In an effort to combat the nation's pessimism and traverse the political rifts in Washington, President Joe Biden used his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night to urge Republicans to join him in "finishing the job" of repairing the economy and bringing the country together.
"We’re often told Democrats & Republicans can’t work together. But over past two years, we proved cynics & naysayers wrong. We disagreed plenty. But time and again, Democrats & Republicans came together," said US President Joe Biden during State of the Union Address.
The president commenced his address by hailing the country's progress against the coronavirus pandemic. He said, "The US has emerged stronger from the pandemic. Two years ago, Covid shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, Covid no longer controls our lives."
In his second State of the Union address, Biden said, "As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs. More jobs were created in two years than any president has ever created in four years."
Biden will act to protect US if China threatens
Amidst growing tension with China over a suspected surveillance balloon, US President Joe Biden has said that the United States will act to protect if Beijing threatens its sovereignty.
"I am committed to work with China where it can advance American interests and benefit the world. But make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did," Biden said in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
US downed Chinese spy balloon
The US military downed the suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean last week, drawing a strong reaction from China which on Sunday warned of repercussions over America's use of force against its civilian unmanned airship.
The US has accused China of violating American sovereignty and international law.
"Let's be clear: winning the competition with China should unite all of us. We face serious challenges across the world. But in the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker," he said in his second State of the Union Address before a Joint Session of the US Congress.
