Biden i nattes tale:
“If I were smart, I’d go home now.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
Mr. Speaker, Madam Vice President, members of Congress,
my fellow Americans, in January 1941,
Franklin Roosevelt came to this chamber to speak to the nation.
And he said, I address you at a moment unprecedented in the history of the Union.
Hitler was on the march. War was raging in Europe.
President Roosevelt’s purpose was to wake up Congress and alert the American people
that this was no ordinary time.
Freedom and democracy were under assault in the world.
Tonight, I come to this same chamber to address the nation.
Now, it’s we who face an unprecedented moment in the history of the Union.
And yes, my purpose tonight is to wake up the Congress
and alert the American people that this is no ordinary moment either.
Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War
have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today.
What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack
both at home and overseas at the very same time.
Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march,
invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond.
If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not.
[applause]
But Ukraine–
[applause]
Ukraine can stop Putin.
[applause]
Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons—
[applause]
–that it needs to defend itself.
[applause]
That is all.
That is all Ukraine is asking.
They’re not asking for American soldiers.
In fact, there are no American soldiers in the war in Ukraine,
and I’m determined to keep it that way.
[applause]
But now, assistance to Ukraine is being blocked
by those who want to walk away from our world leadership.
It wasn’t long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered,
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
[applause]
Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin,
“Do whatever the hell you want.”
[audience boos]
That’s a quote.
A former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader,
“I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous, and it’s unacceptable.”
[applause]
America is a founding member of NATO,
the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II
to prevent war and keep the peace.
And today, we’ve made NATO stronger than ever.
We welcomed Finland to the alliance last year.
[applause]
And just this morning, Sweden officially joined,
and their minister is here tonight.
Come here, stand up.
[applause]
Welcome.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
[applause]
And they know how to fight.
Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO,
the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen.
I say this to Congress, we have to stand up to Putin.
[applause]
Send me a bipartisan national security bill.
History is literally watching.
History is watching.
If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk.
Europe is at risk.
The world will be at risk, and Bolton and others to do what they wish to do us harm.
My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple.
We will not walk away.
[applause]
We will not bow down.
[applause]
We will not bow down.
[applause]
In a literal sense, history is watching.
History is watching.”