2024 State of the Union Address

This marked the first time in history that a U.S. president gave three consecutive official State of the Union addresses in front of three different speakers, namely 2022 with Nancy Pelosi, 2023 with Kevin McCarthy, and 2024 with Mike Johnson.

The speech was expected to provide Biden a chance to address issues such as the economy, democracy, abortion rights, the United States–Mexico border crisis, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas War.

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was named the designated survivor and was at an undisclosed location during the address so that, in case of a catastrophe, the continuity of government would be upheld.

[5] Some of the topics mentioned by Biden included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the border crisis, the Israel–Hamas war, gun crime, rescheduling cannabis, student loan debt, medication prices, and abortion.

[6] He also mentioned the murder of Laken Riley the previous month before the speech in the context of border policy, and advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and also indirectly joked about his age.

[8] In an apparent unscripted moment while referencing the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, Biden looked and spoke directly to the Supreme Court Justices seated in the audience, saying, "With all due respect, justices, women are not without ... electoral or political power... you're about to realize just how much..." before he was interrupted by audience applause.

[21] Britt's speech, which primarily touched on the issue of immigration, received largely negative reviews, including from Republicans, and was criticized for its inaccuracy.

[29] Rex Huppke described the president's speech as "fiery"[30] and Phillip Elliot said it acted as a "sharp rebuke" against concerns about Biden's age and stamina.