WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech on Thursday evening aims to remind Americans how the economy has recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic, and draw a sharp contrast between himself and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, is not expected to mention Trump, 77, by name, but excerpts released by the White House ahead of the 9 p.m. ET (0200 GMT on Friday) speech show him making clear jabs at Trump:
ABORTION RIGHTS
“Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America…If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”
ECONOMIC COMEBACK
“America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up.”
OTHER PEOPLE HIS AGE
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy…To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
The phrase “revenge and retribution” echoes a Biden speech marking the third anniversary of the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists.
(Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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