President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday to a nation eager to move on from the deadly coronavirus pandemic but facing worries over inflation and conflict with Russia.
RELATED: Security fences go up around U.S. Capitol for State of the Union
Biden’s remarks to a joint session of Congress will give him a chance to trumpet his administration’s accomplishments during his first year in office and lay out policy goals for the coming year.
A prominent Democratic strategist urged Biden to use the opportunity to offer Americans hope for better days.
“What Americans want to hear is genuine understanding of what we have been through together and a clear path forward – less about Mr. Biden’s accomplishments than about the heroic, unsung sacrifices so many have made to see their families and communities through,” David Axelrod, who helped shape many of President Barack Obama’s addresses to Congress, wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times.
Biden’s speech won’t be his first major address to Congress. Three months after taking office, Biden struck an optimistic tone during a joint session of the House and Senate last April. That speech wasn’t technically a State of the Union address.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will give the Republican Party's rebuttal to the speech.
"Republican governors across America are leading the charge in defending liberty and securing unmatched economic prosperity in our states," Reynolds said in a statement. "The Biden administration is governing from the far-left, ignoring the problems of working-class Americans while pushing an agenda that stifles free speech, free thought, and economic freedom. The American people have had enough, but there is an alternative, and that's what I look forward to sharing on Tuesday evening."
» Subscribe to USA TODAY:
» Watch more on this and other topics from USA TODAY:
» USA TODAY delivers current local and national news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, videos and VR.
#StateoftheUnion #BidenLiveStream #SOTULiveStream
