President Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union address to a bitterly divided Congress — and nation — Thursday night, one that many viewed as unusually political as the president prepares to take on former President Trump in the general election.
The hour-plus speech touched on a host of issues dominating the 2024 cycle — such as immigration and abortion — and featured some heckling from conservatives and progressives alike, including a spontaneous exchange between the president and one of his foremost GOP critics.
Facial expressions from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also drew headlines, as the Louisiana Republican became the third Speaker to sit behind Biden as he delivered a State of the Union address.
Here are five memorable moments from the president’s address.
Biden, Greene get into unusual back-and-forth
Among the most buzzworthy moments of the address was an unusual back-and-forth between the president and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — one of his fiercest critics on Capitol Hill — about Laken Riley, the Georgia college student who, according to police, was killed by a man who had crossed the border illegally.
Greene handed Biden a pin when he entered the chamber for his speech that read “say her name Laken Riley.” Greene had distributed the pins to lawmakers ahead of Thursday night’s address.
Then, while Biden was discussing the situation at the southern border during his speech, Greene yelled out, “It’s about Laken Riley,” and other Republicans shouted, “Say her name.”
Biden held up the pin Greene gave him and responded to the congresswoman from the dais.
“Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal,” he said. “To her parents I say my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand.”
The exchange drew some criticism from Democrats. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters after the speech that “I wish he hadn’t engaged with Marjorie Taylor Greene and used the word illegal.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), meanwhile, when asked about the exchange, said Republicans became “very emotional” during the address because it was an “overly partisan speech.” Johnson on Wednesday had urged his members to maintain decorum during Biden’s remarks.
“People got very emotional tonight because it was an overly partisan speech and it was filled, full of information that is just objectively not true. And so you saw the visceral reaction, I think, from people in the chamber and I suspect that a lot of people at home were feeling that same frustration,” he said.
Progressives hold up signs saying ‘stop sending bombs’
Several progressive lawmakers criticized the Biden administration’s approach to Israel, holding up signs reading “stop sending bombs” as Biden discussed the conflict with Hamas.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian member of Congress, as well as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) were seen holding the paddle signs.
The quiet protest nods to the division Biden is facing within his own party, with many frustrated by his military support for Israel amid mounting deaths of Palestinian civilians.
Biden spoke at length about the war during his address, saying both that “Israel has a right to go after Hamas” and noting that many of the 30,000 Palestinian casualties have no ties to the terror group.
The Biden administration said Thursday it would launch a temporary pier intended to help direct aid to Gaza.
Biden also offered some of his most pointed comments about Israel’s need to protect civilians.
“To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority,” he said.
Trump infiltrates House chamber
Former President Trump may not have been in the Capitol for Thursday night’s speech, but his presence was felt throughout the House chamber.
Greene, a close ally of the ex-president, wore a bright red MAGA hat during Biden’s remarks. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), meanwhile, donned a shirt that featured Trump’s mug shot with the words “never surrender!” in addition to a patriotic bow tie. The Texas Republican stood in the back of the chamber with his blazer wide open, displaying the Trump shirt.
But it was not just the attire that screamed Trump. Biden’s speech — which Republicans criticized as being unusually political for a State of the Union address — did not mention Trump but referred to “my predecessor” 13 times, according to prepared remarks provided by the White House.
Biden slammed Trump for his comments about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, blamed the former president for tanking the bipartisan immigration bill crafted by a group of senators, and condemned his efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade by stacking the Supreme Court with conservative justices.
The lines drew applause from Democrats but got an expectedly icy reception from Republicans.
“The speech was angry, it was divisive, it was out of touch with reality,” Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said, criticizing portions that called on Republicans to support a bipartisan immigration package drafted in the Senate.
“I think that he was insinuating that we are the ones that are causing [the border] to not be secure. And so it’s just, where’s the inspiration for our country? Where’s the leader that is not so angry, yelling at us. I honestly felt like it was just an angry speech,” he added.
Johnson shakes head throughout remarks
Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) facial reactions to Biden’s speech drew attention of their own, with the nods and even occasional eye rolls a running feature behind the president.
Ahead of the address, Johnson’s first as Speaker, he encouraged his party to carry themselves with decorum during the speech.
But the mild-mannered Speaker’s disagreement with the speech came through all the same, including shaking his head no and offering a slight eye roll when Biden criticized Trump for “fail[ing] the most basic duty” to care for the American people during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People are saying that I made funny facial expressions. I tried to keep a poker face, but it was very difficult. I disagreed so vehemently with so much of what he said, and I think the people back home did as well,” Johnson told reporters after the speech.
“There’s a lot of memes, I guess, going around tonight about my facial expressions. I did not like the speech, I don’t think the American people liked it, and there wasn’t much I could do about that. I guess I didn’t hide that very well,” he told Fox News’s Sean Hannity.
Johnson rolled his eyes and shook his head when Biden discussed his administration’s policy on the federal deficit.
Johnson also shook his head a couple of times when Biden criticized the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump signed into law in 2017. It continued when Biden slammed Trump for the increase in the national debt during his presidency.
And Johnson sneered and shook his head “no” when Biden accused Republicans of wanting to put Social Security “on the chopping block” and granting tax cuts for wealthy individuals.
Lankford nods yes as Biden praises stalled immigration package
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) gave a solemn nod and mouthed “it’s true” when Biden ran down a list of immigration priorities that would have been addressed by a bipartisan package negotiated by the Oklahoma Republican.
As soon as Biden mentioned the stalled reform bill, cameras immediately panned to Lankford, who was swiftly abandoned by his party after the months-long effort caved with the loss of support from key Senate Republicans.
A stone-faced Lankford initially starred straight ahead as Biden both praised the bill as “the toughest set of border security reforms we’ve ever seen” and took Republicans to task for failing to support it.
“Oh, you don’t like that bill, huh?” Biden said amid Republican boos. “That conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I’ll be darned. That’s amazing.”
But as Biden ran down the list of priorities in the bill — 1,500 border agents, as well as funding the hiring of 100 more immigration judges and 4,300 more asylum officers — Lankford began to nod in agreement.