LIVE BLOG: President Joe Biden's State of the Union address

Joe Biden becomes first president to deliver State of the Union Address at age 80, as he defends shaky first term with his political future still uncertain.

Published: February 7, 2023 8:55pm

Updated: February 7, 2023 10:24pm

President Joe Biden became the first Commander-in-Chief in American history to deliver his State of the Union address at age 80 Tuesday night, outlining the agenda for the rest of his first term and also speaking on his political future, along with the many challenges facing the country under his leadership including the southern border crisis, inflation, consumer confidence and jobs. 

10:23pm ET: Biden claims "The state of the union is strong," before drawing laughter after citing his long political career before quickly concluding his speech. 

10:20pm ET: Biden mentions January 6th incident saying the participants were "insurrectionists," before quickly pivoting to praising Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul, following his attack, having him stand for a Congressional ovation. 

10:16pm ET: Biden touts "moonshot" initiative to defeat cancer, but neglected to mention any details or tangible progress in the fight.  

10:15pm ET: POTUS briefly talks tough against social media monopolies and abuse, before quickly moving on to veterans affairs. 

10:13pm ET: Biden addresses Fentanyl and opioid crisis only to get heckled for undercounting the number of overdose deaths a year, by saying only "70,000" Americans a year die from Fentanyl. Cries of "MORE" came from the Congressional galley, followed by a brief period of confusion.

10:11pm ET: [Bi-partisan chants of "USA!" briefly broke out]. 

10:09pm ET: Biden downplays China threat saying, "Before I came to office, the story was about People's Republic of China (PRC) was increasing its power and America was failing in the world. Not anymore... If China threatens our sovereignty we will act to protect our country and we did."

10:06pm ET: Biden calls for immigration to "become a bi-partisan issue again," citing Fentanyl seizures to tout his "new" immigration plan. He admitted, however, the White House can do very little without help from Congress. He added that Congress must at least be willing to pass legislation in an effort to "secure the border," and to legalize those who have come over illegally.

There was then cross yelling from the gallery, before Biden called for the protection of "Roe v. Wade" which was struck down by the Supreme Court in their Dobbs decision, before promising to veto any national abortion bans that may come from GOP. 

10:03pm ET: Biden says federal government must do more to enact gun restrictions and claims most "responsible gun owners" support his firearms agenda. 

10:00pm ET: [Biden praises police and calls for expansion of the number of America's first responders drawing bi-partisan applause] "All this can help prevent violence in the first place. When police officers and police departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable... lets' come together to finish the job on police reform. Do something... do something about gun violence. Thank God we did. Passing the most sweeping gun safety law in three decades." 

9:57pm ET: Biden calls for applause for family of deceased Tyre Nichols. "Most of us in here, have never had to have the talk -- the talk that Black and brown parents have had to have with their children... We all want the same thing. Neighborhoods free of violence." 

9:56pm ET: Biden calls for a "double down on criminals" who stole COVID-19 relief money. "Now let's triple the anti-fraud StrikeForce going after these criminals, double the statute of limitations on these [crimes], crack down on identity fraud criminal syndicates., stealing billions of dollars." 

9:54pm ET: "We became the best educated, best paid nation in the world. The rest of the world caught up... you want to have the best educated work force let's finish the job by providing access to pre-school." Biden then called for public school teachers to get a pay raise. "We're making progress by reducing student debt... let's finish the job." 

9:51pm ET: Biden tells GOP to "look it up" again, after he decries "non-compete" clauses, using a fast food worker as an example, drawing boos. He then specifically cited how "unions" should receive more money and assistance from government. 

9:48pm ET: Biden addresses drop in consumer confidence by saying his administration is, "cracking down on nursing homes that commit fraud," and those who supply medications that aren't actually needed. "Capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It's exploitation." 

9:43pm ET: Biden draws boos after claiming GOP wants to let "Medicare and Social Security sunset" and end. He then drew more boos as he continued to beat the drum claiming entitlements should not be on the table for spending cuts. Biden went so far as to claim this was an agreement between both parties, across the board. "Let's all agree... let's stand up for seniors," he added. 

9:42pm ET: Biden claims his Administration has "cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion." [Drew boos as he criticized Trump and responded by saying "Check it out. Check it out" before accusing GOP of wanting to hold economy "hostage."]

9:41pm ET: [Congressional chamber erupts in laughter when Biden says Americans will still need to use oil for at least another decade]

9:40pm ET: Biden kept focus on wealthier Americans by targeting billionaires along with energy companies saying, "Think about it. Have you noticed big oil just reported it's profits -- record profits. Last year they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis." 

9:39pm ET: "The Tax system is not fair," Biden continued. "The idea that in 2020, 55 of the largest corporations in America fortune $540 billion in profits and paid zero in federal taxes? Zero? [It's] simply not fair." 

9:37pm ET: Biden touts Green Energy agenda by promising, "We're gonna build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations installed across the country... we still need oil and gas for awhile but there's so much more to do. And we pay for these investments of our future by finally making the world's biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share." 

9:35pm ET: Biden calls for appealing "The Inflation Reduction Act" and an expansion of Medicaid. 

9:33pm ET: Biden calls for insulin cap of $35. 

9:32pm ET: Biden claims, "one in 10 Americans has diabetes" adding, "many of you in this chamber do. And in the audience." 

9:29pm ET: "And I get criticized for this but I make no excuses for it. We're going to buy American. We're going to buy America... I mean it." 

9:28pm ET: [Biden loudly acknowledges guest in the audience for pride in replacing lead pipes and rebuilding American bridges] "We're making sure that every community... in America has access to affordable high speed internet. No parent should have to drive by McDonald's, park them and help them do their homework online." 

9:24pm ET: [Camera pans to a clapping Pete Buttigieg, Biden's Transportation Secretary, who has been highly criticized for travel delays and supply chain issues, as the president emphasized further need for infrastructure laws]. 

9:22pm ET: "We're going to make sure the supply chain for America, begins in America." 

9:20pm ET: [Biden blames "Putin" by name, for supply chain woes in U.S.]

9:19pm ET: "The unemployment rate is at 3.4%, a 50 year low. Near record unemployment. Near record unemployment for Black and Hispanic workers." 

9:17pm ET: "There's no reason we [Democrats and Republicans] can't work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well."

9:16pm ET: [Applause for Biden's environmental agenda talking points]

9:15pm ET: "Two years ago, the economy has really, I stand here tonight, after we've created with the help of many people in this room -- 12 million new jobs. More jobs created in two years than any president's created in four years because of all of you." 

9:10pm ET: [Applause from Congress as Biden introduced] 

You can follow Nick on Twitter @NGivasDC

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