WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech on Thursday evening aimed to remind Americans how the economy has recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, and draw a sharp contrast between himself and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, did not mention Trump, 77, by name, but he made clear jabs at Trump and Republicans who have blocked a bill with aid for Ukraine and restricted abortion rights around the country:
UKRAINE "I say this to Congress: We have to stand up to [Vladimir] Putin. Send me a bipartisan national security bill. History is literally watching."
ABORTION RIGHTS
"With all due respect, Justices, women are not without electoral ... or political power. You are about to realize how much you're wrong about that."
"Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America ... If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again."
ECONOMIC COMEBACK
"America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up."
AGE
"In my career, I've been told I was too young ... and I've been told I'm too old. Whether young or old, I've always known what endures."
OTHER PEOPLE HIS AGE
"My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy ... To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That's not me."
The phrase "revenge and retribution" echoes a Biden speech marking the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists.
VLADIMIR PUTIN
"It wasn't that long ago when a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, thundered 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin: 'Do whatever the hell you want.'""My message to President Putin, who I've known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down."