President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington March 7, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris, left and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La) is at right.
(Washington, D.C.) — The state of the union is strong and getting stronger. That’s what President Biden declared in his third State of the Union address Thursday night, as he heads into another general election campaign. The president opened his speech warning of the threats to democracy both at home and abroad, citing the war in Ukraine and January 6th rioters. He called on Republican lawmakers to back a bipartisan border deal negotiated in the Senate and pledged to bring American hostages home still being held by Hamas. While he never mentioned his political rival Donald Trump by name, he often referred to “his predecessor,” and accused him of running a campaign of revenge and retribution.
The president was interrupted a number of times by hecklers, including 77WABC’s own Sid Rosenberg. Rosenberg, who was an invited guest of Congressman Anthony D’Esposito, yelled the words “Says Who” as President Biden talked about the high death toll in Gaza amid the Hamas-Israel war. Secret Service agents escorted him out of the chamber, and then kicked him out of the U.S. Capitol building. Rosenberg was not arrested.
A short time later, the father of a fallen Marine from Norco, California was arrested after screaming during the President’s speech. Steven Nikoui shouted “remember United States Marines Kareem M. Nikoui” before U.S. Capitol police escorted him out of the chamber. Nikoui’s son, Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui was killed during an attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan in 2021.
