 Worst Speeches in Modern Political History.”

HistoryCollection.co , 9 Nov. 2018, historycollection.co/8-worst-speeches-modern-political-history/7/.

Stewart, Patrick A., Bridget M. Waller, and James N. Schubert. “Presidential Speechmaking

Style: Emotional Response to Micro-Expressions of Facial Affect.” Motivation and Emotion 33.2 (2009): 125-35. ProQuest. Web. 1 Oct. 2019.

Teten, Ryan. “Evolution of the Modern Rhetorical Presidency: Presidential Presentation and

Development of the State of the Union Address.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 33.2 (2003): 333-46. ProQuest. Web. 30 Sep. 2019.

Writing Guides for (Almost) Every Occasion Copyright © 2020 by Katie Clower is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Write a Presidential Speech

Last Updated: May 19, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 116,961 times.

Are you running for president? There are some tried and true ways to write an effective campaign speech. Maybe you're running for school president or another office. You want your speech to be memorable and persuasive!

Presidential Speech Template

Opening the Presidential Speech

• You should make this theme simple enough that you can express it in one sentence.
• Make sure that you repeat your theme several times throughout your speech, especially in the beginning, middle, and end.

• You could start the speech with an anecdote, a quip or a strong quote. Don’t be afraid to offer a little humor, but it immediately clears what you would bring to the table. [3] X Research source
• When ending a speech, you could say: “If I am elected school president, I will focus on lengthening lunch hours, adding more student clubs, and reducing student fees.”

• If you’re running for a student position, review sample student campaign speeches. There are many of these templates online.

• For example, if your audience is concerned about the economy, and you have training in economics, mention it--especially if your opponents do not.
• Tell the audience an anecdote relating to what sets you apart. It will make it more memorable.

Developing the Presidential Speech

• The middle of your speech should be the longest because that's where most of your content lies.
• Don't slack off on the beginning and end of your speech. Even though they are shorter, they can make your speech memorable--or forgettable.

• You could open by saying something like: "Here are the three things we need to change."
• Be specific. Use statistics and human anecdotes to highlight the problem. However, be brief. You want to focus on solutions more than problems.

• Boil the speech down to 2 to 3 key issues that you plan to change. Be very specific when you outline your solutions.
• Expand on each of your key promises by detailing the problem and how you plan to address it specifically.
• Don’t make the middle of the speech too dry. Constantly reinforce your personality and theme throughout the details of your promises.

• Go with the flow. If you notice your audience getting ants, liven up your speech or end it early.
• Stick by the event's rules. Some events may require that your speech is only 5 minutes, while others want it to be at least 30 minutes.

• If you are talking about the Vietnam war, you can make yourself more relatable to younger generations by mentioning the soldiers who were no older than themselves.
• If you are running for high school president, say that you will ensure the administration listens to student wishes for a longer lunch break.

• If you are running for school president, mention things you’ve done that helped the school to make you seem more qualified.
• If you come from a coal mining family, and you are giving your speech in a blue-collar area, mention it! This will make you more relatable.

• For example, if you want people to join your campaign, ask them to vote for you. Be sure to thank them for their consideration as well.

Delivering the Presidential Speech

• Some speeches play to people’s fears and anger, but the best ones remain positive and play toward people’s optimism. People want to know how you will improve things.

• This is why broadcast writing is less dense than print writing, generally. When writing a speech, keep the sentences concise.
• Try to use one direct point per sentence. People can understand complex topics better when they are reading.

• You don’t need to fixate on proper grammar, punctuation, and so forth in a speech that will be given verbally (and presidential speeches are designed to be spoken).
• It’s more important to capture the cadences and colloquialisms of regular speech, while staying true to yourself.

• Ancient philosophers who perfected the art of rhetoric called this “pathos.” An appeal to the emotions.
• The philosophers believed that the core of any persuasive speech should be logos (an appeal to reason). However, they believed that speeches without pathos failed to move.

• Have a clear idea of what you want to say. Keep the finest details confined to notes so that you can refer to them if you need to.
• Remember that giving a speech is theater. You need to be dramatic and show passion, but you don’t want to stumble over words or look down like you’re reading it.

• They say that when people get in trouble, it’s usually because they went negative.

• The best place to include a joke is in the opening of your speech. Create a rapport with the audience and use a joke that is specific to the location.
• Stay away from any offensive jokes and make sure a joke is appropriate to the occasion.

• Show, don't tell. Show your telling points with vivid human stories or a relatable anecdote.

Expert Q&A

• Remember to have good posture while you're giving your speech. Thanks Helpful 13 Not Helpful 1
• If you don't win the election, just remember to be a good sport to everybody. Your opportunities in the future are more likely to become greater. Thanks Helpful 11 Not Helpful 1
• Make eye contact. It's important not to spend the entire speech looking down! Thanks Helpful 10 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://blog.prepscholar.com/good-persuasive-speech-topics
• ↑ Patrick Muñoz. Voice & Speech Coach. Expert Interview. 12 November 2019.
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6sm47j-Am4
• ↑ http://presidentialrhetoric.com/campaign2012/index.html
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/publicspeaking/chapter/17-3-organizing-persuasive-speeches/
• ↑ http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/writing-a-school-election-speech.html

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Introduction to Presidential Speech

Cindy Estrada introduced a speech by President Obama at the UAW-GM Center for Human Resources in Detroit. Ms. Estrada thanked the president for adding Flint, Michigan, with its water supply crisis.

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State of the Union address 2024: Watch live as President Joe Biden gives speech

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President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union address Thursday, his last before the November election.

Rep. Mike Johnson, who became the House speaker in October after Republicans ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and Vice President Kamala Harris will sit behind Biden during his speech.

The speech will start at 9 p.m. EST.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the youngest female senator, will deliver the Republican response to Biden’s speech. You can watch the GOP’s response on The Associated Press YouTube channel below .

Here’s how to watch Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday and what to know.

How to watch the State of the Union address?

You can watch the State of the Union address live on The AP YouTube channel above.

State of the Union 2024

President Joe Biden delivered his 2024 State of the Union address, hammering Republican lawmakers on immigration, tax policy and gun control. View our live coverage.

• What is the state of the Union? A look at the history of the address.
• The youngest female senator, Sen. Katie Britt, is giving the response to President Biden’s speech.
• The guest list for this year highlights a divide on abortion and immigration but offers some rare unity in some cases.

What time does the State of the Union address start tonight?

The speech starts at 9 p.m. EST.

Watch the Republican’s response to Biden’s speech

Britt will deliver the Republican’s response to Biden’s State of the Union address after Biden’s speech. Watch here.

Presidential Announcement Speech Introduction - June 16, 2015

Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Ivanka Trump. Welcome everybody. Today I have the honor of introducing a man who needs no introduction. His legend has been built and his accomplishments are too many to name. That man is my father. Most people strive their entire lives to achieve great success in a single field; my father has succeeded in many at the highest level and on a global scale. He's enjoyed success in a vast diversity of industries because the common denominator is him, his vision, his brilliance, his passion, his work ethic, and his refusal to take no for an answer. I've enjoyed the good fortune of working alongside my father for 10 years now and I've seen these principles in action daily. I remember him telling me when I was a little girl, “Ivanka if you're gonna be thinking anyway, you might as well be thinking big,” and that's how he approaches any task that he undertakes: he thinks big.

My father has employed tens of thousands of people throughout his career, and he has inspired them to do extraordinary things. He has a strength to make hard decisions and motivate those around him to achieve the impossible. He is an optimist who chases big dreams and sees potential where others do not. He leads by example and will outwork anyone in any room. My father is the opposite of politically correct. He says what he means and he means what he says. He is also the best negotiator I have ever met. Countless times I've stood by his side and watched him make deals that seemed impossible to get done. He has the discernment to understand what the other party needs and then to get exactly what he wants.

My father knows how to be a fierce opponent, but also how to be a very loyal friend. When it comes to building bridges he can do so figuratively, but also has the rare ability to do so literally, on time and under budget. Throughout his career, my father has been repeatedly called upon by local and federal government to step in and save long-stalled, grossly over budget public projects. Whether it's building a skating rink in the heart of Central Park, meticulously restoring the exterior facade of Grand Central Terminal, enabling the development of New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center, creating a championship public golf course for the city of New York, or redeveloping the iconic, but totally underutilized, old post office building on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of Washington DC.

My father succeeds time and time again where government has failed before him. I consider myself fortunate to have learned from the best, both as an entrepreneur and as a parent. My father is a man who is deeply grounded in tradition. He raised my siblings and me to work hard and to strive for excellence in all that we do. He taught us that we have a responsibility to make a positive contribution to society. Here today, my father is again leading me by example.

My generation finds itself at a crossroads. Our leadership has been mired in bureaucracy of its own creation. If we don't adapt politically and economically, our country will be left behind. To address the many challenges we face, we don't need talk, we need action, we need execution, we need someone who is bold and independent with a proven track record of successfully creating and building large and complex and complicated organizations, and in the process and labeling many, many Americans to better their lives.

I can tell you that there is no better person than my father to have in your corner when you're facing tough opponents or making hard decisions. He is battle tested. He is a dreamer, but perhaps more importantly, he is a doer. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you today a man who I have loved and respected my entire life, my father, Donald J Trump.

Neither the Catt Center nor Iowa State University is affiliated with any individual in the Archives or any political party. Inclusion in the Archives is not an endorsement by the center or the university.

'Watch them like hawks': Trump asks backers to become election workers

Donald Trump has spent years railing against state-level voting operations, targeting vote-by-mail options and spreading conspiracy theories about rigged results in battleground states.

This week, the presumptive 2024 Republican White House nominee doubled down on his election falsehoods and announced his campaign will lead a "historic effort" with the Republican National Committee and GOP state parties "to ensure that what happened in 2020 will never happen again."

The former president's latest comments came during his Wednesday campaign rally in Michigan, a critical swing state that Trump traveled to during a day off from his New York criminal trial over allegations surrounding payments to an adult film star to keep her quiet about an affair before the 2016 presidential election. Turning to the integrity of the 2024 election that Trump is trying to win to return to the White House, the Republican sought to portray Democrats as incompetent at anything but rigging elections and repeated false claims that votes were illegally counted the first time he faced off against now-President Joe Biden.   

"We're going to watch them like hawks," Trump said.

It wasn't just Trump who was personally talking about the push on Wednesday.

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

At the Michigan rally, flyers that read “Election Workers Needed” with a QR code to sign up hung on portable toilets set up for the crowd. The screens behind Trump directed his supporters to “Protect the Vote,” a reference to the Republican National Committee’s election integrity initiative. 

Pete Hoekstra, chair of the Michigan GOP, also reiterated calls for supporters to volunteer as poll workers during a speech introducing the ex-president.  

The actions appear to be part of the push between the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee to mobilize more than 100,000 volunteers in swing states to monitor ballot counts and prevent fraud.

“I've not done a deep dive into that but it seems like a pretty serious effort to me," Hoekstra, a former Trump-appointed U.S. ambassador and the ex-chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, later told the USA TODAY NETWORK about the initiative. "It looks like a very, very serious effort to me and well beyond, 'Hey, can you be a poll watcher on Election Day." 

But some have criticized the initiative as sparking potential voter intimidation. Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer described Trump as "a danger to the Constitution and a threat to our democracy," in a response to the comments.

The now-defunct House select committee that was tasked with investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol collected testimony from former Trump aides who said the former president's fans acted that day because they believed it’s what the then-president wanted them to do following Biden's 2020 election win.  

Trump now describes many of the people now in prison for their Jan. 6 acts as “patriots” and has said he would pardon them if reelected. 

The ex-president is also facing election interference charges brought by the Justice Department and has been accused of attempting to arrange a fake slate of electors in Michigan, Arizona and other battleground states in 2020. He's also been criminally charged in Georgia for his efforts in the Peach State following the 2020 election. In each of his criminal cases, Trump has pleaded not guilty.

Trump has long raised suspicion about voting in America . In 2016, his presidential campaign website recruited poll watchers to "Help Me Stop Crooked Hillary From Rigging This Election! Trump's longtime political operative Roger Stone also led a controversial non-profit group called "Stop the Steal" that was aimed at raising questions about the outcome of a race that Trump ultimately ended up winning in one of the biggest political upsets in U.S. history.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump has continued to spread false claims that seek to cast doubt about the security of American elections, while launching efforts aimed at combatting unsubstantiated instances of fraud.  

Alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Trump recently promoted legislation to  prevent noncitizens from voting , which is already illegal in federal elections.

In an interview with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday, Trump did not commit to accepting the results of Wisconsin's 2024 election if he loses.  

He instead offered a similar answer to when he was asked the same question ahead of the 2020 election he now refuses to accept: "If everything's honest.”  

Contributing: Erin Mansfield, Molly Beck, Alison Dirr USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Protesters and the President

Over the past week, thousands of students protesting the war in gaza have been arrested..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “New York Times,” I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

Free, free, Palestine!

Free, free Palestine!

Free, free, free Palestine!

Over the past week, what had begun as a smattering of pro-Palestinian protests on America’s college campuses exploded into a nationwide movement —

United, we’ll never be defeated!

— as students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments, and at times seized academic buildings.

[PROTESTERS CLAMORING]:

response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down —

Do not throw things at our officers. We will use chemical munitions that include gas.

— calling in local police to carry out mass detentions and arrests. From Arizona State —

In the name of the state of Arizona, I declare this gathering to be a violation of —

— to the University of Georgia —

— to City College of New York.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING, “BACK OFF”]:

As of Thursday, police had arrested 2,000 students on more than 40 campuses. A situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Look, it’s basically a matter of fairness. It’s a matter of what’s right. There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos.

Today, my colleagues Jonathan Wolfe and Peter Baker on a history-making week. It’s Friday, May 3.

Jonathan, as this tumultuous week on college campuses comes to an end, it feels like the most extraordinary scenes played out on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles, where you have been reporting. What is the story of how that protest started and ultimately became so explosive?

So late last week, pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles.

From the river to the sea!

Palestine will be free!

Palestine —

It was right in front of Royce Hall, which I don’t know if you are familiar with UCLA, but it’s a very famous, red brick building. It’s on all the brochures. And there was two things that stood out about this encampment. And the first thing was that they barricaded the encampment.

The encampment, complete with tents and barricades, has been set up in the middle of the Westwood campus. The protesters demand —

They have metal grates. They had wooden pallets. And they separated themselves from the campus.

This is kind of interesting. There are controlling access, as we’ve been talking about. They are trying to control who is allowed in, who is allowed out.

They sort of policed the area. So they only would let people that were part of their community, they said, inside.

I’m a UCLA student. I deserve to go here. We paid tuition. This is our school. And they’re not letting me walk in. Why can’t I go? Will you let me go in?

We’re not engaging with that.

Then you can move. Will you move?

And the second thing that stood out about this camp was that it immediately attracted pro-Israel counterprotesters.

And what did the leadership of UCLA say about all of this, the encampment and these counterprotesters?

So the University of California’s approach was pretty unique. They had a really hands-off approach. And they allowed the pro-Palestinian protesters to set up an encampment. They allowed the counterprotesters to happen. I mean, this is a public university, so anyone who wants to can just enter the campus.

So when do things start to escalate?

So there were definitely fights and scuffles through the weekend. But a turning point was really Sunday —

[SINGING IN HEBREW]:

— when this group called the Israeli American Council, they’re a nonprofit organization, organized a rally on campus. The Israeli American Council has really been against these pro-Palestinian protests. They say that they’re antisemitic. So this nonprofit group sets up a stage with a screen really just a few yards from the pro-Palestinian encampment.

We are grateful that this past Friday, the University of California, stated that they will continue to oppose any calls for boycott and divestment from Israel!

[PROTESTERS CHEERING]

And they host speakers and they held prayers.

Jewish students, you’re not alone! Oh, you’re not alone! We are right here with you! And we’re right here with you in until —

[WORDLESS SINGING]:

And then lots of other people start showing up. And the proximity between protesters and counterprotesters and even some agitators, makes it really clear that something was about to happen.

And what was that? What ended up happening?

On Monday night, a group of about 60 counterprotesters tried to breach the encampment there. And the campus police had to break it up. And things escalated again on Tuesday.

They stormed the barricades and it’s a complete riot.

[PROTESTER SHOUTING]:

Put it down! Put it down! Put it down!

I went to report on what happened just a few hours after it ended.

And I spoke to a lot of protesters. And I met one demonstrator, Marie.

Yeah, my first name is Marie. M-A-R-I-E. Last name, Salem.

And Marie described what happened.

So can you just tell me a little bit about what happened last night?

Last night, we were approached by over a hundred counterprotesters who were very mobilized and ready to break into camp. They proceeded to try to breach our barricades extremely violently.

Marie said it started getting out of hand when counterprotesters started setting off fireworks towards the camp.

They had bear spray. They had Mace. They were throwing wood and spears. Throwing water bottles, continuing fireworks.

So she said that they were terrified. It was just all hands on deck. Everyone was guarding the barricades.

Every time someone experienced the bear spray or Mace or was hit and bleeding, we had some medics in the front line. And then we had people —

And they said that they were just trying to take care of people who were injured.

I mean, at any given moment, there was 5 to 10 people being treated.

So what she described to me sounded more like a battlefield than a college campus.

And it was just a complete terror and complete abandonment of the university, as we also watched private security watch this the entire time on the stairs. And some LAPD were stationed about a football field length back from these counterprotesters, and did not make a single arrest, did not attempt to stop any violence, did not attempt to get in between the two groups. No attempt.

I should say, I spoke to a state authorities and eyewitnesses and they confirmed Marie’s account about what happened that night, both in terms of the violence that took place at the encampment and how law enforcement responded. So in the end, people ended up fighting for hours before the police intervened.

[SOMBER MUSIC]

So in her mind, UCLA’s hands-off approach, which seemed to have prevailed throughout this entire period, ends up being way too hands off in a moment when students were in jeopardy.

That’s right. And so at this point, the protesters in the encampment started preparing for two possibilities. One was that this group of counterprotesters would return and attack them. And the second one was that the police would come and try to break up this encampment.

So they started building up the barricades. They start reinforcing them with wood. And during the day, hundreds of people came and brought them supplies. They brought food.

They brought helmets, goggles, earplugs, saline solution, all sorts of things these people could use to defend themselves. And so they’re really getting ready to burrow in. And in the end, it was the police who came.

[PROTESTERS SHOUTING]:

So Wednesday at 7:00 PM, they made an announcement on top of Royce Hall, which overlooks the encampment —

— administrative criminal actions up to and including arrest. Please leave the area immediately.

And they told people in the encampment that they needed to leave or face arrest.

[DRUM BEATING]: [PROTESTERS CHANTING]

And so as night falls, they put on all this gear that they’ve been collecting, the goggles, the masks and the earplugs, and they wait for the police.

[DRUM BEATING]:

And so the police arrive and station themselves right in front of the encampment. And then at a certain point, they storm the back stairs of the encampment.

[PROTESTERS CHANTING]:

And this is the stairs that the protesters have been using to enter and exit the camp. And they set up a line. And the protesters do this really surprising thing.

The people united!

They open up umbrellas. They have these strobe lights. And they’re flashing them at the police, who just slowly back out of the camp.

[PROTESTERS CHEERING]:

And so at this point, they’re feeling really great. They’re like, we did it. We pushed them out of their camp. And when the cops try to push again on those same set of stairs —

[PROTESTER SHOUTS]:

Hold your ground!

— the protesters organized themselves with all these shields that they had built earlier. And they go and confront them. And so there’s this moment where the police are trying to push up the stairs. And the protesters are literally pushing them back.

Push them back! Push them back!

Push them back!

And at a certain point, dozens of the police officers who were there, basically just turn around and leave.

So how does this eventually come to an end?

So at a certain point, the police push in again. Most of the conflict is centered at the front of these barricades. And the police just start tearing them apart.

[METAL CLANGING]

[CLAMORING]

They removed the front barricade. And in its place is this group of protesters who have linked arms and they’re hanging on to each other. And the police are trying to pull protesters one by one away from this group.

He’s just a student! Back off!

But they’re having a really hard time because there’s so many protesters. And they’re all just hanging on to each other.

We’re moving back now.

So at a certain point, one of the police officers started firing something into the crowd. We don’t exactly know what it was. But it really spooked the protesters.

Stop shooting at kids! Fuck you! Fuck them!

They started falling back. Everyone was really scared. The protesters were yelling, don’t shoot us. And at that point, the police just stormed the camp.

Get back. Get back.

Back up now!

And so after about four hours of this, the police pushed the protesters out of the encampment. They had arrested about 200 protesters. And this was finally over.

And I’m just curious, Jonathan, because you’re standing right there, you are bearing witness to this all, what you were thinking, what your impressions of this were.

I mean, I was stunned. These are mostly teenagers. This is a college campus, an institution of higher learning. And what I saw in front of me looked like a war zone.

[TENSE MUSIC]

The massive barricade, the police coming in with riot gear, and all this violence was happening in front of these red brick buildings that are famous for symbolizing a really open college campus. And everything about it was just totally surreal.

Well, Jonathan, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Thanks, Michael.

We’ll be right back.

Peter, around 10:00 AM on Thursday morning as the smoke is literally still clearing at the University of California Los Angeles, you get word that President Biden is going to speak.

Right, exactly. It wasn’t on his public schedule. He was about to head to Andrews Air Force base in order to take a trip. And then suddenly, we got the notice that he was going to be addressing the cameras in the Roosevelt Room.

They didn’t tell us what he was going to talk about. But it was pretty clear, I think. Everybody understood that it was going to be about these campus protests, about the growing violence and the clashes with police, and the arrests that the entire country had been watching on TV every night for the past week, and I think that we were watching just that morning with UCLA. And it reached the point where he just had to say something.

And why, in his estimation and those of his advisors, was this the moment that Biden had to say something?

Well, it kind of reached a boiling point. It kind of reached the impression of a national crisis. And you expect to hear your president address it in this kind of a moment, particularly because it’s about his own policy. His policy toward Israel is at the heart of these protests. And he was getting a lot of grief. He was getting a lot of grief from Republicans who were chiding him for not speaking out personally. He hadn’t said anything in about 10 days.

He’s getting a lot of pressure from Democrats, too, who wanted him to come out and be more forceful. It wasn’t enough, in their view, to leave it to his spokespeople to say something. Moderate Democrats felt he needed to come out and take some leadership on this.

And so at the appointed moment, Peter, what does Biden actually say in the Roosevelt Room of the White House?

Good morning.

Before I head to North Carolina, I wanted to speak for a few moments about what’s going on, on our college campuses here.

Well, it comes in the Roosevelt Room and he talks to the camera. And he talks about the two clashing imperatives of American principle.

The first is the right to free speech and for people to peacefully assemble and make their voices heard. The second is the rule of law. Both must be upheld.

One is freedom of speech. The other is the rule of law.

In fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But, but, neither are we a lawless country.

In other words, what he’s saying is, yes, I support the right of these protesters to come out and object to even my own policy, in effect, is what he’s saying. But it shouldn’t trail into violence.

Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses —

It shouldn’t trail into taking over buildings and obstructing students from going to class or canceling their graduations.

Threatening people, intimidating people, instilling fear in people is not peaceful protest. It’s against the law.

And he leans very heavily into this idea that what he’s seeing these days goes beyond the line.

I understand people have strong feelings and deep convictions. In America, we respect the right and protect the right for them to express that. But it doesn’t mean anything goes.

It has crossed into harassment and expressions of hate in a way that goes against the national character.

As president, I will always defend free speech. And I will always be just as strong and standing up for the rule of law. That’s my responsibility to you, the American people, and my obligation to the Constitution. Thank you very much.

Right, as I watched the speech, I heard his overriding message to basically be, I, the president of the United States, am drawing a line. These protests and counterprotests, the seizing and defacing of campus buildings, class disruption, all of it, name calling, it’s getting out of hand. That there’s a right way to do this. And what I’m seeing is the wrong way to do it and it has to stop.

That’s exactly right. And as he’s wrapping up, reporters, of course, ask questions. And the first question is —

Mr. President, have the protests forced you to reconsider any of the policies with regard to the region?

— will this change your policy toward the war in Gaza? Which, of course, is exactly what the protesters want. That’s the point.

And he basically says —

— no. Just one word, no.

Right. And that felt kind of important, as brief and fleeting as it was, because at the end of the day, what he’s saying to these protesters is, I’m not going to do what you want. And basically, your protests are never going to work. I’m not going to change the US’s involvement in this war.

Yeah, that’s exactly right. He is saying, I’m not going to be swayed by angry people in the streets. I’m going to do what I think is right when it comes to foreign policy. Now, what he thinks is that they’re not giving him enough credit for trying to achieve what they want, which is an end of the war.

He has been pressuring Israel and Hamas to come to a deal for a ceasefire that will, hopefully, in his view, would then lead to a more enduring end of hostilities. But, of course, this deal hasn’t gone anywhere. Hamas, in particular, seems to be resisting it. And so the president is left with a policy of arming Israel without having found a way yet to stop the war.

Right. I wonder, though, Peter, if we’re being honest, don’t these protests, despite what Biden is saying there, inevitably exert a kind of power over him? Becoming one of many pressures, but a pressure nonetheless that does influence how he thinks about these moments. I mean, here he is at the White House devoting an entire conversation to the nation to these campus protests.

Well, look, he knows this feeds into the political environment in which he’s running for re-election, in which he basically has people who otherwise might be his supporters on the left disenchanted with him. And he knows that there’s a cost to be paid. And that certainly, obviously, is in his head as he’s thinking about what to do.

But I think his view of the war is changing by the day for all sorts of reasons. And most of them having to do with realities on the ground. He has decided that Israel has gone far enough, if not too far, in the way it has conducted this operation in Gaza.

He is upset about the humanitarian crisis there. And he’s looking for a way to wrap all this up into a move that would move to peacemaking, beginning to get the region to a different stage, maybe have a deal with the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for some sort of a two-state solution that would eventually resolve the Palestinian issue at its core.

So I think it’s probably fair to say that the protests won’t move him in an immediate kind of sense. But they obviously play into the larger zeitgeist of the moment. And I also think it’s important to know who Joe Biden is at heart.

Explain that.

He’s not drawn to activism. He was around in 1968, the last time we saw this major conflagration at Columbia University, for instance. At the time, Joe Biden was a law student in Syracuse, about 250 miles away. And he was an institutionalist even then.

He was just focused on his studies. He was about to graduate. He was thinking about the law career. And he didn’t really have much of an affinity, I think, for his fellow students of that era, for their activist way of looking at things.

He tells a story in his memoir about walking down a street in Syracuse one day to go to the pizza shop with some friends. And they walk by the administration building. And they see people hanging out of the windows. They’re hanging SDS banners. That’s the Students for a Democratic Society, which was one of the big activist groups of the era.

And he says, they were taking over the building. And we looked up and said, look at those assholes. That’s how far apart from the antiwar movement I was. That’s him writing in his memoir.

So to a young Joe Biden, those who devote their time and their energy to protesting the war are, I don’t need to repeat the word twice, but they’re losers. They’re not worth his time.

Well, I think it’s the tactics they’re using more than the goals that he disagreed with. He would tell you he disagreed with the Vietnam War. He was for civil rights. But he thought that taking over a building was performative, was all about getting attention, and that there was a better way, in his view, to do it.

He was somebody who wanted to work inside the system. He said in an interview quite a few years back, he says, look, I was wearing sports coats in that era. He saw himself becoming part of the system, not somebody trying to tear it down.

And so how should we think about that Joe Biden, when we think about this Joe Biden? I mean, the Joe Biden who, as a young man, looked upon antiwar protesters with disdain and the one who is now president and his very own policies have inspired such ferocious campus protests?

Yeah, that Joe Biden, the 1968 Joe Biden, he could just throw on a sports coat, go to the pizza shop with his friends, make fun of the activists and call them names, and then that’s it. They didn’t have to affect his life. But that’s not what 2024 Joe Biden can do.

Now, wherever he goes, he’s dogged by this. He goes to speeches and people are shouting at him, Genocide Joe! Genocide Joe! He is the target of the same kind of a movement that he disdained in 1968. And so as much as he would like to ignore it or move on or focus on other things, I think this has become a defining image of his year and one of the defining images, perhaps, of his presidency. And 2024 Joe Biden can’t simply ignore it.

Well, Peter, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

Here’s what else you need to know today. During testimony on Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, jurors heard a recording secretly made by Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, in which Trump discusses a deal to buy a woman’s silence. In the recording, Trump asks Cohen about how one payment made by Trump to a woman named Karen McDougal would be financed. The recording could complicate efforts by Trump’s lawyers to distance him from the hush money deals at the center of the trial.

A final thing to know, tomorrow morning, we’ll be sending you the latest episode from our colleagues over at “The Interview.” This week, David Marchese talks with comedy star Marlon Wayans about his new stand-up special.

It’s a high that you get when you don’t know if this joke that I’m about to say is going to offend everybody. Are they going to walk out? Are they going to boo me? Are they going to hate this. And then you tell it, and everybody cracks up and you’re like, woo.

Today’s episode was produced by Diana Nguyen, Luke Vander Ploeg, Alexandra Leigh Young, Nina Feldman, and Carlos Prieto. It was edited by Lisa Chow and Michael Benoist. It contains original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano, and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you on Monday.

• May 8, 2024   •   28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
• May 7, 2024   •   27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
• May 6, 2024   •   29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
• May 3, 2024   •   25:33 The Protesters and the President
• May 2, 2024   •   29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed
• May 1, 2024   •   35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
• April 30, 2024   •   27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
• April 29, 2024   •   47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring
• April 26, 2024   •   21:50 Harvey Weinstein Conviction Thrown Out
• April 25, 2024   •   40:33 The Crackdown on Student Protesters
• April 24, 2024   •   32:18 Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?
• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Jonathan Wolfe and Peter Baker

Produced by Diana Nguyen ,  Luke Vander Ploeg ,  Alexandra Leigh Young ,  Nina Feldman and Carlos Prieto

Edited by Lisa Chow and Michael Benoist

Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

Warning: this episode contains strong language.

Over the past week, students at dozens of universities held demonstrations, set up encampments and, at times, seized academic buildings. In response, administrators at many of those colleges decided to crack down and called in the local police to detain and arrest demonstrators.

As of Thursday, the police had arrested 2,000 people across more than 40 campuses, a situation so startling that President Biden could no longer ignore it.

Jonathan Wolfe, who has been covering the student protests for The Times, and Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent, discuss the history-making week.

On today’s episode

Jonathan Wolfe , a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The New York Times.

Peter Baker , the chief White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Biden and his administration.

Background reading

As crews cleared the remnants of an encampment at U.C.L.A., students and faculty members wondered how the university could have handled protests over the war in Gaza so badly .

Biden denounced violence on campus , breaking his silence after a rash of arrests.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Jonathan Wolfe is a senior staff editor on the newsletters team at The Times. More about Jonathan Wolfe

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker

Luke Vander Ploeg is a senior producer on “The Daily” and a reporter for the National Desk covering the Midwest. More about Luke Vander Ploeg

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Trump's speeches follow a familiar playlist, featuring greatest hits among new tunes

Stephen Fowler

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on May 1 at Avflight Saginaw in Freeland, Mich. Nic Antaya/Getty Images hide caption

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally on May 1 at Avflight Saginaw in Freeland, Mich.

In 2024, a Donald Trump campaign speech is many things: a forum to air grievances against his opponents and ongoing criminal proceedings, a safe space to test his popularity among supporters and a lengthy stream of consciousness responding to political news of the day.

A Trump speech also gives insight on how he would govern in a second term if he wins the election this November.

Like a Phish concert but with more grievance, this is what it's like at a Trump rally

The former president's campaign events are surreal to experience: all-day affairs that are equal parts religious revival and massive pep rallies, powered by an infamous musical playlist that runs for hours before he speaks.

It's an eclectic mix of songs that reflects Trump's personal tastes, ranging from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" to music from Phantom of the Opera to Village People's "Y.M.C.A.," culminating with Lee Greenwood's country classic "God Bless The U.S.A." as he walks on stage to thunderous applause.

It's also helpful to think of what Trump says at these events as its own curated playlist: never the same topics in the same order, heavy on the greatest hits but with plenty of space left for new tracks that riff on what's popular.

Familiar refrains and one-hit wonders

Plenty of Trump's speech is tied to where he is, who he's talking to and how it fits in the political moment.

Picture this: it's the night before the first presidential primary contest, so Trump's remarks in Indianola, Iowa, feature diss tracks against top rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, plus crowd pleasing mentions of tariffs and increased access to ethanol, both topics important to Iowa's farmers.

But there's also plenty of typical Trumpian fare that could've been delivered anywhere:

"These caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps, and other quite nice people," Trump said.

It can be hard for even seasoned observers to track what's new or notable in his speeches. The run time is often more than an hour and can switch tone and topics at random.

Donald Trump's campaign speeches feature familiar attacks against opponents like Joe Biden, plus one off riffs on his policy proposals. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

Donald Trump's campaign speeches feature familiar attacks against opponents like Joe Biden, plus one off riffs on his policy proposals.

Still, there are common threads, including attacks against the array of criminal charges against him, as prosecutors allege everything from election interference to business fraud to mishandling classified documents.

For example, in 15 major speeches reviewed by NPR from this year, Trump says his indictments far outpace the reputation of a notorious gangster: Al Capone — or, as Trump affectionately refers to him, "Alphonse."

"This was the roughest, meanest gangster in history," Trump said at the Black Conservative Federation's gala in Columbia, S.C., earlier this year. "I've been indicted more than Alphonse Capone, Scarface. If he had dinner with you, and if he didn't like the tone of your voice, he would kill you that night. You would never see your family again. You were dead."

At that February event, Trump also mused that his indictments help him appeal to Black voters.

Remixing his favorite tunes

The tone and tenor of Trump's campaign speeches have taken a darker turn in 2024, like in Dayton, Ohio, where he warned of a "bloodbath" for the auto industry if he loses the election. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

The tone and tenor of Trump's campaign speeches have taken a darker turn in 2024, like in Dayton, Ohio, where he warned of a "bloodbath" for the auto industry if he loses the election.

Trump's 2024 campaign speeches have many commonalities — like verses that mock President Joe Biden's age, appearance, activities and actions as president.

"I mean the guy can't put two sentences together, he can't find the stairs to a platform," Trump said in Richmond, Va.

There's also unique riffs that raise eyebrows and make headlines, like the time in Conway, S.C., where Trump said he wouldn't defend some NATO allies against Russia .

"If we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us?" Trump said another NATO leader asked him one time. "'No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.'"

Republicans play cleanup on aisle Trump after former president's NATO comments

Then, in Dayton, Ohio, Trump warned his defeat could be terrible for the automotive industry.

"If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath for the whole ... that's going to be the least of it," Trump said. "It's going to be a bloodbath for the country. That'll be the least of it."

As the year has progressed, Trump's rallies have taken a darker, more defiant tone, and his "greatest hits" are increasingly hitting back at groups that he feels have wronged him, or aren't on board with the "Make America Great Again" vision.

In North Carolina and Virginia, Pennsylvania and Nevada to hear Trump tell it, there will be no America unless he is in charge and Biden is vanquished.

"He's a demented tyrant who is trying to destroy our democracy," Trump said of the president in Schnecksville, Pa.

In Las Vegas, Trump told a roaring crowd to think of the 10 worst presidents in American history.

"They would not have done near the destruction to our country as Crooked Joe Biden and the Biden administration have done," he said.

"He's destroying our country," Trump said, echoing his remarks in Pennsylvania.

The hostile phrasing around the promise to implement hardline policies like mass deportations — and expanding the powers of the presidency to punish opponents — is a feature, not a bug, of Trump's campaign message.

It's a message that says the stakes are too high to ignore.

"We will fight for America like no one has ever fought before," he intoned in Greensboro, N.C., as an instrumental with ties to the QAnon movement played underneath. "2024 is our final battle."

While no two rallies are exactly the same, the final notes of a Trump speech are like a catchy political earworm as he vows to make America powerful, wealthy, strong, proud and safe once more, ending with his signature promise to "Make America great again."

Former President Donald Trump and attorney Susan Necheles attend his trial at the Manhattan Criminal court, Tuesday. Less than a week after a pair of campaign rallies, Trump is mandated to be back in court almost everyday, making the Manhattan courtroom his campaign trail stop of necessity. Win MacNamee/AP hide caption

Former President Donald Trump and attorney Susan Necheles attend his trial at the Manhattan Criminal court, Tuesday. Less than a week after a pair of campaign rallies, Trump is mandated to be back in court almost everyday, making the Manhattan courtroom his campaign trail stop of necessity.

Trump's last two rallies last week were held on the only day of the week his New York trial was not in session. But, in his first stop, he largely avoided talking about that trial that has kept him off the campaign trail .

In front of his biggest fans once again, Trump's verbal playlist in Waukesha, Wis., featured comedic asides, like telling a protester to "Go home to mom!"

Away from his New York trial, Donald Trump's campaign rallies are business as usual

Between his usual comments about closing the southern border, deporting migrants and claiming global conflict would cease if he was in charge, Trump made inflammatory remarks about Palestinian refugees that garnered little media attention .

"Under no circumstances shall we bring thousands of refugees from Hamas-controlled terrorist epicenters like Gaza to America," he said.

Trump reiterated support for a travel ban from Muslim-majority countries, and implied an influx of migrants to the U.S. would lead to a terrorist attack similar to the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

"We do not need a jihad in the United States of America," he added to cheers from the crowd.

A few hours later, Trump curated a different vibe in Freeland, Mich., making no mention of Gaza. He did, however, give significant airtime to his criminal proceedings and how much they cramped his campaign style.

"As you know, I have come here today from New York City where I'm being forced to sit for days on end in a kangaroo courtroom with a corrupt and conflicted judge enduring a Biden sideshow trial," he said.

And because it's the Trump show, that applause line was soon followed by a familiar refrain.

"Has anyone ever heard of Al Capone? Scarface!" he quipped.

Until the New York hush money trial has wrapped, Trump's main act will be headlining the inside (and outside) of a Manhattan courtroom.

He'll take his show on the road again Saturday in New Jersey, where you can expect familiar tunes, both verbal and musical, like the Sam and Dave song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" that typically ends his rallies.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Annual Days of Remembrance   Ceremony

U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C.

11:52 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  Please.  

Thank you, Stu Eizenstat, for that introduction, for your leadership of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.  You’re a true scholar, a statesman, and a — a dear friend.

Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, members of Congress, and, especially, the survivors of the Holocaust.  If my mother were here, she would look at you and say, “God love you all.  God love you all.”

Abe Foxman and all other survivors who embody absolute courage and dignity and grace are here as well. 

During these sacred Days of Remembrance, we grieve.  We give voice to the 6 million Jews who were systematically targeted and murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War Two.  We honor the memory of victims, the pain of survivors, the bravery of heroes who stood up to Hitler’s unspeakable evil.  And we recommit to heading and heeding the lessons that [of] one of the darkest chapters in human history, to revitalize and realize the responsibility of “never again.”

Never again, simply translated for me, means “never forget.”  Never forget.  Never forgetting means we must keep telling the story.  We must keep teaching the truth.  We must keep teaching our children and our grandchildren.  

And the truth is we are at risk of people not knowing the truth.  

That’s why, growing up, my dad taught me and my siblings about the horrors of the Shoah at our family dinner table.  That’s why I visited Yad Vashem with my family as a senator, as vice president, and as president.  And that’s why I took my grandchildren to Dachau, so they could see and bear witness to the perils of indifference, the complicity of silence in the face of evil that they knew was happening. 

Germany, 1933.  Hitler and his Nazi party rise to power by rekindling one of the world’s oldest forms of prejudice and hate: antisemitism.  His rule didn’t begin with mass murder.  It started slowly across economic, political, social, and cultural life: propaganda demonizing Jews; boycotts of Jewish businesses; synagogues defaced with swastikas; harassment of Jews in the street and in the schools; antisemitic demonstrations, pogroms, organized riots.  

With the indifference of the world, Hitler knew he could expand his reign of terror by eliminating Jews from Germany, to annihilate Jews across Europe through genocide the Nazi’s called the “Final Solution” — concentration camps, gas chambers, mass shootings.  

By the time the war ended, 6 million Jews — one out of every three Jews in the entire world — were murdered.  

This ancient hatred of Jews didn’t begin with the Holocaust; it didn’t end with the Holocaust, either, or after — or even after our victory in World War Two.  This hatred continues to lie deep in the hearts of too many people in the world, and it requires our continued vigilance and outspokenness.    

That hatred was brought to life on October 7th in 2023.  On a sacred Jewish holiday, the terrorist group Hamas unleashed the deadliest day of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.  

Driven by ancient desire to wipeout the Jewish people off the face of the Earth, over 1,200 innocent people — babies, parents, grandparents — slaughtered in their kibbutz, massacred at a musical festival, brutally raped, mutilated, and sexually assaulted.  Thousands more carrying wounds, bullets, and shrapnel from the memory of that terrible day they endured.  Hundreds taken hostage, including survivors of the Shoah.  

Now, here we are, not 75 years later but just seven and a half months later, and people are already forgetting.  They’re already forgetting that Hamas unleashed this terror, that it was Hamas that brutalized Israelis, that it was Hamas who took and continues to hold hostages.  I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget.  (Applause.)    

And as Jews around the world still cope with the atrocities and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we’ve seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world: vicious propaganda on social media, Jews forced to keep their — hide their kippahs under baseball hats, tuck their Jewish stars into their shirts.  

On college campuses, Jewish students blocked, harassed, attacked while walking to class.  

Antisemitism — antisemitic posters, slogans calling for the annihilation of Israel, the world’s only Jewish State.  

Too many people denying, downplaying, rationalizing, ignoring the horrors of the Holocaust and October 7th, including Hamas’s appalling use of sexual violence to torture and terrorize Jews.  

It’s absolutely despicable, and it must stop.  

Silence — (applause) — silence and denial can hide much, but it can erase nothing.  Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they cannot be muri- — buried, no matter how hard people try.  

In my view, a major lesson of the Holocaust is, as mentioned earlier, it’s not — was not inevitable.  We know hate never goes away; it only hides.  And given a little oxygen, it comes out from under the rocks.  

But we also know what stops hate.  One thing: all of us.  

The late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks described antisemitism as a virus that has survived and mutated over time.  Together, we cannot continue to let that happen.  

We have to remember our basic principles as a nation.  We have an obligation — we have an obligation to learn the lessons of history so we don’t surrender our future to the horrors of the past.  We must give hate no safe harbor against anyone — anyone.  

From the very founding — our very founding, Jewish Americans, who represent only about 2 percent of the U.S. population, have helped lead the cause of freedom for everyone in our nation.  From that experience, we know scapegoating and demonizing any minority is a threat to every minority and the very foundation of our democracy.  

So, in moments like this, we have to put these principles that we’re talking about into action.  

I understand people have strong beliefs and deep convictions about the world.  In America, we respect and protect the fundamental right to free speech, to debate and disagree, to protest peacefully and make our voices heard.  

I understand.  That’s America.  

But there is no place on any campus in America — any place in America — for antisemitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind — (applause) — whether against Jews or anyone else.  

Violent attacks, destroying property is not peaceful protest.  It’s against the law.  And we are not a lawless country.  We’re a civil society.  We uphold the rule of law.  

And no one should have to hide or be brave just to be themselves.  (Applause.)

To the Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain.  

Let me reassure you, as your President, you are not alone.  You belong.  You always have, and you always will.  

And my commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad, even when we disagree.  (Applause.)

My administration is working around the clock to free remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already, and we will not rest until we bring them all home.  (Applause.) 

My administration, with our Second Gentleman’s leadership, has launched our nation’s first National Sec- — Strategy to Counter Antisemitism that’s mobilizing the full force of the federal government to protect Jewish communities.

But — but we know this is not the work of government alone or Jews alone.  That’s why I’m calling on all Americans to stand united against antisemitism and hate in all its forms.  

My dear friend, and he became a friend, the late Elie Wiesel, said, quote, “One person of integrity can make a difference.”  We have to remember that now more than ever.   

Here in Emancipation Hall in the U.S. Capitol, among the towering statues of history, is a bronze bust of Raoul Wallenberg.  Born in Sweden as a Lutheran, he was a businessman and a diplomat.  While stationed in Hungary during World War Two, he used diplomatic cover to hide and rescue about 100,000 Jews over a six-month period.  

Among them was a 16-year-old Jewish boy who escaped a Nazi labor camp.  After the war ended, that boy received a scholarship from the Hillel Foundation to study in America.  He came to New York City penniless but determined to turn his pain into purpose, along with his wife, also a Holocaust survivor.  He became a renowned economist and foreign policy thinker, eventually making his way to this very Capitol on the staff of a first-term senator.  

That Jewish refugee was Tom Lantos, and that senator was me.  

Tom and his wife, Annette, and their family became dear friends to me and my family.  Tom would go on to become the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress, where he became a leading voice on civil rights and human rights around the world.  

Tom never met Raoul, who was taken prisoner by the Soviets, never to be heard from again.  But through Tom’s efforts, Raoul’s bust is here in the Capitol.  

He was also given honorary U.S. citizenship — only the second person ever, after Winston Churchill.  

And the Holocaust Museum here in Washington is located on a roal- — a road in Raoul’s name.  

The story of the power of a single person to put aside our differences, to see our common humanity, to stand up to hate.  And it’s an ancient story of resilience from immense pain, persecution to find hope, purpose, and meaning in life we try to live and share with one another.  That story endures.

Let me close with this.  I know these Days of Remembrance fall on difficult times.  But we all do well to remember these days also fall during the month we celebrate Jewish American heritage — a heritage that stretches from our earliest days to enrich every single part of American life today.  

Great American — great Jewish American named Tom Lantos used the phrase, “The veneer of civilization is paper thin.  We are its guardians, and we can never rest.”

My fellow Americans, we must — we must be those guardians.  We must never rest.  We must rise against hate, meet across the divide, see our common humanity.  

And God bless the victims and survivors of the Shoah.  

May the resilient hearts, the courageous spirit, and the eternal flame of faith of the Jewish people forever shine their light on America and around the world, pray God.

Thank you all.  (Applause.)

12:06 P.M. EDT

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