Donald Trump delivered a sick critique of Joe Biden's State of the Union speech as he claimed the president's speech was a success because they "didn't have to carry him out in a straitjacket".
President Biden opened the speech by taking at "my predecessor" without ever mentioning Trump by name - 13 times in all - and raised his voice repeatedly as he tried to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance. He refused to utter Donald Trump’s name, saying that “my predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January. 6.”
The 81-year-old, the country's oldest-ever president, goaded Republicans over their policies on immigration, and taxes, and bantered with fellow Democrats as he seemed to relish the fight. However, Donald Trump was less than impressed and hit back at the speech and claimed he "did not do a very good job", as well as attacking his opponent's appearance on his Truth Social platform.
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He wrote on Truth Social: "The story is that he got through it, he's still breathing, and they didn't have to carry him out in a straitjacket. Other than that, he did not do a very good job!"
In another post, he wrote: "It took him 41 minutes to talk, briefly, about immigration and the border, on the topic of which he was very weak. No talk of weaponisation against his very calm and nice opponent. Angry as hell, this guy is a psycho!"
Trump also posted a variety of images and videos last night, appearing to take aim at Biden. In one clip, taken from Biden's appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, the President is seen standing and eating an ice cream in front of an edited-in dumpster which appears to be on fire with an American flag pasted over the front of it. Another saw Trump using filters to alter the faces of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to appear shocked and wide-eyed.
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As Biden ran through the endorsements by conservative groups of the legislation, some in the audience appeared to yell and interject, and Biden shot back: “I know you know how to read.” As Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, wearing pro-Trump paraphernalia, continued to shout at Biden, the president held up a white button that the Georgia Republican had handed him earlier bearing the name of the slain Laken Riley. Authorities say the Georgia nursing student was killed by a Venezuelan national who unlawfully crossed into the U.S. in September 2022.
“Laken Riley,” Biden said, calling her an “innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” He expressed condolences to her family, saying his heart goes out to them.
Access to abortion and fertility treatments was also a key component of Biden’s speech, especially in light of a controversial ruling from Alabama’s Supreme Court that has upended access to in vitro fertilization treatment in the state. “To my friends across the aisle, don’t keep families waiting any longer,” Biden said, recognizing Latorya Beasley, a guest of first lady Jill Biden’s whose IVF treatments were cancelled after the Alabama ruling. “Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide!”
Another guest was Kate Cox, who sued Texas, and ultimately left her home state, to obtain an emergency abortion after a severe fetal anomaly was detected, in a case that drew national attention.