Biden Raises Support for Ukraine in State of the Union Address

 

In his first State of the Union address, US President Joe Biden late Tuesday (1/3) condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and rallied bipartisan support for the country. 

He also spoke about rising inflation hindering economic recovery from the pandemic and laid out a "unity" agenda that he said could win bipartisan support in Congress.

President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address Tuesday. This is his second speech before a joint session of Congress after his speech in April.

While the focus of the State of the Union address is usually domestic issues, with Russian President Vladimir Putin putting his nuclear powers on heightened alert following his order to invade Ukraine last week, Biden put Putin's invasion within the first minutes of his speech.

"He thought the West and NATO would not respond. He thinks he can divide us at home, in the assemblies in this country. He thinks he can divide us in Europe too. But Putin was wrong. We are ready," said President Joe Biden.

First Lady Jill Biden invited Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova to join her for the speech, while legislators from both parties wore yellow and blue, like the colors of the Ukrainian flag, as a sign of solidarity.

Domestically, Biden's biggest challenge is getting the country out of the pandemic. He highlighted the success of vaccinations and hinted now was the time for a "new normal."

Many legislators are not wearing masks after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released guidelines that relaxed them.

“I know some are talking about living together with COVID-19. Tonight, I say that we will never accept to live with COVID-19, we will continue to fight the virus like we fight other diseases," he said.