President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address

President Biden claimed that a new law, the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, will produce hundreds of thousands of new jobs. He said, “That’s going to come from companies that have announced more than $300 billion in investment in American manufacturing over the next few years.” 

Facts First: Biden’s prediction about future job creation is obviously beyond the scope of a fact check. But his claim about companies having announced $300 billion in manufacturing investments during his presidency is accurate; the White House provided CNN with a list of these publicly announced investments. (It’s worth noting that companies sometimes end up investing less than they initially announce.)    

The majority of the manufacturing investments that have been publicly announced under Biden to date have been investments in semiconductor facilities. The Biden administration has emphasized the importance of US semiconductor manufacturing, and Biden signed a bill in August that has helped to generate major investment.  

President Joe Biden regained control of an increasingly rowdy House chamber – and even managed to quickly turn heckles into a standing ovation from most Republicans, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy – during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. 

The president was speaking about the national debt – a debt he said took “200 years to accumulate,” but was increased by 25% under the last administration. 

“Those are the facts, check it out,” Biden said, as boos and chatter started in the chamber. “Check it out!,” he continued over the ruckus. 

Democrats cheered while Republicans quieted. But when the president accused some Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, the protests erupted again. 

"Anybody who doubts it, contact my office, I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.” 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green appeared to stand and shout, “you lie.” 

The White House has repeatedly accused Republicans of wanting to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare, but McCarthy explicitly said recently that those cuts were off the table. 

The president said he was “glad to see” the reaction, adding, “I enjoy conversion.”

McCarthy shook his head and appeared to shush his members. 

The president continued, saying he wasn’t going to “be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we don’t respond.”

He added: “if anyone tries to cut Social Security – which apparently no one is going to do – I’ll stop them. I’ll veto it.”  

“Apparently it’s not going to be a problem,” he said. 

Biden then said when he brings his budget proposal to Congress, he wanted to “sit down together and discuss our mutual plans together. Let’s do that.” McCarthy stood and clapped.

The new House Republican majority has constructed a figurative wall in front of President Joe Biden’s legislative priorities.

But White House officials made a point of including the most politically salient of them in his State of the Union address anyway.

Junk fees. Non-compete agreements. Labor organizing. Paid family leave and an expanded Child Tax Credit. Expanding the cap on insulin prices to all Americans after enacting a cap for Medicare recipients last year.

Each of these policies is viewed inside the White House as widely popular across the country. They have reams of polling data to prove it. They rally Democrats and elevate the party’s close union allies.

They also have little to no prospects of getting to Biden’s desk to be signed into law in the 118th Congress.

But they mark a clear contrast for Biden to highlight, even as he seeks to underscore his desire to extend an olive branch of bipartisanship to his Republican counterparts.

White House officials are well aware of the aspirational nature of the proposals. But they view the contrast as critical for the months ahead. There is, after all, another election coming up in 2024. And it won’t just be lawmakers in the chamber up for reelection.  

All signs point to Biden’s name being on the ballot as well.

President Joe Biden said there is “near record unemployment for Black and Hispanic workers.” 

Facts First: Biden’s claims are accurate.  

The Black or African American unemployment rate was 5.4% in January 2023, just above the record low of 5.3% set in August 2019. (This data series goes back to 1972.) The rate was 9.2% in January 2021, the month Biden took office.   

The Hispanic or Latino unemployment rate was 4.5% in January 2023, not too far from the record low of 4.0% that was set in September 2019 — though the 4.5% rate in January 2023 was a jump from the 4.1% rate in December 2022. (This data series goes back to 1973.) The rate was 8.5% in January 2021. 

President Biden criticized the fiscal management of former President Donald Trump’s administration — saying that “nearly 25% of the entire national debt, a debt that took 200 years to accumulate, was added by just one administration alone – the last one.” 

Facts First: Biden’s claim is correct. The national debt, now more than $31 trillion, increased by just under $8 trillion during Trump’s four years in office, in part because of Trump’s major tax cuts. It’s important to note, though, that some of the increase in the debt during the Trump era was because of the trillions in emergency Covid-19 pandemic relief spending that passed with bipartisan support. The national debt spiked in the first half of 2020 after increasing gradually during Trump’s first three years in office, and because of spending required by safety-net programs that were created by previous presidents. A significant amount of spending under any president is the result of decisions made by their predecessors.  

Charles Blahous, a researcher at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University who authored the 2021 paper “Why We Have Federal Deficits,” wrote that the impact of recent legislation on the long-term structural fiscal imbalance is dwarfed by the creation of Medicare and Medicaid and increases to Social Security, all of which occurred between 1965 and 1972.   

"Despite all the political rhetoric expended today to cast blame for skyrocketing federal deficits on either the Joseph R. Biden Jr. administration or the Donald J. Trump administration, on either congressional Democrats or congressional Republicans, the largest drivers of the structural federal fiscal imbalance were enacted roughly a half-century ago," Blahous wrote.  

President Joe Biden emphasized the United States' support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion as the war approaches its one-year anniversary.

President Joe Biden is talking about the war in Ukraine during his State of the Union address — a cause the US has pledged more than $29 billion dollars since it began, according to the Pentagon.

Biden announced the latest package worth more than $2.17 billion Friday that includes longer-range missiles for the first time.

Last month, the US committed to provide Ukraine with 31 advanced M-1 Abrams tanks, a decision made in concert with European countries providing German-made Leopard 2 tanks. It was a reversal of a red line previously held by the US and other Western countries, like Germany. The tanks are powerful new tools, allowing Ukraine to go on the offensive and retake territory seized by Russia.

At the time of the announcement, Biden insisted the tanks should not be viewed by Moscow as an “offensive threat.” However, last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West was threatening Moscow “again” with German-made Leopard fighter tanks.

One thing that still remains off the table for the US is fighter jets. Biden previously answered "no," he would send jets to Ukraine. US and allied officials say jets would be impractical, both because they require considerable training and because Russia has extensive anti-aircraft systems that could easily shoot them down.

All this comes as Kyiv has ramped up pressure on allies to send more aid and weapons — especially fighter jets — ahead of a possible Russian offensive in the spring. Even now, heavy fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, with Russian attacks often targeting civilian targets.

CNN has reported that US and Western officials are urging Ukraine to shift its focus from the brutal, months-long fight in the eastern city of Bakhmut and prioritize instead a potential offensive in the south, using a different style of fighting that takes advantage of the billions of dollars in new military hardware recently committed by Western allies, 

One year of war: Biden is considering making a trip to Europe around the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine next month, two senior administration officials tell CNN. One of the officials said that one stop under consideration is Poland, a key NATO ally currently housing thousands of American troops that also serves as a hub for Western weapons transfers to Ukraine. US service members are also training Ukrainian troops there.

It is highly unlikely that Biden would travel to Ukraine as part of this trip, however, one of the officials said, given the ongoing security concerns.

As he walked into the chamber for the State of the Union address, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney told embattled GOP Rep. George Santos: “You don’t belong here,” according to a member who witnessed the tense exchange.

The moment happened as members of Congress began entering the chamber for President Joe Biden's address.

President Joe Biden said Tuesday discussions of policing differ along racial lines in America, admitting he's never had to have "the talk" – how to conduct oneself around police – that many Black and brown families have to have with their children.

"If a police officer pulls you over, turn on your interior lights. Don’t reach for your license. Keep your hands on the steering wheel. Imagine having to worry like that every single time your kid got in a car," he said.

The mother of Tyre Nichols, the unarmed Black man killed by police in Memphis, was in attendance at the State of the Union address and told the president how she continues to find the courage to carry on and speak out, Biden said.

The president added, "Equal protection under the law is a covenant we have with each other in America. We know police officers put their lives on the line every single night and day and we know we asked them in many cases to do too much, counselors, social workers, cycle ecologists responding to mental health crises and so much more, in one sense we ask too much of them."

"I know most cops and their families are good, decent, honorable people, the vast majority," he said.