Roving Periscope: The US “revitalizing” ties with India, and others says Biden
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Firing on all cylinders and against all his foes within and without—ranging from his predecessor Donald Trump, and President Vladimir Putin of Russia to Xi Jinping of China—US President Joe Biden said on Friday that America is “revitalizing” ties with India and others.
In his State of the Union address, Biden, 81, openly acknowledged his advanced age as he wrapped up his speech remarking, “I’ve been told I’m too old.”
In his final State of the Union address before his potential re-election bid in November 2024, Biden declared that the United States is taking a stand against China’s unfair economic practices and working to strengthen partnerships with allies such as India.
“We are standing up against China’s unfair economic practice, standing up for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and also revitalizing our partnership with allies and the Pacific, India. Australia, Japan, South and Korea.”
He clarified that the US wants competition with China, not conflict.
President Biden opened his annual address by calling out Russian President Vladimir Putin over his war in Ukraine. He also came out swinging at presidential challenger Donald Trump, without naming him, for “bowing down to Putin.”
Addressing a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, he opened his remarks with direct criticism of Trump for his alleged comments inviting President Putin to invade other NATO nations if they did not spend more on defense.
“Now my predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, quote, “Do whatever you want,” Biden said. “I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”
The President, who has been pushing Congress to provide additional funding to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia, also had a message for Putin.
“If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk…My message to President Putin whom I’ve known for a long time is simple; we will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”
Biden also issued a sharp directive to Israel’s leaders, telling them not to hold up humanitarian aid to Palestinians for political purposes, and announced that the US military will build a “temporary pier” on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive relief materials by sea.
The President also hit out at the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning abortion protections and vowed to codify the former precedent into law, if re-elected.
“If the American people send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you I will restore Roe v/s Wade as the law of the land again,” he said.
Without naming Trump, the Democrat leader blamed him for the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v/s Wade, claiming that his likely 2024 opponent “brags about it.”
Biden said those who brag about overturning abortion protections “have no clue about the power of women.” Directly addressing his remarks to the Supreme Court judges who were in the room, he said, “With all due respect, justices, women are not without electoral or political power.”
President Biden, wasting no time referencing the January 6, 2020 riots at the US Capitol, criticized some attendees for their election denialism and defense of the rioters, stating, “The insurrectionists were not patriots.”
On top of their attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and overturn the will of the people, Biden called out Trump and his allies for attempting to conceal the truth about January 6.
“Our predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6. I will not do that… This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here’s the simple truth: you can’t love your country only when you win,” said Biden.
He knocked Republicans over immigration reform, particularly after the party thwarted a bipartisan compromise linking stricter border policies with aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Immigration and migrant surges have emerged as significant political focal points for Biden as he advocates for another term. Former President Donald Trump has been lambasting him on the campaign trail for his stance on the hot-button issue.
The President reminded Trump of his words: “I will not demonize immigrants, saying they ‘poison the blood of our country’. I will not separate families or ban people from America because of their faith. Unlike my predecessor, I know who we are as Americans.”
Addressing concerns about being the oldest US President to hold office and run for re-election, he said, “Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures.
“I’ve known our North Star, the very idea of Americans, that we’re all created equal, deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We’ve never fully lived up to that idea. We’ve never walked away from it either. And I won’t walk away from it now.”
