Moments later, Cheney fist-bumped Biden as he walked down the aisle to the dais.
The contrast between Biden and his more polarizing predecessor could not be more stark. At the State of the Union address just a year ago, Pelosi was so furious with what she called the “manifesto of mistruths” she ripped up a copy of Trump’s speech as he stood a few feet away.
If he did anything during his speech, Biden lowered the temperature in the Capitol and in Washington. At one poignant moment, the president personally thanked McConnell for naming a cancer research bill after his son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle applauded the line.
Speaking on the 99th day of his presidency in a chamber overrun by insurrectionists just more than three months ago, Biden laid out an ambitious legislative agenda before an audience of lawmakers severely limited by the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden used his address to tout his efforts to get the nation back to normal after the pandemic and the divisive presidency of Donald Trump. He made no direct mention of his predecessor, but argued those present had a responsibility to prove democracy still works and our government still works and we can deliver for our people.”
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“We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy of pandemic and pain and ‘We the People’ did not flinch,” Biden said. “At the very moment our adversaries were certain we would pull apart and fail. We came together.”
In his remarks to a joint session of Congress, Biden boasted that the 2020 election had seen the highest turnout in modern history despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of being celebrated, he said, the right to vote “is being attacked.”
“If we truly want to restore the soul of America, we need to protect the sacred right to vote,” Biden said. “More people voted in the last presidential election than any time in American history in the middle of the worst pandemic ever.”
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He called on Congress to quickly pass H.R. 1, a wide-reaching elections reform bill already approved by the House, and the John Lewis
Biden, McConnell greet Liz Cheney at joint address thehill.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehill.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.