Live Updates: State of the Union 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Follow the latest news on the president’s speech. All times are in Eastern (ET).

WATCH LIVE: President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address

Biden bingo

Given Biden’s penchant for repeating his favorite phrases frequently, supporters and detractors alike are assembling bingo cards of the reliable words and phrases he’s most likely to use during the speech.

From the League of Women Voters to the National Constitution Center to Washington outlet Punchbowl News, groups have produced their versions of the cards. When “bidenisms” appear, particularly attentive viewers can cross them out.

Some cards list common cards such as “people”, “not a joke”, and “inflection point”. Others are more politically oriented. Think “Ukraine”, “gas”, “inflation” and “tax cuts”.

Many versions of the cards make the central square a free space. But even that can come with a dose of ideology. The Conservative Americans for Tax Reform Bingo Card called it a “taxpayer-funded ‘free’ space.”

Republican response

The last time many in Washington saw Sarah Huckabee Sanders was sparring with reporters at White House briefings as President Donald Trump’s press secretary. Now she is the newly elected Republican governor of Arkansas, and on Tuesday night she is her party’s pick to deliver the response to Biden’s speech.

In excerpts from those remarks, Sanders denounces what she calls the “radical left” agenda and Biden’s policies. She uses her national platform to pursue conservative fights on social issues, including how race is taught in public schools.

The Sanders-Biden contrast is more than ideological. Sanders is 40 years old and she is currently the youngest governor in the country. Biden is twice his age.

‘Finish the job’

Biden will ask the country he leads to give him more time to accomplish his greatest goals.

“That has always been my vision for the country: to restore the soul of the nation, to rebuild the backbone of America – the middle class – to unite the country.” That’s what the president plans to say in his State of the Union address, according to excerpts released by the White House ahead of the primetime address.

And also this: “We were sent here to finish the job.

In the coming weeks, Biden is expected to officially announce his 2024 re-election campaign. A majority of Democrats now think one term is enough for him, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Live State of the Union updates: Latest on Biden’s speech

Whirlwind of preparations

Preparations are underway at the Capitol with the President’s State of the Union address just hours away. And that means a flurry of behind-the-scenes operations to transform the stately building for the prime-time event.

The House chamber is emptied now that lawmakers have finished most of their business for the day. The crews begin their work.

The Hall of Golden Statues fills with lights, cameras and broadcast crews for the many interviews that will air before and after the speech.

It’s the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the Capitol has fully reopened for the event. Security is strict. People began to fill the halls of the Capitol

The ball

Biden received a lot of heat from Republicans for his handling of the alleged Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the United States before being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. GOP lawmakers had talked about introducing a resolution, just as the president was due to deliver his prime-time speech, that would have condemned the administration on the matter.

Those plans have been scrapped and a bipartisan proposal condemning China is under consideration.

“It’s too big a problem. And we want to stay strong together against China instead of having our own internal fights,” Rep. Mike McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Associated Press. The Texas Republican is sponsoring the bipartisan resolution.

Not everyone is on board, it seems. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congresswoman from Georgia, showed up at the Capitol on Tuesday with a large white balloon.

Microphone drop

“We are not going to make child’s play by tearing up a speech”
– Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. It was a reference to her predecessor, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who made a point of publicly tearing up her copy of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address right after she finished speaking in 2020.

Guests

Keep an eye out for invited guests to the White House speech and members of Congress.

Among those seated with First Lady Jill Biden will be the family of Tire Nichols and the parents of a 3-year-old girl who has a rare form of cancer. There will be U2 frontman Bono, who battled HIV/AIDS, and Brandon Tsay, who disarmed the gunman accused in a mass shooting last month in California.

Some Democratic lawmakers are bringing relatives of deceased black men and boys into police custody.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy invited former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, who changed his name from Enes Kanter after becoming a US citizen in 2021. He grew up in Turkey and criticized the president Turkish, Tayyip Erdoğan, and says that a bounty has been issued against him in this country.

Here we are

It’s State of the Union time, that day when the President delivers a speech to Congress that tries to get a lot done.

Biden will want to talk about his accomplishments, throw out some goals for this year, check off the things that need fixing, and cheer for the nation. And, of course, characterize the state of the union.

Doing all of this can take time. Biden’s 2022 State of the Union address lasted just over 62 minutes. Bill Clinton gave the longest speech of all time, with one hour and 28 minutes in 2000. The award for the shortest speech goes to Republican George W. Bush, who spoke for 47 minutes in 2002.

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