Biden tells Congress about the country he inherited from his "predecessor", Donald Trump.

"Before I came to office our country was hit by the worst pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a century," he says, recalling fear, job losses and crime.

Trump "failed the most basic duty any president owes the American people, the duty to care," Biden says. "That is unforgiveable."

Image source, Getty Images

Turning the State of the Union into a campaign speechpublished at 02:49 Greenwich Mean Time 8 March 2024

02:49 GMT 8 March 2024

It didn’t take long for Joe Biden to turn his State of the Union address into a campaign speech, going on the attack against his likely general election opponent, Donald Trump.

Referring to him as “my predecessor,” Biden slammed Trump for his comments about Russia and Nato and that he seeks to “bury the truth” about the 6 January attack on the US Capitol by Trump’s supporters.

Presidents traditionally shy away from overt political attacks during the State of the Union, given that the speech is made in an official capacity. But circumstances this year are a bit different. Biden knows who his opponent in November is almost certain to be – and, with polls showing a tight race, he seems anxious to get the slugfest started.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

In his remarks, President Biden has also asked lawmakers to "join together" and defend US democracy.

"Respect free and fair elections. Restore trust in our institutions," he said. "And make clear, political violence has no place in America."

"History is watching," he added.

He has also touched on the controversy about IVF treatments in Alabama, pointing to Latorya Beasly, a social worker from the state who had a child thanks to IVF 14 months ago.

"Let's stand up for families like hers," he said. "Guarantee the right to IVF nationwide."

Continuing his focus on democracy, Biden turns to the Capitol riot on 6 January.

"Many of you were here on that darkest of days," he says. "We all saw with our own eyes these insurrectionists were not patriots. They had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power."

Biden's volume is rising as he speaks, Democrats in the room are responding with enthusiastic applause and many are on their feet.

"But they failed. America stood... and democracy prevailed," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Biden is pitching his record, making the case that the economy is stronger now than when he took office in 2021.

"It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told," he says.

"America’s comeback is building a future of American possibilities, building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up."

So far, his message about an economic comeback, which he has called "Bidenomics" has not landed. His relatively low job approval rating is closely tied to Americans' view on the economy which, right now, is not very positive.

A poll from the New York Times this week found that a majority of voters think the economy is in poor shape. Biden will need to change some of these minds if he wants to re-take the White House in November.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

The six Supreme Court justices in the front row sat in stoney-faced silence as Joe Biden directly addressed them.

Not a single one moved a muscle as the Democrats and Biden cabinet members in the audience around them rose up in unison to applaud the president’s sentiment.

Generally the justices do not react to the State of the Union.

Image source, Reuters

Holly Honderich
US Reporter

Abortion access unquestionably helped Democrats to overperform in the 2022 midterms, and President Biden knows it.

Speaking now, the president is quoting from the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v Wade, which effectively rescinded a nationwide guarantee to abortion.

“Women are not without electoral.. power,” Biden says, pulling from the ruling.

“No kidding,” he says.

Biden turns to a crucial campaign promise: if he returns to the White House he will work to restore abortion rights nationwide, a promise that he acknowledges would take a lot of cooperation from Congress to come true.

The real purpose of the standing ovations is to make sure that nobody has fallen asleep, retired Illinois Republican Congressman Rodney Lee Davis jokes.

Attendees falling asleep in not unheard of during a State of the Union. In 2014, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was spotted by cameras dozing off near the front row, later telling reporters that she had been drinking wine before the speech.

Davis, who has previously attended 10 State of the Union addresses, says the majority of conversations happening in the chamber are not about the president’s speech.

While entering the chamber one year, President Barack Obama had a quick chat with Davis, he tells BBC News. The brief encounter was not about the speech, but rather about people they knew in common back in Illinois.

Image source, Getty Images

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Democrats have had no hesitation so far in either standing up to applaud lines from their party leader.

Some have shouted out “yes” and “amen” in response as well.

Republicans are being a lot more picky with the lines of this speech they celebrate. The second-ranking House Republican stood in support of Biden’s line about standing by Ukraine.

Mike Lawler, a New York Republican facing a tough re-election race this November, stood when Biden said America would not back down from Vladimir Putin.

Image source, Getty Images

Every year, the State of the Union address is a “who’s who” of Washington power players - lawmakers, Supreme Court justices and top military brass.

But one quirk of the annual event is that every year, one person is picked to sit it out - just in case tragedy strikes.

The idea behind it is pretty morbid - that someone remains alive if there is some sort of disaster that targets the event and wipes out the rest of government officials.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will be this year's designated survivor. Last year, it was Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

Cardona was taken to an undisclosed location by the Secret Service, where he will watch the speech on television.

According to the non-profit National Constitution Center, the tradition began in the 1950s, when the spectre of a possible nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union loomed in the early Cold War.

More on the role here.

Just moments after beginning his remarks, President Biden took a jab at Donald Trump, harshly criticising him for recent comments in which he said he would tell Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" if Nato doesn't contribute more to its own defence.

"The former president actally said that, bowing down to a Russian leader," Biden said. "It's dangerous and it's unacceptable."

He has also vowed continued commitment to Nato and European security, saying that if the US "walks away" from Ukraine, Europe will be at risk.

"We will not walk away," he said to loud applause from lawmakers in the chamber.

Freedom and democracy are under attack, Biden says, both at home and abroad - repeating a theme he has been returning to as of late.

Putin is on the march, and Ukraine can defend itself with more aid, he says, a remark that receives thunderous applause.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Democrats stood up to applaud Biden’s line just now about Putin.

No Republicans except moderate Utah Senator Mitt Romney appeared to join them.

A few more Republicans, however, stood up with Democrats when Biden said America must stand by Ukraine.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, in a red “Make America Great Again” ballcap, exchanged words with Joe Biden as he walked down the aisle and appeared to hand the president a pin.

The pin is similar to the ones many Republican members of Congress have been wearing bearing the name of 22-year-old Laken Riley, the nursing student who was killed by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant.

Image source, Getty Images

President Biden has just begun his State of the Union address, starting with a joke: "if I were smart I'd go home now."

He's also starting with a historical lesson on the State of the Union that took place in January 1941, when Roosevelt addressed the nation nearly a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas," he said.

You can stream our live coverage of Biden delivering his State of the Union by clicking on the play button at the top of the page.

Stay with us for text updates too.

President Biden has now stepped up to the dais and is beginning his remarks.

Lawmakers on the floor have taken their seats.

Stay with us for live updates of President Biden's State of the Union remarks.

Image source, Getty Images

President Biden's approach to the podium has been slowed by the various lawmakers asking to take selfies with him.

Notably, they've all been Democrats.

The Democrats in the crowd are now chanting "four more years" as Biden continues to shake hands.

His remarks will begin in just a moment.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

A thunderous chant of “four more years” has just broken out, resonating through the House gallery.

It is about the loudest reception I’ve ever heard in this chamber, which usually takes a quieter tone during the regular work of lawmaking.

This is the last State of the Union for Biden before the 2024 election.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Reuters

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene has a red Make America Great Again hat on.

It caught Biden’s eye and they appeared to exchange at least a sentence or two.

But a lady next to Greene grabbed Biden’s attention by eagerly clamoring for a video with the president.

Biden is taking plenty of selfies too.

He stops to chat with Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator who recently said he will not run for president as an independent, a move that could have shaken up the 2024 campaign.

Image source, Reuters