'I believe in America': Fired-up Biden uses State of the Union to skewer GOP

The president made the case for why he deserves a second term.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Tal Axelrod, Meredith Deliso, and Leah Sarnoff

Last Updated: March 7, 2024, 7:00 PM EST

President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday night.

The speech provided Biden one of his biggest audiences of the year as he made his case for a second term and contrasted his vision of the country's future with Republicans ahead of what's expected to be a lengthy general election fight with former President Donald Trump.

ABC News live-blogged every major moment and highlight from the speech, with 538 providing analysis and a closer look at the polling and data behind the politicians.

Key moments:

Mar 07, 2024, 11:21 PM EST
Britt says the 'American dream has turned into a nightmare'
Mar 07, 2024, 10:46 PM EST
Biden address his age, a key issue for his reelection campaign
Mar 07, 2024, 9:43 PM EST
Biden calls out conservative Supreme Court justices on abortion
Mar 07, 2024, 9:37 PM EST
Biden takes first swipe at Trump over Ukraine aid and Putin
Mar 07, 2024, 9:31 PM EST
Biden urges action at 'unprecedented moment'

Here's how the news developed.

Mar 07, 2024, 9:23 PM EST

Biden comes face to face with Marjorie Taylor Greene

Shortly after entering the House chamber to deliver his speech, Biden, as he was greeting various lawmakers, came face to face with Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene -- a vocal critic who interrupted his previous address.

"Say her name," Greene appeared to say to Biden, referring to Laken Riley, a Georgia college student who was killed last month.

The suspect in that case is a migrant who is in the country illegally, officials have said, which conservatives have seized on to attack Biden's border policies.

The president didn't visibly react to Greene during their brief interaction.

- ABC News' Adam Carlson

Mar 07, 2024, 9:19 PM EST

Parents of reporter detained in Russia attend SOTU

The parents of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journalist reporter imprisoned by Russia on charges he denies, are at the State of the Union as guests of House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to the Journal.

“We are grateful to Speaker Johnson for inviting us to attend the State of the Union and for providing the opportunity to highlight Evan’s wrongful detention,” Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich said in a statement published by the newspaper.

“We’re also grateful to President Biden for his continued work on Evan’s behalf. Evan is an American, and he was doing his job as a journalist. He is most importantly a beloved son and brother, and we want him home," they said.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell

Mar 07, 2024, 9:17 PM EST

The president arrives to House chamber to deliver his speech

Biden has arrived to the House chamber to deliver his State of the Union.

The president is making his way through a sea of lawmakers and guests on the way to the podium to speak.

It is a potentially pivotal evening for Biden in the early stages of his 2024 general election fight -- set to be against Trump.

Ahead of his address, he said he was "feeling good" and pumped his fists in the air as he departed the White House. Pro-Palestinian protesters near the Capitol didn't interfere with the president's motorcade on the short drive across Washington.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Mar 07, 2024, 9:03 PM EST