President Joe Biden made a number of promises to the American people during his third State of the Union address on Thursday evening.
The president used his speech, the last before voters decide whether to give him a second term as president, to argue his policies have delivered relief to those facing the effects of inflation and to draw a contrast with Republicans on issues ranging from abortion access to taxes.
He also took time during his remarks to make a series of pledges going into this election session. Here are four of them:
Biden ‘won’t walk away’ from Ukraine in its fight to combat Russia’s war
“Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm,” Biden said. “My message to [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is simple: we will not walk away, we will not bow down. I will not bow down.”
Biden’s comments come as Ukraine aid stalls in Congress with an unclear path forward. The Senate passed legislation providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan last month. The bill currently sits on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) desk with no chance of receiving a vote without House lawmakers forcing floor consideration through a discharge petition. Biden called on the lower chamber to pass the legislation, though it remains unclear when or if that will happen.
Biden won’t ‘bury the truth of Jan. 6’
“We must be honest, the threat remains and democracy must be defended,” the president said. “My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of Jan. 6. I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies.
“Here’s the simplest truth: you can’t love your country only when you win. As I’ve done ever since being elected to office, I ask you all, without regard to party, to join together and defend our democracy,” he added.
Biden has made former President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results and the subsequent Jan. 6 Capitol riot a cornerstone of his 2024 reelection bid.
Democrats will ‘win again in 2024’ with abortion on the ballot
Biden said during his address that voters would rally behind Democrats in November because abortion would be a top issue that drives them out to the polls.
Favorable results for abortion rights activists in off-year ballot initiatives in Ohio and Kansas have prompted some Democratically-aligned groups to push for similar questions to be posed to voters in other states, such as Montana.
For Biden, he vowed on Thursday evening that Democrats would sweep the contests in states where abortion is on the ballot.
“Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” Biden said. “They found out though when reproductive freedom was on the ballot. We won in 2022 and we will win again in 2024.”
The economic “landing is and will be soft”
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Speaking about the state of the economy, Biden said that, “More people have health insurance today than ever before. The racial wealth gap is the smallest it’s been in 20 years. Wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down. Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% — the lowest in the world. And trending lower. The landing is and will be soft.”
Biden’s comment comes a few months after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. economy appears to be in a soft landing, a term referring to when a recession is avoided while solving an economic crisis.
