'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.

Last Updated: March 7, 2024, 9:55 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.

Mar 07, 2024, 9:55 PM EST

Biden tells Congress: 'Guarantee the right to IVF!'

Biden pointed to his State of the Union guests impacted by restrictions placed on reproductive rights at the state level.

"History is watching another assault on freedom," he said.

He told the story of Latorya Beasley, a Birmingham resident who successfully had a daughter through in vitro fertilization and decided to try for one more child. Her treatments were halted when the Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos are children under state law, which temporarily upended IVF access until Alabama legislators passed a new law.

Biden called for a similar federal bill.

"She was told her dream would have to wait. What she went through should never have happened," he said. "Unless Congress acts, it could happen again. So tonight, let's stand up for families like hers. To my friends across the aisle, don't keep this waiting any longer. Guarantee the right to IVF!"

Read more from ABC News' interview with Beasley before Thursday night's address.

Mar 07, 2024, 9:43 PM EST

Biden calls out conservative Supreme Court justices on abortion

Biden briefly called out the Supreme Court's conservative-leaning justices over the loss of constitutional abortion protections, saying that women will be motivated to turn out to vote later this year.

"In the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote the following, and with all due respect, justices -- 'women are not without electoral or political power,'" Biden said

The president was referencing the 2022 majority decision reversing Roe v. Wade's nationwide guarantee to abortion access which stated that “women are not without electoral or political power." Since then, abortion access has won as an issue in a variety of elections around the country.

Biden briefly called out the Supreme Court's conservative-leaning justices over the loss of constitutional abortion protections.
Biden briefly called out the Supreme Court's conservative-leaning justices over the loss of constitutional abortion protections.

Mar 07, 2024, 9:59 PM EST

Biden to Putin: 'We will not bow down'

Biden called on Congress to send him a bipartisan national security bill amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

"If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk, the free world will be at risk," he said.

Biden also had a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin: "We will not walk away," he said to applause.

"We will not bow down! I will not bow down! In a literal sense, history is watching," Biden said.

Many Republicans have been increasingly skeptical of foreign aid to Ukraine versus spending on domestic priorities like the southern border. Biden and the GOP have not been able to agree on new immigration changes, despite a Biden-backed deal in the Senate.

The president warned that "freedom and democracy under assault" both "at home and overseas at the very same time," pushing for aid to Ukraine as it works to fight off Russia's invasion
The president warned that "freedom and democracy under assault" both "at home and overseas at the very same time," pushing for aid to Ukraine as it works to fight off Russia's invasion

Mar 07, 2024, 9:59 PM EST

Biden takes first swipe at Trump over Ukraine aid and Putin

Biden took his first jab at Trump of the night as he called on Congress to provide further assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders.

"Ukraine aid is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership," he said. "It wasn't long ago, when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.'"

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in Washington, Mar. 7, 2024.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Biden continued, "Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, 'Do whatever the hell you want.' That's a quote. The former president actually said that bowing down to a Russian leader. I think it's outrageous, it's dangerous and it's not acceptable."

Biden took his first jab at Trump of the night as he called on Congress to provide further assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders.
Biden took his first jab at Trump of the night as he called on Congress to provide further assistance to Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders.