President Joe Biden addressed Gaza, abortion, and January 6 in his passionate State of the Union speech and sparred with heckling Republicans.
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00:00 I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation's
00:04 history.
00:05 We have.
00:07 It doesn't make new, but news in a thousand cities and towns, the American people are
00:11 writing the greatest comeback story ever told.
00:17 This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.
00:29 More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas.
00:36 Thousands and thousands of innocents, women and children, girls and boys also orphaned.
00:41 Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displacement.
00:46 Homes destroyed, neighbors in rubble, cities in ruin, families without food, water, medicine.
00:51 It's heartbreaking.
00:52 The United States has been leading international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance
00:56 to Gaza.
00:57 Tonight, I'm directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary
01:03 pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments carrying
01:09 food, water, medicine and temporary shelters.
01:12 No U.S. boots will be on the ground.
01:15 A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting
01:20 in Gaza every day.
01:28 And Israel must do its part.
01:33 Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure humanitarian workers aren't caught in the
01:37 crossfire.
01:38 They're announcing they're going to -- they're going to have a crossing in northern Gaza.
01:45 For the leadership of Israel, I say this, humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary
01:51 consideration or a bargaining chip.
01:54 Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority.
01:58 As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over
02:03 time.
02:07 Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.
02:12 That's why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international
02:17 shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
02:20 I've ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capability and defend U.S. forces in the region.
02:25 As commander-in-chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our
02:29 people and our military personnel.
02:32 I revitalized our partnership and alliance in the Pacific -- India, Australia, Japan,
02:39 South Korea, Pacific Islands.
02:42 I've made sure that the most advanced American technologies can't be used in China, not allowing
02:49 to trade them there.
02:51 Frankly, for all this tough talk on China, it never occurred to my predecessor to do
02:55 any of that.
02:58 I want competition with China, not conflict.
03:01 And we're in a stronger position to win the conflict of the 21st century against China
03:06 than anyone else for that matter, than any time as well.
03:11 History is watching, just like history watched three years ago on January 6th --
03:16 (applause)
03:17 -- when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat
03:20 of American democracy.
03:21 Many of you are here on that darkest of days.
03:26 We all saw with our own eyes the insurrectionists were not patriots.
03:31 They'd come to stop the peaceful transfer of power, to oversteer the will of the people.
03:37 January 6th lies about the 2020 election and the plots to steal the election posed a great,
03:44 gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War.
03:49 But they failed.
03:50 (Applause.)
03:51 America stood.
03:52 The threat to democracy must be defended.
03:58 My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th.
04:03 I will not do that.
04:05 This is the moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies.
04:09 Here's the simple truth.
04:10 You can't love your country only when you win.
04:13 Those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women.
04:19 But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot.
04:23 We won in 2022 and 2020, and we'll win again in 2024.
04:30 (Applause.)
04:32 If you -- if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose,
04:42 I promise you I'll restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.
04:50 (Applause.)
04:52 My predecessor came to office determined to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
04:58 He's the reason it was overturned, and he brags about it.
05:01 Look at the chaos that has resulted.
05:04 (Applause.)
05:05 If you -- if you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose,
05:10 I promise you I'll restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.
05:16 (Applause.)
05:17 What makes our moment rare is the freedom of democracy under attack both at home and
05:23 overseas at the very same time.
05:27 Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout
05:33 Europe and beyond.
05:36 If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not.
05:41 (Applause.)
05:42 Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons that needs to defend
05:54 it.
05:55 (Applause.)
05:56 That is all -- that is all Ukraine is asking.
06:03 They're not asking for American soldiers.
06:05 In fact, there are no American soldiers in the war in Ukraine, and I'm determined to
06:10 keep it that way.
06:11 (Applause.)
06:12 Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, "Do whatever the hell
06:18 you want."
06:19 (Booing.)
06:20 That's a quote.
06:22 The former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader, "I think it's outrageous,
06:28 it's dangerous, and it's unacceptable."
06:31 I say this to Congress, we have to stand up to Putin.
06:35 (Applause.)
06:36 Send me a bipartisan national security bill.
06:41 History is literally watching.
06:43 History is watching.
06:44 If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk, Europe is at risk, the free
06:51 world will be at risk, and Bolton and others to do what they wish to do us harm.
06:56 My message to President Putin, who I've known for a long time, is simple.
07:00 We will not walk away.
07:03 (Applause.)
07:04 We will not bow down.
07:10 Starting next year, the same law caps total prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare
07:18 at $2,000 a year, even for expensive cancer drugs that cost $10,000, $12,000, $15,000.
07:26 I want to cap prescription drug costs at $2,000 a year for everyone.
07:31 (Applause.)
07:32 Folks, I'm going to get in trouble for saying that, but if you want to get in the Air Force
07:42 and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow -- I mean, excuse me -- well, even Moscow, probably.
07:50 (Laughter.)
07:51 And bring your prescription with you, and I promise you I'll get it for you for 40
07:54 percent the cost you're paying now.
07:56 Same company, same drug, same place.
07:59 Folks, the Affordable Care Act, the old Obamacare, is still a very big deal.
08:09 (Applause.)
08:12 Over 100 million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of a preexisting
08:28 condition.
08:29 But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take this prescription drug away by
08:36 repealing the Affordable Care Act.
08:41 I'm not going to let that happen.
08:42 (Applause.)
08:43 We stopped you 50 times before, and we'll stop you again.
08:44 In fact, I'm not only protecting it, I'm expanding it.
08:55 We enacted tax credits of $800 per person per year, reduced health care costs for millions
09:01 of working families.
09:03 That tax credit expires next year.
09:05 I want to make that savings permanent.
09:07 (Applause.)
09:08 In November, my team began serious negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators.
09:15 The result was a bipartisan bill with the toughest set of border security reforms we've
09:19 ever seen.
09:20 (Applause.)
09:21 Oh, you don't think so?
09:24 Oh, you don't like that bill, huh?
09:28 That conservatives got together and said it was a good bill?
09:32 I'll be darned.
09:33 That's amazing.
09:35 That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration
09:41 judges to help tackle the backload of 2 million cases, 4,300 more asylum officers, and new
09:46 policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now.
09:51 I will not demonize immigrants saying they are poison in the blood of our country.
09:58 I will not separate families.
10:05 I will not ban people because of their faith.
10:09 Unlike my predecessor on my first day in office, I introduced a comprehensive bill to fix our
10:14 immigration system.
10:15 Take a look at it.
10:16 It has all these and more.
10:17 Secure the border, provide a pathway to citizenship for DREAMers, and so much more.
10:22 (Applause.)
10:23 I'm proud we beat the NRA when I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly
10:27 30 years because of this Congress.
10:30 We now must beat the NRA again.
10:32 I'm demanding a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
10:37 (Applause.)
10:38 Pass universal background checks.
10:41 None of this.
10:43 None of this.
10:45 I taught the Second Amendment for 12 years.
10:50 None of this violates the Second Amendment or vilifies responsible gun owners.
10:55 Let me close with this.
10:58 (Applause.)
10:59 I know you don't want to hear any more, Lindsey, but I've got to say a few more things.
11:11 I know it may not look like it, but I've been around a while.
11:14 (Laughter.)
11:15 When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever.
11:20 I know the American story.
11:23 God bless you all, and may God protect our troops.
11:26 Thank you, thank you, thank you.
11:27 (Applause.)
11:27 Thank you, thank you.