At 9:00 PM President Joe Biden will deliver his State of the Union Address, informing the American people most likely that the “state of our union is strong,” but First Lady Jill Biden will also be speaking to the American people, via a lengthy and carefully-crafted list of guests she and the White House have invited, in full sight of the tens of millions of people expected to watch – and the Republicans in the room.
Dr. Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will host the White House’s 26 guests, who are a representation of the Democrats’ wider agenda, including some of the left’s most important battles and achievements. The White House in a statement Tuesday said, “Each of these individuals were invited by the White House because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the President in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people. ”
Guests include a married same-sex couple who helped make Massachusetts the first state to legalize marriage equality in 2004. A hero who stopped a mass shooter from killing even more people. The mother and step-father of Tyre Nichols. A pregnant woman who nearly died because of Texas’ abortion ban. A DREAMer. A cancer-survivor. A caregiver to a Navy combat veteran. A mother whose son battled lead poisoning due to contaminated drinking water. A member of Navajo Nation and Registered nurse who is working to provide medical care and cancer treatment. Parents of a survivor of pediatric cancer. The Ambassador of Ukraine. A 10th grade computer-integrated manufacturing student. A father who lost his 20-year old daughter to a fentanyl overdose. And more, including Bono.
Paul Pelosi, the husband to now-former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, will be by Dr. Jill Biden’s side. Republicans, including several expected to be sitting in the same room, mocked him when a Trump-supporting right-wing extremist and conspiracy theorist took a hammer to the 82-year old’s head, causing a “near-fatal” injury on October 28. Should President Biden mention Mr. Pelosi in his speech, Republican response would no doubt be attention-grabbing.
In its statement Tuesday the White House makes its intent clear: “The attack reportedly was politically motivated, with the intruder’s alleged intent to harm and kidnap the former Speaker. According to court filings, the intruder confronted Mr. Pelosi, asking ‘Where’s Nancy?,’ a similar chant of those responsible for the January 6th Capitol insurrection.”
President Biden appears to have taken the assault on Paul Pelosi very seriously. On November 1, he slammed Republicans, painting their refusal to condemn bad actors and bad actions as part of a much larger problem in America.
“I’ve been talking to Nancy Pelosi” about the attack on her husband, Biden said. “And look at the response—the so-called response from Republicans, making jokes about it and/or saying, “Well, you know, it’s not because of what’s being said and not said.'”
When “unstable people…hear every single day these outrageous lies—these outrageous lies across the board about everything; when they look at the internet and see what’s being said, stated and talk about, you know, where we keep children in basements to molest them and all these kinds of things—look what’s happened. And think however this guy is demonizing LBGTQ [LGBTQ]* population. Think how his opponent is demonizing anyone who disagrees with him,” he said.
“And so you wonder why—how this guy came breaking into Paul—and Paul is a friend, as—as is Nancy. I’ve known them for years and years,” Biden continued.
“And nobody on that party condemns it for exactly what it is. Says it’s not because when I made a comment about this is to be expected when you have leaders of the other party condoning the kind of conduct that is—that I’ve just discussed and others.”
Last year 38.2 million people watched President Biden’s State of the Union Address. These 26 people may be silent but together they will speak volumes about the agenda he has created.