U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address this morning, Hong Kong time.
That's where the president challenged a divided Congress to work together to repair the economy and heal divisions.
President Biden began his State of the Union address by reminding his people of America's resilience.
"The story of America is a story of progress and resilience, of always moving forward, of never giving up," he said.
Painting an encouraging portrait of his nation, Biden said America's democracy remains stronger than ever.
"And two years ago our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken," he added.
Biden also took credit for creating a record 12 million new jobs and signing bipartisan laws to protect Americans' rights.
Calling for reconciliation, he insists the Republican-controlled Congress needs to unite to reinvigorate the economy, infrastructure projects and manufacturing.
"The people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere. That's always been my vision for the country and I know it's many of yours: to restore the soul of the nation, to rebuild the backbone of America -- America's middle class -- and unite the country. We've been sent here to finish the job, in my view," warned the president.
He also brought back a proposal for minimum tax on billionaires.
The president made little mention of the Chinese balloon hysteria, but said America will act to protect its sovereignty.
"As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country, and we did," he declared.
He also vowed to stand with Ukraine, and called on Congress to tackle police brutality after the police beating death of Tyre Nichols last month.
He went on to call for a ban on assault-style weapons.
In a sign of bitter divisions, the president was booed when he accused Republicans of taking the economy hostage.
"Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years, " he claimed.
Calling Biden unfit to lead, Republicans admitted the Biden administration has failed.
"While you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day," Sarah Huckabee Sanders, (R) Arkansas Governor, said in delivering the Republican response to Biden's second State of the Union.
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