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

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

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.


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Texas woman in abortion controversy speaks with ABC before State of the Union

Kate Cox, a Texas woman who had to go to New Mexico for an abortion after she and her doctor said her pregnancy could have threatened her life, explained how difficult her experience was to ABC News before attending the State of the Union as a guest of the president and first lady Jill Biden.

Cox said her fetus was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a condition described as incompatible with life, but had to go to New Mexico for an abortion after a court ruled that the procedure would violate Texas' ban.

"It was really heartbreaking because we were so excited for our third baby. It's the hardest news I've ever received," she told ABC News' Rachel Scott.

"And it's hard to walk around pregnant with a belly, especially usually with my other two kids, when people ask you, you know ... 'What are you having? Do you have a name? Are you going to have a baby shower?' It's really hard when, you know, how do you explain that there's not going to be a baby, that she'll never survive?"


Santos arrives to Capitol for Biden's speech in surprise appearance

As he told ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott he would, disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos arrived to the House chamber on Thursday night about an hour before Biden's speech begins.

He was seen seated on the GOP side near the aisle -- his normal position when he was a voting lawmaker.

As a former member, Santos retains the privilege of accessing the House floor. He would need to be convicted of one of his criminal charges to be banned from the floor. He has pleaded not guilty.

-ABC News' John Parkinson


Republicans spotlighting slain college student amid criticism of Biden's border policies

Republicans plan to keep an empty seat in memoriam of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed on the University of Georgia's Athens campus last month.

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., said he invited Riley's parents to be guests at the State of the Union though "they have chosen to stay home as they grieve the loss of their daughter."

Biden's address comes hours after the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require detention of any unauthorized migrant who commits burglary or theft.

The suspect charged in Riley's killing, Jose Antonio Ibarra, unlawfully entered the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was paroled and released for further processing, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said following his arrest in Georgia.

ICE said that Ibarra was subsequently arrested by New York City police in 2023 and released before federal officials could ask for his detention. The NYPD has said there is no arrest on file.

The Laken Riley Act passed the House 251-170, with 37 Democrats voting for it. Some opposing it believe Republicans are using Riley's death for their own political gain to place blame on the Biden administration's border policies as polling shows immigration is a top issue for some voters.


Abortion is a winning issue for Democrats, and possibly for Biden

I’m especially interested in what the president has to say about abortion rights. It has been a winning issue for Democrats, and a losing one for Republicans, since the Supreme Court upended the status quo and reversed Roe v. Wade's protections in June 2022. In fact, polling shows that Americans have become even more supportive of abortion rights since the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was issued.

Democrats will be eager to campaign on expanding and protecting reproductive health this fall, and their voters rank the issue highly, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll.

In that same poll, 55% of voters said they want to see the federal government protect abortion access across the country, and one in eight voters said it was the most important factor determining their vote.

On the opposite side, many anti-abortion groups want their candidates to support a national ban, something that’s very unpopular with the public as a whole.

-Monica Potts, 538