President Biden delivered his State of the Union address on Thursday, two days after Super Tuesday essentially cemented him as the Democratic nominee for president.
Notable guests included Darryl George, the Black student from Texas who was suspended from school because he refused to cut his locs, who the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) invited as its guest.
CBC Chairman Representative Steven Horsford (NV-04) stated in a press release:
We applaud Darryl and his mother Darresha George for their courage in standing up for what is right, and Dr. Adjoa B. Asamoah for leading the national movement to outlaw race-based hair discrimination. The CBC stands in full support of Darryl’s personal right to wear his hair the way he chooses, and we are calling for the Barbers Hill Independent School District to end this discriminatory farce and immediately allow him to return to the classroom and receive his education.
As the CBC noted, “The ruling and circumstances around George’s monthslong punishment has renewed a national conversation over race-based hair discrimination in schools and the workplace.”
“Moreover, the situation exemplifies a common experience of discrimination that Black Americans face and the need to pass the CROWN Act at the federal level to end race-based hair discrimination nationwide,” the press release continued.
Other surprising guests? George Santos, the former Representative from New York who was expelled from Congress last December, clad in a crystal-encrusted collar.
Santos exercised the “lifetime floor privileges conferred on former members of the House— even the ones who are removed from office,” a move that opposed his last words before he left, where he pronounced, “to hell with this place.”
Biden began his remarks by drawing parallels with President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address, when World War II was waged in Europe. As he faces criticism for his response to the mass of killings in Gaza against Palestinians, with several progressive Congresswomen calling for a ceasefire, President stated “this is no ordinary moment” and that “freedom and democracy were under assault.”
More than two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, Biden spoke on the importance of standing by Ukraine, urging “Congress to pass a bipartisan bill to provide aid to Ukraine, which is currently idling in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.”
Other issues under discussion were reproductive rights and Biden’s presumed challenger in Novembers’ presidential election, Donald Trump.
“While Mr. Biden did not mention Trump by name, he frequently chided ‘my predecessor,’ highlighting the unusual race ahead, with two presidents who have pursued vastly different agendas,” noted CBS.
President Biden also made a promise to “enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade,” adding the caveat “if Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose.”
Despite the concerns about Biden’s advanced years and fitness for office, he added some energetic ad libs to the podium. “When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever,” Biden cheekily remarked.
“The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are,” the President added, following up later with how we “can’t lead with ancient ideas.”