'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.

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:

Here's how the news developed.
Mar 07, 2024, 9:26 PM EST

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona chosen as the designated survivor

While Biden entered the U.S. Capitol House chambers for his State of the Union address, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was announced as the "designated survivor."

The designated survivor is a Cabinet member chosen to remain physically away from the president and vice president in case of an emergency or an attack during the State of the Union.

Cardona will go to an undisclosed location for the duration of the address.

In this June 30, 2023, file photo, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona takes part in a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Leah Millis/Reuters, FILE

Mar 07, 2024, 9:26 PM EST

Tlaib, Omar wear keffiyehs at address

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., are wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, at the address, as the progressive wing of the Democratic Party continues to call for a cease-fire in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush and Summer Lee put on Palestinian keffiyehs prior to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., March 7, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

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

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