President Joe Biden touches on taxes, crime, abortion, inflation and more during SOTU address

Former New York Rep. George Santos announced a surprise comeback campaign while in attendance at the State of the Union address.

"I just witnessed a weak, frail president deliver spin and lies to the American people from inside the chambers. I have made several personal sacrifices in the name of serving the American people. My promise is that I will never back down because of my love for this country," Santos wrote in a post on X.

"New York hasn’t had a real conservative represent them since I left office arbitrarily, thanks to RINO, empty suits like Nick Lalota," the former congressman continued. "He is a willing to risk the future of our majority and the future of this country for his own political gain. After a lot of prayer and conversation with my friends and family, I have made a very important decision that will shake things up."

Santos wrote, "Tonight, I want to announce that I will be returning to the arena of politics and challenging Nick for the battle over [New York 1st Congressional District]. I look forward to debating him on the issues and on his weak record as a Republican. The fight for our majority is imperative for the survival of the country."

Fox News contributor Joe Concha told ‘Fox & Friends First’ on Friday that “the president was going to be thrown bouquets of flowers” from the media following his State of the Union speech “regardless of how this address went.” 

“Just go back and read the headlines from a year ago, 2023. Same deal, Biden showed passion, vigor, stamina, commanded the facts,” Concha said. “Look, if Joe Biden did a 70-minute press conference with actual journalists asking the questions, then I think you could apply all those terms around vigor and stamina and passion.” 

“But last night was simply a matter of him reading a speech that he practiced for nearly a week off of a teleprompter. He beat expectations because that is easy to do when the expectations are a speed bump,” Concha continued. 

“For all the praise Biden is receiving this morning, I can safely bet that if you went out on the street... asked anyone who watched that speech if they could remember one major policy announcement or change from Biden’s first three years... what would make the American people believe that anything will be any different?” Concha also said. 

Democratic lawmakers and leaders rebuked President Biden for not calling the Venezuelan illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered Laken Riley in Georgia an "undocumented" immigrant.

Biden referred to the suspected murderer as an "illegal" at his State of the Union address. When asked about Biden's reference to Riley, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi corrected Biden's language choice. 

"Now he should have said undocumented, but that’s not a big thing, ok? What’s the big thing?" she said during an interview on CNN Thursday night, immediately following the address. 

Other Democrats vented on social media about Biden using the term, which some liberals view as dehumanizing.

"As a proud immigrant," Illinois Democratic Rep. Chuy García wrote Thursday, "I'm extremely disappointed to hear President Biden use the word ‘illegal.’" 

"Let me be clear: No human being is illegal," Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., wrote. 

A Maryland mother whose daughter was raped and killed by an alleged MS-13 gang member who is an illegal immigrant told 'Fox & Friends First' on Friday that President Biden “did not say anything about the border crisis” during his State of the Union speech last night. 

Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed in her mobile home in Maryland in 2022, said Biden’s speech “just seemed like it was a pep rally.” 

Nobles added that she shouted her daughter’s name from the audience while Biden held up a button with Laken Riley’s name on it. Nobles was a guest of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

“I did what I was meant to do, and he did not even acknowledge anything,” Nobles said. 

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

President Biden gave a brief acknowledgment during his State of the Union address of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been considered wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly a year. 

The shoutout for Gershkovich came as he addressed the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, making his vow to do everything he can to bring American hostages home from Gaza.

"We'll also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul [Whelan], Americans being unjustly detained by the Russians and others around the world," Biden said Thursday night before continuing on about the Middle East conflict.

Seen in the gallery were Gershkovich's parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, wearing "Free Evan" buttons. They were invited guests of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Gershkovich was arrested last March as Russian authorities leveled dubious espionage charges against him. He has been kept in Moscow for nearly a year. 

U.S. Capitol Police have arrested a Gold Star father who interrupted President Biden during the State of the Union address by shouting about Afghanistan and the deadly 2021 suicide bomb attack outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul's airport during the military's evacuation from the country, according to Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram. 

“America is safer today than when I took office,” Biden said at one point during the speech before the father began yelling in the audience. 

Authorities then arrested Steven Nakoui, 51, whose son Kareem, a Marine, was one of the victims of the Abbey Gate attack. 

Nakoui was attending the State of the Union as a guest of Florida Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican. 

Nakoui was shouting “Abbey Gate” and “2nd Battalion, 1st Marines.” He was asked to stop, but did not and later was charged with disrupting Congress, Pergram reports. 

President Biden went for the jugular last night as he delivered the State of the Union address with eight months to go until the November general election rematch with former President Trump.

Biden early and often took aim at Trump, whom he only referred to as "his predecessor," and also fired numerous salvos at Republican lawmakers sitting directly in front of him as the president delivered his address to a joint session of Congress.

While Democrats applauded the tone and tenor of the president's address, Republicans savaged the speech for crossing the line.

"This was the most partisan State of the Union I’ve heard in my lifetime," said Bill McGurn, who served as chief speechwriter for then-President George W. Bush.

"Attacking his opponent directly in the first minutes of his speech is unprecedented and perhaps the most partisan start to a State of the Union address in modern memory," Marc Theissen, who also served as a speechwriter for Bush, emphasized in a social media posting.

It was a very different take from Dan Cluchey, who served as a speechwriter for the president in the Biden White House.

"With energy and vigor, the President laid out the clear choice facing America — a choice between two starkly different visions for our future.  Will we expand freedom, or restrict it?  Will we defend democracy, or attack it?  Will we continue to grow the economy for all, or rig it on behalf of billionaires and the wealthiest corporations?  President Biden made it crystal clear where he stands — and he did it while commanding the room with equal parts sharp oratory, disarming banter, and matter-of-fact moral authority," Cluchey told Fox News.

Fox News' Andrew Murray contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden gave the speech of his life on Thursday night, belting out what was in effect a Democratic convention speech under the guise of the State of the Union, carefully timed after Super Tuesday to frame the presidential race as a progressive future against "a predecessor" of hate and revenge.

Here are some things that went right and wrong in the speech.

...

When I worked on State of the Union speeches with President Clinton, the goal was to bring the country together and entice swing voters because it was a rare bipartisan audience.

One rule was to use no words or slogans that we would use in a political speech, as this was history, not politics. 

The idea here going into the election season was the opposite, and so the White House achieved its goal and showed that Joe Biden is ready to run an aggressive campaign that will take on both Trump and the Republicans based on the values of  "Honesty. Decency. Dignity. Equality." 

Polls in the next week or so will tell us whether he failed to connect with everyday Americans on their problems or instead successfully rallied the base enough to begin a comeback. 

This is an excerpt of an opinion column from Fox News contributor Mark Penn.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers walked away from President Biden’s State of the Union address with very different impressions on Thursday night — as expected.

"It sounded more like a campaign speech than it did a State of the Union," one Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital following the speech.

GOP legislators in the House and Senate called the 81-year-old president an "old man" while blasting his speech for frequent references to his 2024 Republican opponent, former President Trump.

But for many Republican lawmakers, their takeaway was Biden's heavily-scrutinized mental faculties. 

"A lot of the time it was hard to understand what he was saying," said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va. "He was kind of mumbling and slurring." 

"We couldn't understand him. He was so mad," agreed Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. "The volume was up and down."

Democrats, meanwhile, praised Biden’s energy and "strong" address.

"I’ve been here for 12 years, that was probably the best State of the Union I've ever heard," Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told Fox News Digital.

Fox News' Liz Elkind and Julia Johnson contributed reporting.

Walking into the House chamber, the first thing that strikes you is how small it is. 

The room where the president delivers the State of the Union looks cavernous on television, but when you’re standing there, you realize it’s not much bigger than a high school gymnasium with a balcony. 

As I watched President Joe Biden, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that fact on Thursday night. 

He raced through the speech like he was reading a bedtime story. Talking over the applause lines and stopping only to catch his breath between snappy lines designed to rev up his base. 

"My predecessor," this.

"My predecessor," that.

During his State of the Union address Thursday, President Biden referred to the alleged killer of Georgia student Laken Riley as "an illegal" — but the term is in contrast to guidance from his Department of Homeland Security, which had told staff to stop using terms like "illegal alien.

"Biden was heckled by Republican lawmakers to say the name of Laken Riley, who was allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant last month in Georgia. Republicans have cited the death as a consequence of the border crisis, which they blame on Biden policies. Biden in turn used the address to restate his calls for Congress to pass a bipartisan border bill.

But Biden picked up a button with Riley’s name on it that lawmakers had been given out and made reference to her — although he misstated her first name.

"Lincoln Riley [sic]," he said. "An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal, that’s right."

The use of the term "illegal," even in reference to an alleged illegal immigrant murderer, rankled some Democrats.

"Let me be clear: No human being is illegal," said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Thursday said that President Biden's State of the Union performance reminded him of an "angry old man" yelling at children to get off his lawn.

"Joe Biden was angry, he was bitter, he was screaming," he told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "He was radical, and extreme and he was completely out of touch with the American people."

"Frankly, tonight Joe Biden reminded me like an angry old man standing on his porch screaming to the kids 'get off my lawn!'"

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said President Joe Biden side-stepped on several key issues during his “bizarre” 2024 State of the Union address.

"I thought it was the most divisive State of the Union from the most out of touch president in American history. I thought it was bizarre," Schmitt told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview after the speech.

The Senator added that the president “didn’t seriously address” illegal immigration, a top issue to voters going into 2024.

"It felt like he was yelling at the time. So the delivery was weird, and then it fell short on substance. He really didn't seriously address the number one issue in the minds of the American people, which is illegal immigration. An hour in, he just blamed other people,” Schmitt said, referring to the president pointing to Congress for the crisis at the southern border. “And so I think the American people see that for what it is: totally phony."

Schmitt also called out the president for beginning his speech talking about conflict overseas, specifically the Russia-Ukraine war, rather than the crisis at the U.S. border.

"I'm also tired of lectures that lead with Ukraine. I'm tired of him spending the first ten minutes of that speech on the importance of the Ukrainian border and doesn't do anything to address the invasion at our southern border."

President Biden delivered his State of the Union speech for over an hour on Thursday night, delivering a number of highlights and key moments that elicited reactions from the crowd and on social media.

Biden used the first few minutes of the speech to talk about Putin’s aggression in Russia, the war in Ukraine, and Sweden’s entrance into NATO.

"What makes our moment rare is freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time," Biden said. "Overseas, Putin's Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not."

Biden went on to criticize those who are blocking funding for Ukraine and tout Sweden’s recent entry into NATO as proof Biden has made the alliance stronger.

Biden mentioned Trump several times during the speech — which drew criticism from conservative pundits who said the address sounded like a campaign speech — and often referred to him simply as "my predecessor."

President Biden appeared to be in a joking mood after delivering his State of the Union address to Congress Thursday night.

Democratic New York Representative Jerry Nadler approached the president following his speech, stating that "nobody's going to talk about cognitively impaired now," in reference to Biden.

Another individual cut in complimenting the president, stating that he was, "on fire tonight."

Exchanging some laughs with his fellow Democrats, Biden responded to Nadler's comment saying, "I kind of wish sometimes I was cognitively impaired."

Republicans accused Biden of threatening the Supreme Court during his speech Thursday, where he warned justices that they don't know the electoral power of women.

Biden directly addressed the justices attending his speech, telling them that they are "about to realize" just how much political power women have.

Biden also promised in his speech to establish a right to abortion, which had been longstanding precedent under Roe v. Wade.

His remarks to the justices were condemned by numerous Republicans following the speech.

"It's disgusting that Joe Biden threatened the Supreme Court for upholding the constitution at the State of the Union," House GOP conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik posted on X.

Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt  pulled no punches as she delivered her party's rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union address Thursday night, ripping him for his "despicable" job handling the border crisis, as well as his promotion of "Bidenomics" amid the rising consumer costs plaguing American families.

A rising star within the GOP, the 42-year-old Britt's selection to deliver the rebuttal last week was met with widespread praise — even from some Democrats — as she continues to build a national profile despite never holding elected office prior to her election in the 2022 midterms.

Britt began her remarks with a reference to Biden's age and his decades as a career politician, blasting his speech as "the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than I've been alive."

"The country we know and love seems to be slipping away, and it feels like the next generation will have fewer opportunities – and less freedoms – than we did. I worry my own children may not even get a shot at living their American Dreams," Britt said.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump blasted President Biden and his State of the Union address Thursday night, telling Fox News Digital that Biden clearly "suffers from a terminal case of Trump derangement syndrome." 

The former president and presumptive Republican nominee, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, reacted to Biden’s address.

"He was angry, mentally disturbed, and misrepresenting a lot of the facts concerning almost every subject he discussed," Trump said.

"But he got through it. He is still breathing, and they didn’t have to carry him out in a straight jacket," Trump said. "Other than that, I think he did a terrible job."

House Speaker Mike Johnson said President Biden "missed his cue" when he began his State of the Union address before being introduced by the former, as is custom.

"Listen, I was prepared to do it, but he jumped the gun. He missed his cue," Johnson told Fox News' Sean Hannity in an interview following Biden's speech.

Biden began speaking immediately after the applause subsided before giving Johnson a chance to welcome him.

"He was about 15 or 20 minutes late upon arrival. I haven't yet heard why that was, but, yeah, he jumped in their and began his speech," he said.

"I was going to do it formally but I never got the opportunity, and I didn't want to interrupt the president and be disrespectful. But it wasn't the Speaker of the House who missed his cue, it was the president," he added.

President Biden's "spin" at the State of the Union address Thursday evening won't help Democrats running in tight House races in November, according to a GOP strategist.

“There's no greater asset to Republicans in toss-up seats than Joe Biden being on the Democratic ballot in November," Aaron Evans, president of Winning Republican Strategies, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"He's more focused on building a port for the Hamas terror regime in Gaza than building a wall at our Southern border, and the only thing rising faster than inflation under his watch has been crime."

Biden mentioned immigration in his speech to Congress, as the border situation has become one of the most contentious political issues in the U.S. Biden scolded Congress for not approving a bipartisan immigration bill that Republicans said did little to secure the border.

"We can fight about fixing the border or we can fix it," Biden said in his speech.

"His team can spin whatever they want to, but Americans feel the reality every day at the pumps and grocery stores across our country," Evans said. "One of the most failed presidencies in the history of our country can only be a boon to Republicans.”

President Biden’s State of the Union speech was trashed by prominent political pundits for its political nature, with some likening it to more of a campaign speech than an overview of the state of the country."

Attacking his opponent directly in the first minutes of his speech is unprecedented and perhaps the most partisan start to a State of the Union address in modern memory," AEI Senior Fellow and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush Marc Thiessen wrote on X during Biden’s Thursday night speech.

President Biden was interrupted by a man who appears to be a Gold Star dad during his State of the Union address.

When Biden was talking about crime, a man yelled “Abbey Gate, Abbey Gate” -- in reference to the terrorist attack outside Kabul Airport in 2021.

Thirteen soldiers were killed in the attack, which came as part of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The dad who yelled was with 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. His identity was not clear.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., confronted President Biden on the floor of the House ahead of his State of the Union speech concerning the death of college student Laken Riley, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

"I'll say her name," Biden is heard telling Greene, accepting from her a commemorative pin including a photo of Riley.

It's unclear exactly what Greene said before handing the Biden the pin, but she added, "Laken Riley. Say her name, Mr. President," before the president moved on.

Biden later held up the pin and said Riley's name during his speech, referring to her alleged murderer as an "illegal."

President Biden directly mentioned Laken Riley, a Georgia student recently murdered allegedly by an illegal immigrant, after heckling by Republicans to do so.

A reference to Riley wasn't in prepared remarks, but when Republicans urged Biden to "say her name" Biden had a button prepared by his side

However, he appeared to misstate her name, calling her "Lincoln Riley...an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal."

"But how many thousands of people have been killed by illegals?"

"To her parents I say my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself, I understand."

Riley was killed on the University of Georgia campus last month. An illegal immigrant from Venezuela has been charged with her murder.

President Biden said during his State of the Union address on Thursday night that in his first couple years as president "we cut the deficit."

"I've been delivering real results in fiscally responsible ways," Biden said. "We've already cut the federal deficit. We've already cut the federal deficit over $1 trillion."

That claim has been fact checked numerous times including by the Washington Post who gave it a "bottomless Pinocchio" rating in 2023.

A former White House speech writer ripped President Biden's State of the Union speech as an "utter disgrace," and "the most partisan" in modern history.

Biden used the opening of his speech to rail against former President Donald Trump, Jan. 6 protestors, and those he said were a threat to democracy.

"Attacking his opponent directly in the first minutes of his speech is unprecedented and perhaps the most partisan start to a State of the Union address in modern memory," Marc Thiessen, a Fox News contributor and former speech writer in President George W. Bush's administration.

"As someone who helped write several SOTUs and who reveres this important presidential institution, I’m stunned by this address. It’s an utter disgrace," he wrote.

"This man should never be allowed to take the rostrum of the House and deliver a State of the Union address again," he added.

As President Biden is giving his State of the Union address, all websites of the Department of Homeland Security briefly went down.

Websites for DHS, as well as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Secret Service are all down.

Biden is expected to address the ongoing border crisis during his address.

DHS said it was "investigating and working to resolve an outage" and later said that the issue "has been resolved."

President Biden began his State of the Union address by quoting former President Ronald Reagan to launch an attack on former President Donald Trump over his stance on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He told Congress that Ukraine "could stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself."

He then compared Reagan's appeal to then-President Gorbachev when he said in front of the Berlin Wall: "Tear down this wall."

"Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin 'do whatever the hell you want,'" Biden said of Trump.

Several members of the House “Squad” of far-left progressives appeared to mount a subtle and silent protest in support of Palestinians during President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday night.

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., all attended Biden’s primetime speech wearing keffiyehs, a traditional symbol of Palestinian nationalism.

The trio hardly applauded when fellow Democrats rose to clap for Biden, and Fox News Digital did not observe them joining any standing ovations.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, has led progressive criticism of Biden for failing to take a harsher stance on Israel’s invasion of Gaza. The conflict was set off on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel in a surprise attack that killed over 1,000 people – mostly civilians.

Israel’s resulting ground invasion has killed over 30,000 Palestinians according to the Hamas-run Gaze Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Last week Tlaib was one of the most vocal proponents of the movement to vote “uncommitted” in the Michigan Democratic primary in protest of Biden for not calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

President Biden invoked former President Trump, his 2024 opponent, multiple times during his State of the Union address.

Biden referred to him multiple times throughout the speech as his "predecessor," but did not mention Donald Trump by name.

First, Biden invoked Trump related to Russia's war with Ukraine.

"My predecessor, a former Republican President, tells Putin, 'Do whatever the hell you want,'" Biden said. "A former American President actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader."

Next, Biden invoked Trump related to Jan. 6, 2021.

"My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th," he said. "I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies."

He added: "And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win."

Biden then invoked Trump related to Roe v. Wade and female reproductive rights.

He also raised "his predecessor" related to mental health; claimed he "failed to buy American" and more.

This year's SOTU designated survivor is Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

During every State of the Union, one member of the president’s cabinet is ushered away from Washington, D.C., and labeled the "designated survivor" with the intention of ensuring that someone in line for presidential succession is kept safe in the event of a catastrophic event during the speech.

The precaution, which dates back to the Cold War, is "taken to provide continuity in the presidency in the event a catastrophe were to result in the death or disablement of the President, the Vice President, and other officials in the line of presidential succession gathered in the House chamber," according to a Congressional Research Service report earlier this year.

Click to read more on FoxNews.com.

Members of Congress started unveiling their guests this week to President Biden's Thursday State of the Union address, with many of their invitees relating to abortion and in vitro fertilization (IVF), border security and foreign policy in Israel.  

As Congress grapples with critical issues, such as the southern border and illegal immigration, differing state laws regarding abortion and IVF, and the amount of additional aid to Israel and Ukraine as they face wars at home, prominent lawmakers have chosen to bring guests highlighting each point of disagreement. 

Fox News Digital took a look at some of the guests expected for Biden's big speech.

Ex-Hamas hostages and families of those still held in Gaza, Gold Star families of Kabul blast victims, IVF and pro-choice activists, Pro-Life activists, parents of American journalist detained in Russia, Alexei Navalny's widow and NYPD officers attacked by migrants in Times Square are expected to attend.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Julia Johnson and Elizabeth Elkind 

United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain made the guest list to attend President Biden's State of the Union (SOTU) address tonight, landing an invitation to sit in first lady Jill Biden's viewing box.

The White House's honor to Fain is a nod to organized labor and to the UAW after the union endorsed President Biden's re-election campaign in January.

In addition to the union boss, other White House invitees to the SOTU include an Alabama woman who is seeking in vitro fertilization (IVF) and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

"Each of these individuals were invited by the White House because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people," the White House guest announcement said.

Biden has repeatedly touted himself as the most pro-union president in modern history, and the White House hailed Fain for the UAW's simultaneous strike against Detroit's Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — last fall. 

This is an excerpt from an article by FOX Business' Breck Dumas

"There are also those who claim that our reform efforts would ensure illegal immigrants," former President Barack Obama said during his 2009 State of the Union address. "This, too, is false." 

Behind Obama sat now President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. A crowd of attendees can be heard causing commotion in the background as Obama speaks on immigration reforms. One attendee yells out to the former president as Biden and Pelosi look hastily in the direction of the individual.

"The reforms I am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally," Obama said. "It's not true."

In 2009, Obama pushed for an immigration reform bill.

"This is not going to be a free ride. It's not going to be some instant amnesty," Obama said at the time. "What's going to happen is you are going to pay a significant fine. You are going to learn English. You are going to go to the back of the line so that you don't get ahead of somebody who was in Mexico City applying legally. But after you've done these things, over a certain period of time you can earn your citizenship."

The president is expected to deliver his State of the Union address Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. 

A White House official told Fox News Digital the president will "lay out the historic achievements he has delivered on for the American people and his vision for the future." 

"President Biden got more done in the first three years than most presidents have accomplished in two terms," a White House official told Fox News Digital. 

The president is expected to discuss "protecting and implementing his agenda" during the last year of his term and in what he hopes will be a second term. 

The official said Biden will discuss infrastructure and investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, lowering drug prices and "getting rid of junk fees." 

But, at the heart of the speech, the president is expected to discuss "whose side he is on," the official said, and "the work ahead to make life better for every American." 

The president will discuss lowering costs, lowering health care premiums and "taking on the drug companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs." 

Biden is also set to discuss ways he intends to put the middle class "first." 

Former President Trump trolled President Biden for being "very substantially late."

"Not a good start, but let's give him the benefit of the doubt," Trump posted on his Truth Social. "I'm sure he had very important things to do, but he is just now getting into the car."

"They will have to drive very, very quickly, you just don't want to be late to the State of the Union," he said.

Trump added: "They will need Mario Andretti to be at the wheel of the Limo."

President Biden was 15 minutes late arriving to the House of Representatives for his third State of the Union address.

He was announced on the floor of the House of Representatives around 9:17 p.m. ET when he was due to arrive at 9:01 p.m. ET.

It's unclear why the president was running late, but he departed the White House well after he was expected to.

His late arrival runs contrary to the usual precise timing for State of the Union addresses, although previous president's have delayed their speeches for days, including Ronald Reagan in 1986 after the Challenger explosion.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., reacted on Thursday night to pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating near the Capitol ahead of President Biden's State of the Union address in an effort to disrupt it.

"So, the wall outside the Capitol is to protect @TheDemocrats from their base. #SOTU2024," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Biden's legacy is Genocide," read a banner held by the protesters.

Earlier on Wednesday it was revealed that Biden would announce in his SOTU address that the U.S. military will be building a port in Gaza, which will have the capability of receiving "large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters," according to a senior administration official.

House Speaker Mike Johnson will host the parents of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich – who has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for nearly a year – at President Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Johnson's office confirmed that Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich would be the speaker's special guests.

"I’m honored to host Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich for the State of the Union address," Johnson said in a statement. 

"By hosting Evan’s parents, Congress will shine a spotlight on the unjust detention of their son," he said.

The Republican speaker of the House said that the Biden administration "must bring Evan home."

"The United States must always stand for freedom of the press around the world, especially in places like Russia, where it is under assault," Johnson said. "The Administration must bring Evan home."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Sarah Rumpf-Whitten 

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside President Biden’s State of the Union on Thursday night in an apparent attempt to disrupt proceedings.

About 100 protesters showed up at the intersection of Constitution Avenue and 3rd Street in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night, about an hour before Biden was set to deliver his State of the Union address.

Protesters could be seen holding up a sign that said, "Biden’s legacy is genocide."

The State of the Union address has been delayed during past presidencies. In 1986, then-President Ronald Reagan delayed his address due to the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts on the night of the scheduled speech.

Also, back in 2019, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told then-President Donald Trump that the address should be postponed due to security concerns while the government was experiencing a partial shutdown. The speech was delayed until the first week in February after the partial government shutdown ended.

Two U.S. presidents did not serve long enough to submit a State of the Union address — late Presidents William Henry Harrison and James Garfield, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Harrison died of an acute illness on April 4, 1841, just 31 days after his inauguration. Garfield, who also did not give an address, served just 199 days before he was assassinated in 1881.

The State of the Union itself is a national tradition, though it only began as we know it in 1965, when then-President Lyndon Johnson delivered the nationally televised address as it’s currently named in prime time.

President Biden is continuing that tradition by making his big speech at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. And while the president is expected to give a yearly update on the state of the union, the commanders-in-chief have given the same assessment almost every year for four decades: “Strong.”

“Because the soul of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong, because the people of this nation are strong, the State of the Union is strong,” Biden said last year.

The invitation of special guests is also a notable yearly tradition, though the seat next to the first lady is typically an especially honor-designated place. That tradition began with former President Ronald Reagan in 1982, when he invited a federal worker who jumped into the Potomac River in the middle of January to save a woman after a plane crashed there during a failed takeoff.

Last year, President Joe Biden endured intense heckling by far-right Republican members of Congress after he accused them of wanting to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits.

The heckling prompted then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to shush members of his own party.

Biden made a claim about the number of total jobs he created since he took office in 2021, which he numbered at about 12 million.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, the economy under Biden had only added 2.7 million overall jobs, because the rest had been lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While he did receive bipartisan praise for acknowledging the death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year old Black man who died in Memphis at the hands of police, he also received flak for using the speech as an opportunity to call for a nationwide ban on assault weapons.

Republicans also criticized him for failing to mention Iran, Afghanistan, the tens of thousands of people killed by devastating earthquakes in Turkey, or the scandal surrounding his mishandling of classified documents.

Fox News' Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report

Former President Trump posted on his Truth Social Thursday evening that President Biden should dedicate his "first statement" in his State of the Union address to promising to "immediately terminate" the "witch hunt" against him.

"The first statement that Crooked Joe Biden should make tonight when addressing the Nation is that he will immediately terminate the Witch Hunt against his Political Opponent, ME." Trump posted.

"Prosecutors and Judges have teamed up as though we were a third world nation!"

Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for his legal challenges, saying the White House and Democrats are committing "election interference."

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in all jurisdictions.

Next month, the Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on presidential immunity and whether Trump is immune from prosecution in Special Counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election interference case.

President Biden shared a video of himself getting advice from Hollywood A-listers who have played presidents on how to handle his upcoming State of the Union address tonight.

In a video posted to the president’s official X account on Thursday, Biden had a virtual meeting with actors Morgan Freeman, Bill Pullman, Geena Davis, Michael Douglas and Tony Goldwyn, asking them for their perspectives on playing fake presidents in order to get ready for the annual address.

Biden’s account captioned the clip, stating, "You may’ve heard I’ve got a big speech coming up. So, I thought I would hear from some folks who have done the job before – sort of."

The video opened with Biden in his office, joking with the five famous faces on the screen, saying, "I’ve never spoken to so many presidents all at one time."

"Some of you might know what a big speech like I have to do is coming up – the State of the Union. Any advice you have for me in my delivery of my speech?" he asked.

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News' Gabriel Hays

Pro-Palestine protesters gathered at the intersection of Constitution Ave and 3rd Street in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the Capitol, in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings surrounding President Biden's State of the Union.

Protesters held up a banner saying "Biden's legacy is Genocide."

About 100 protesters were gathered in total.

"MPD is monitoring First Amendment activity at this location and no arrests have been made at this time," D.C. police told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Republican Mississippi Congressman Michael Guest released a statement calling out President Joe Biden's handling of crime and illegal crossings at the southern border, just hours before the State of the Union.

The GOP representative who serves as the Vice Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, highlighted the mass number of illegal migrants that have poured into the country under Biden's presidency.

"Since President Biden took office, there have been nearly 9 million illegal crossings into the United States, which is three times the number of people who live in Mississippi," the Congressman pointed out.

Citing a Monmouth University Poll, 6 out of 10 Americans view illegal immigration as the most important issue that the nation currently faces.

“Tonight, as the President addresses the nation, Americans are watching and taking notes to see if the President will offer solutions to address the border crisis or if he will continue to ignore the problem that he created," Rep. Guest said.

President Biden will address Congress tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

Expelled former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was seen back in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday night to attend the State of the Union address.

“Why not? It’s a privilege,” Santos told reporters after revealing he’s attending President Biden’s speech. As a former member of Congress, Santos still has "floor privileges" meaning he can attend proceedings when the House is in session.

He said it was “great to be back” and a “humbling experience” to return to the House of Representatives after his colleagues voted to boot him in December, shrinking the House GOP’s already perilously slim majority.

Asked whether he’d run for office again, Santos did not rule it out.

“I don’t put anything past my desire to run for office at this point but at this point… I’m just watching,” he said.

Santos was kicked out after a push by his fellow New York Republicans last year. It came in the wake of a damning House Ethics Committee report that found he misused campaign funds. He’s also under federal indictment over similar accusations.

President Biden is expected to talk about the ongoing crisis at the southern border, as it becomes a top political issue in 2024.

The crisis, now into its third year, has seen record numbers encountered at the border and polling suggests it has become a top issue of concern for voters.

Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the border in Texas last week.

President Biden and his administration have sought to shift the blame for the crisis onto the shoulders of Republicans. The administration says that it is working with a broken system that needs significantly more funding and comprehensive immigration reform. Republicans say it is the fault of the administration and its policies.

Biden is likely to promote a bipartisan bill negotiated in the Senate which is yet to drum up enough support. 

The deal includes additional staffing at the border and in asylum offices, an increased $1.4 billion in funding to cities and NGOs receiving migrants, took action to tackle fentanyl smuggling and would limit asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges.

However, it has failed to gain enough support in the Senate, as conservative lawmakers have warned that a limiting mechanism that only comes into place after an average of 5,000 encounters a day would normalize already-high levels of illegal immigration.

Biden however has said it is "the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen."

Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will co-anchor Fox News Channel’s special programming surrounding President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address and the Republican response by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. 

Dana Perino, John Roberts and Harold Ford Jr. will join Baier and MacCallum, while chief political analyst Brit Hume, Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow and senior strategic analyst General Jack Keane will provide additional commentary. 

White House correspondent Peter Doocy and congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie will provide live reports from the White House and the Capitol.

Fox Business Network will simulcast Fox News Channel’s special coverage of the address, starting at 9 p.m. ET, and FOX Nation subscribers will also be able to stream the special programming coverage on the platform. 

Fox News Digital will offer up-to-the-minute updates on its live blog throughout the night, along with original reporting and political analysis. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brian Flood

House Republicans are sharpening their attacks against President Biden ahead of his primetime State of the Union address. 

House GOP leaders arranged a counter-programming offensive for Biden’s big speech on Thursday, lining up rank-and-file lawmakers at a "media row" event where they promoted a message of Republican unity against the Democratic White House. 

Members wore buttons that said "Stop the Biden border crisis" while speaking to outlets, including Fox News Digital, in a cavernous meeting room dotted with posters that pointed out "over 8.7 million illegal crossings nationwide" occurred since Biden became president. Others accused Biden of not being "mentally fit" to be commander-in-chief.

When asked about their expectations for the speech, one phrase escaped lawmakers’ lips more than the rest — "gaslighting."

"I think it's going to be ‘Gaslighting of the Union.’ He's going to tell America how rosy everything is, that the economy is great, the border’s secure, as if Americans are idiots. And I find that quite insulting," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital.

"Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage. I get it," President Joe Biden said during his 2023 State of the Union address. "Unless I agree to their economic plans. All of you at home should know what those plans are. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want medicare and social security to sunset."

Behind him sat Vice President Kamala Harris and former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy was seen shaking his head and mouthing "no" to Biden's words.

The crowd verbally disagreed with Biden as he continued, "Anybody who doubts it, contact my office, I'll give you a copy of the proposal."

As the crowd continued to heckle Biden, he went on, "I enjoy conversion."

The cameras panned to Marjorie Taylor Greene who is seen shouting "liar" at Biden.

"I'm not saying it's a majority of you," Biden says before being cut off again. "But it's being proposed by individuals. I'm politely not naming them, but it's being proposed by some of you."

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., penned a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday, calling on him to acknowledge the death of Georgia college student Laken Riley during his State of the Union address tonight. 

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was killed last month and the suspect charged in relation to her death is Jose Ibarra, who was found to have illegally immigrated into the U.S. in 2022. 

"At just six years old, Laken knew she wanted to be a nurse so she could help people. She was living her dream until it was shattered by Joe Biden’s wide open border," Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement. "This was a totally avoidable tragedy. President Biden owes it to her family and the American people to say her name."

Banks implored Biden in the letter to "publicly acknowledge the Riley family’s tragedy" by speaking about their daughter Laken's death during the annual address to Congress. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Julia Johnson

"Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom," said former President George W. Bush during his 2002 State of the Union address. 

"Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens, leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections, then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world. States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world by seeking weapons of mass destruction."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is offering lawmakers white ribbons to wear to President Biden’s State of the Union speech tonight in honor of “angel families” who lost loved ones to crimes perpetuated by illegal immigrants.

The speaker’s office told Fox News Digital that the ribbons were optional but available to both Republicans and Democrats.

Johnson has made the border crisis and illegal immigration his top priority since taking the speaker’s gavel in October. He led a delegation of more than 60 House Republicans to the U.S.-Mexico border earlier this year.

To shine a light on the crisis at Thursday’s speech, Johnson also invited as guests two NYPD officers who were seen on a now-viral video being attacked by a group of migrants in Times Square, the heart of New York City’s tourism.

Johnson is inviting the officers alongside New York Republican Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, and Anthony D’Esposito.

Another House Republican, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is leaving his guest seat open in honor of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant.

Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt's response to President Biden's State of the Union address is expected to pull no punches on his border and crime policy failures, excerpts from the speech shared with Fox News Digital show.

“The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting. Our country can do better," Britt is expected to say.

“President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable," she will add.

The excerpts show Britt will then address the rising cost of living across the country, specifically "soaring" soaring mortgage rates and "sky-high" childcare costs.

"The American people are scraping by while the President proudly proclaims Bidenomics is working! Bless his heart. We know better," she is expected to say.

Kate Cox, a Texas mother, left the state to obtain an abortion after her baby was diagnosed with trisomy 18, a sometimes fatal condition.

President Biden and the first lady spoke to Kate Cox on the phone in late January as Biden sought to make abortion rights a signature issue of his re-election effort. Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two, made national headlines after she asked the Texas Supreme Court for permission to obtain an abortion when her unborn child was diagnosed with a fatal condition. She was denied and later left the state to abort her baby elsewhere.

The Bidens "thanked [Cox] for her courage in sharing her story and speaking out about the impact of the extreme abortion ban in Texas," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.

"The first lady invited Kate to join her as a guest at the State of the Union and Kate accepted," she said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Chris Pandolfo

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska has declined an invitation to attend President Biden's State of the Union address, according to reports. 

Zelenska was intended to be seated next to U.S. first lady Jill Biden at the event on Thursday, according to The Washington Post. 

The two first ladies would also have been arranged next to activist Yuliya Navalnaya, the widow of deceased Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

No reason has been given for Zelenska declining to appear at the address, but the decision to seat her near Navalnaya struck many intelligence experts as bizarre.

The late Alexei Navalny is not popular among the citizens of Ukraine due to past statements supporting Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

"The fact that Team Biden wanted to host Yuliya Navalnaya and Olena Zelenskaya in the same room is screaming evidence that they have no clue about the cultural, ethnic, and political dynamics between the Russians and Ukrainians, Moscow and Kiev, etc," Russian-born U.S. military intelligence analyst Rebekah Koffler told Fox News Digital.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Timothy H.J. Nerozzi 

The shortest State of the Union address, in minutes, was delivered by former President Richard Nixon in 1972. The Republican spoke for less than a half hour to a joint session of Congress, clocking in at 28 minutes and 55 seconds.

During his remarks in front of the majority Democratic House and Senate, Nixon applauded their accomplishments in foreign policy. He touted the government’s ability to avoid “a world war for over 25 years.”

Nixon additionally recognized there was still work to be done, and encouraged increased defense spending, telling Congress, “Strong military defenses are not the enemy of peace; they are the guardians of peace.”

He noted that the U.S. should not intervene in foreign conflicts, but “use our influence to prevent war.”

A large portion of Nixon’s speech addressed America’s foreign policy, with the president remarking on the “encouraging progress” in U.S. negotiations with the Soviet Union regarding the “limitation of strategic arms.” He emphasized the need to focus on research, innovation, and technological advancement to “meet the growing technological challenge from abroad” and also create more jobs domestically.

Former President Trump blasted President Biden ahead of his State of the Union address Thursday night, posting a video to X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“Joe Biden is on the run from his record and lying like crazy to try to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created-- all the while, they continue the very policies that are causing this horror show to go,” Trump said in the video. “We cannot take it any longer as a country.” 

Trump said Biden’s speech Thursday night will be a "sad excuse for a State of the Union address."

The 2024 GOP frontrunner and presumptive nominee said that when he left office, he left Biden with most secure border in United States history.

“We gave him Remain in Mexico, very tough to get but I got it....an asylum ban, title 42, 571 miles of border wall, rapid deportations and much more," Trump said. "Safest border in the history of our country. As soon as he got in, Crooked Joe, and his radical left lunatics deliberately dismantled each and every one of those polices that were so good."

"What's happened now is a horror show—the country, our country, is being laughed at all over the world," Trump said. "Biden has actively aided and abetted the importation of millions and millions of illegal alien migrants and resettled them into your communities."

Trump blasted "Crooked" as the "most incompetent president we’ve ever had."

"He is keeping the hoards of illegal migrants and illegal aliens pouring into the country," he said, adding that many illegal migrants come from "mental institutions and prisons."

"The very first bill Joe Biden sent to Congress was a plan to turn illegal aliens into voting citizens," Trump said, adding sarcastically: "that’s just what we need."

Trump also blasted Biden's economic policies, and declared:

"It is time to tell Crooked Joe Biden: You’re fired."

President Biden is expected to tout his economic policies in Thursday night's State of the Union address and refer to the country's progress over the last few years as the "greatest comeback story never told."

“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. And we have," Biden is expected to say in his speech to Congress. "It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told."

"So let’s tell that story here and now. America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up – not the top down, investing in all of America – in all Americans – to make sure everyone has a fair shot and we leave no one behind.”

Fox News Digital's Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report

President Biden will address Congress on Thursday night for his State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol where members of Congress will be seated on a first come first serve basis. 

Members of Biden’s cabinet, Supreme Court justices, and military leaders will have reserved seating.

Two seats behind President Biden will be reserved for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

According to the Congressional Research Service, House gallery seating is for ticket holders only and is coordinated by the Sergeant at Arms of the House.

The Chief Executive typically invites special guests to the speech which was a tradition started by President Ronald Reagan in 1982.

So far the White House has disclosed only one guest, Kate Cox, a Texas woman who says she was unable to get an abortion in her home state even though her health was in danger and her fetus had a fatal condition. 

Associated Press contributed to this report

Former President Donald Trump has maintained a slight edge over President Biden in a number of recent polls on the 2024 presidential election.

A Fox News poll released earlier this week found Trump with a two-point edge over Biden, 49%-47%.

Trump’s advantage in the poll comes from record or near-record support among key Democratic groups, while maintaining strong support among his own constituencies.

For instance, 28% of Black voters support Trump in the head-to-head against Biden, 7 times as many as supported him four years ago (4% in February 2020). In addition, Trump has significant support among voters under age 30 (51%) and Democrats (8%), with near-record support among Hispanics (48%) and suburban women (43%).

Some of Trump’s strongest groups are White evangelical Christians (68%), White men without a college degree (64%), and rural voters (60%), while for Biden it’s Black voters (66%), urban voters (59%), and college graduates (57%).

Fox News' Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Former President Bill Clinton specifically addressed two major issues during his State of the Union address back in 1995: the economy and immigration.

While his remarks on the economy — namely encouraging lawmakers to "cut more spending" and to "empower the American people to succeed in the global economy" — have been regularly repeated by his modern Democrats, his remarks on immigration and securing the border are a stunning contrast.

"All Americans, not only in the States most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country," then-President Clinton said from the floor of the House of Representatives.

He added: "The jobs they hold might otherwise be held by citizens or legal immigrants. The public service they use impose burdens on our taxpayers. That’s why our administration has moved aggressively to secure our borders more by hiring a record number of new border guards, by deporting twice as many criminal aliens as ever before, by cracking down on illegal hiring, by barring welfare benefits to illegal aliens."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Lawrence Richard 

In 1947, President Harry Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act, which reestablished the line of succession in the event the president died in office. Shortly after, and given the rising threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union, the Office of the President implemented the concept of a “designated survivor.”

The designated survivor is a member of the president’s cabinet who, during important events like inaugurations or the State of the Union address, is squirreled away to a secret and secure location for the duration of the event. The purpose of this is to ensure that, if a terror or nuclear attack wiped out most top-tiered officials, there would always be someone in the presidential line of succession who could take command.

Notably, the designated survivor does not automatically inherit the role of the president unless someone of a higher rank survives whatever incident occurred. They are usually a last resort. 

During George W. Bush’s presidential address to Congress following the September 11th terrorist attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney was named the designated survivor, and during President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address, then-Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh was the designee. While the selection is sometimes random due to the nature of these important events, designated survivors tend to be lower on the presidential succession list, such as the Secretaries of Labor, Energy, and the Interior, etc.

“Designated Survivor,” a 2016 TV series starring Kiefer Sutherland, aired on ABC in 2016 and followed the fictional story of Thomas Kirkman, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who, after a terror attack that wipes out most of the government, assumes the presidency. 

During major political events, like the State of the Union address, an official within the presidential line of succession is given the role of "designated survivor" and has to stay away from the event.

This precaution is taken to assure continuity in the presidency.

If a catastrophic event were to strike the Capitol and result in the death or disablement of the president, vice president, speaker of the House or other White House officials, then the "designated survivor" could step in to be the acting commander-in-chief.

Only Senate-confirmed secretaries (and natural-born citizens) in the line of succession to the presidency can assume control in order to ensure the continuance of government.

The tradition dates back to the 1960s amid concerns of a potential nuclear attack during the Cold War.

During the 2023 State of the Union, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was the designated survivor; during the 2022 State of the Union, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was the designated survivor.

Members of Congress are handing out buttons ahead of the State of the Union in honor of murder victim Laken Riley, who was allegedly killed by a man illegally living in the U.S.

“[West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney] is keeping the memory of this fine young woman alive, after the President and Democrats turned their backs,” Craig Shirley, chairman of conservative PAC Citizens for the Republic, said in comment provided to Fox News Digital.

“Poll after poll identifies illegal immigration as the Number 1 issue of concern to Americans. How many more tragedies will we have to endure before the Biden administration takes these concerns seriously?”

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjoire Taylor Greene was also spotted wearing and handing out buttons showing a photo of Riley, and another that says, “Say Her Name Laken Riley,” social media posts show.

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was discovered beaten to death last month after going for a run on the University of Georgia’s campus. The Augusta University student crossed paths with illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra, according to authorities, and died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was granted border "parole," authorities have said.

The buttons were handed out ahead of President Biden’s annual address Thursday evening to a joint session of Congress. Earlier Thursday, the U.S. House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged with local theft or burglary.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

At the State of the Union, both the White House and lawmakers will invite guests to the address, sometimes to draw attention to a certain issue or policy.

So far the White House has said it has invited Kate Cox, a Texas woman who was unable to procure an abortion in Texas. President Biden will likely acknowledge her when talking about expanding rights to the controversial procedure.

Republicans are bringing police officers who brawled with migrants in Time Square and New York, as part of an effort to draw attention to the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

Fox News Digital reported this week that Speaker Mike Johnson’s guests will include include a mother who lost her son to a pill laced with fentanyl and the mother of a Maryland woman who was raped and murdered in 2022, allegedly by an MS-13 gang member.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The State of the Union address is set to kick off at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday evening. It is President Biden’s third address to a joint session of Congress since taking over the White House in January 2021.

Virtually all of the top national officials in Washington, D.C., are slated to attend, from Supreme Court justices, to members of Congress, to Biden’s cabinet, save for one notable exception – one member of the Biden administration will sit out the event as the “designated survivor” to ensure continuity of government in a worst-case scenario.

Lawmakers have also invited guests to attend, ranging from the NYPD officers caught on video being attacked by a migrant mob in Times Square, to families of hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

There will be fanfare before and after the event when the officials and commander-in-chief finally arrive, but the speech itself is likely to last slightly over an hour. Biden’s longest address to Congress was last year, about an hour and 13 minutes, while his shortest was just shy of an hour and two minutes in 2022.

Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network will carry live coverage of the event on Thursday evening. It can also be viewed on YouTube and various streaming services.

President Biden will not announce any executive orders on immigration or border security ahead of or during his State of the Union address Thursday, a White House official told Fox News. 

A White House official said that the administration's "preference" remained that Congress legislates this issue.

Regarding a CNN report claiming Biden told Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, during a recent White House event that he would announce action on the border at the State of the Union, the White House official told Fox News on Thursday that the report was false and such interaction "never happened." 

The White House official claimed to be double-checking with people who were in the room, but the administration denied the accuracy of the report. 

The CNN report stated, "The Democrats told Biden that he needed to show more of the fire that was on display in a closed-door meeting with governors when Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte handed him a letter demanding more action on the southern border. Biden flashed a smile, according to two of the governors standing there."

"'State of the Union,’ Biden said, teasingly."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Jacqui Heinrich and Danielle Wallace

The State of the Union speech is one of the biggest pieces of political theater every year and rooted in a simple requirement in the U.S. Constitution that directs the president to “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” 

But in modern times, it’s a televised extravaganza where every detail is carefully scrutinized.

In the speech, President Biden will tout his achievements over the past year and since he took office. Historically, members of the president’s party loudly applaud during the speech while the opposition party remains seated or even voices displeasure with certain talking points.

President Biden’s age is expected to be under the spotlight on Thursday night as the 81-year-old tries to dissuade public perception from some that his mental acuity has declined to the point where he is unfit for office.

Television cameras will pan across the chamber during the State of the Union, so you’ll have a clear view of everyone in the audience too. This is a chance for lawmakers and guests to send a message of their own with their clothing or facial expressions.

Democratic women wore white, the color of the women’s suffrage movement, during Trump’s State of the Union in 2019. In 2022, some lawmakers wore blue and yellow ribbons to show their support for Ukraine.

After Biden’s speech, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt will give the Republican rebuttal to his comments.

Associated Press contributed to this report

American voters looking to profit from President Biden’s  State of the Union address on Thursday can wager on whether the president has a "brain freeze," or if he confuses Nikki Haley with anyone else, as well as more traditional wagers such as the over/under of the speech’s length. 

Biden has faced questions from critics over his cognitive abilities for some time, and recently referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi as the "president of Mexico" and mixed up "red state and blue state" with "red state and green state" while speaking at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference.

Instead of worrying, some Americans may hope to benefit by predicting Biden’s next gaffe. BetOnline has created a plethora of money-making opportunities around Thursday's important speech, as the 81-year-old president hopes to quell national concerns about his cognitive abilities and mental fitness.

This is an excerpt of a story by Fox News' Brian Flood

President Biden will give his second State of the Union address today, when he’s expected to tout his administration’s accomplishments and set goals for the future in front of a Congress that is one of the most politically fractured in modern history.

Biden is making his case to a Democrat-dominated Senate that’s largely followed his lead on major legislation and a House Republican majority that’s actively investigating him for impeachable crimes.

The date of the speech, March 7, is the latest a State of the Union address has ever been delivered.

It’s just the second time a president’s in-person address to a joint session of Congress was not delivered in January or February. Biden delivered his first address to Congress on March 1, 2022.

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt will deliver the Republican response to President Biden's State of the Union address, saying in a statement she was "truly honored and grateful for the opportunity."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind

The State of the Union is an annual address given by the President of the United States to a joint session of Congress about the current condition of the nation. 

The speech typically takes place near the beginning of the calendar year and is considered an opportunity for the president to share the successes, policy goals, achievements and failures of their administration. Interestingly enough, this address has not emerged out of some esoteric tradition but is a literal constitutional responsibility of the Office of the President.

Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution reads, “The president must give the Congress information on the ‘State of the Union’ ‘from time to time.’” While “from time to time” allows some personal discretion, since the 1930s, the address has been given annually.

The president's update to Congress on the state of the union hasn't always been a speech to a joint session of Congress. Before the modern American history, some presidents sent a letter. But for nearly a century, presidents have opted to give a live address to Congress.

The State of the Union has been the origin of some of the most famous speeches in American history. Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 speech codified the sentiment of America as the “last best hope of earth.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1942 speech advanced his “four freedoms” wartime goals for the U.S. while fighting the Axis powers, and in 2003, George W. Bush advanced his claim that Iran, North Korea, and Iraq formed an “Axis of Evil” who were pursuing “weapons of mass destruction.”

President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address will be given Thursday, March 7 at 9 p.m. EST.