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

Biden recalled how four years ago this month, the U.S. was hit by the "worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis of the century."

"I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in the nation's history," he said. "It doesn't make news, but in a thousand cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told."

Biden touted that 15 million new jobs were created in just three years after the onset of COVID-19 and unemployment is at 50-year lows. A "record" 16 million Americans are starting small businesses, he said.

He also suggested that the country has moved beyond the pandemic, though people continue to die from the disease every day -- at much lower numbers than before the advent of vaccines.

Biden spoke early about Jan. 6 as a threat to democracy, referring obliquely to Trump as “my predecessor,” and polls show most voters agree with him that democracy is in trouble.

Only 28% of American adults said they were satisfied with the way democracy in the U.S. is working in a Gallup poll from December. In a December Navigator poll, two in three Americans were concerned about a repeat of the insurrection. In an August Morning Consult/Bipartisan Policy Center poll, 82% of voters said they were worried about U.S. democracy.

But Republicans, who remain convinced Trump is innocent of the 91 criminal charges he faces across four cases in different states (as he denies wrongdoing), are worried for different reasons. They believe the criminal cases against him are politically motivated. And Trump has continued to sow doubt about American institutions and the electoral process, undermining voters’ trust in institutions.

All of this could have major impacts for how the November elections go down.

-Monica Potts, 538

Biden reflected on the Jan. 6 attack, which took place in the same House chambers in which he is currently delivering his State of the Union address.

After saying "history is watching" in regards to the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden said, "Just like history watched three years ago on Jan. 6 when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy."

Biden called the push to overthrow the 2020 election he won over Trump the "gravest threat to U.S. democracy since the Civil War."

Referencing the former president without referring to him by name, Biden said, "My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about Jan. 6."

"I will not do that," he added. "This is the moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies."

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Biden reiterates that the integrity of democracy is at stake in 2024 election

Referencing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Biden said, "Political violence has absolutely no place, no place in America."

ABCNews.com

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.