Trump, Gaza war, Putin, and more: Key takeaways from Joe Biden’s State of the Union address 2024
Incumbent US President Joe Biden, in his third and final State of the Union address before the 2024 US Presidential Elections, repeatedly slammed his Republican rival Donald Trump throughout his speech.
Calling out Trump over his claims of a rigged election and the Jan 6 US Capitol insurrection by his followers, Biden remarked, “You can’t love the country only when you win”.
He also touched upon a variety of topics, including the Israel-Hamas war, immigration, student loan debt and more. Here are the key takeaways from Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address.
Sweden joins NATO
At the beginning of his speech, Biden welcomed Sweden to the NATO bloc and said: “Welcome, welcome, welcome!”
He acknowledged Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s attendance during the address and said, “Mr Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever known.”
“Today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever,” he said.
On Putin and Ukraine-Russia war
Reiterating his appeals for military aid to Ukraine, Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop at Ukraine, but that Kyiv can stop him “if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers.”
“Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” he warned.
