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US President Joe Biden giving his first speech to Congress: For the first time, the special session was chaired by two women, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi
Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / AFP
There he is now.
Joe Biden looks like a man who is more than satisfied with himself and his previous work as US President.
"America is on the move again," he calls into the hall.
"We're working again, we're dreaming again, and we're leading the world again."
It will be Joe Biden's first major speech as President to both houses of Congress.
This gig is unusual in every way.
Because of the corona crisis, the great hall of the US House of Representatives is only filled with a good 200 MPs.
The other representatives of the people and hundreds of guests of honor, who would usually be present at this event, have to watch the speech from a distance on TV.
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Unusual sight: Because of Corona, many seats remained empty
Photo: Jonathan Ernst / AP
And that too is historic: for the first time, two women are sitting on the podium behind the President.
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, and Kamala Harris, Vice President and President of the Senate, will chair this special session of Congress.
Biden specifically points out: “Two women are sitting here behind me.
It really was about time. "
The appearance is a great spectacle, almost all major TV stations broadcast the president's speech at prime time even in the farthest corners of the United States.
Biden uses the stage to bring his most important message to the people: After the corona crisis, he promises nothing less than a new start for the entire country.
"We are the United States of America," he shouts full of pathos into the hall.
"Together we can achieve anything."
Six trillion dollar plans
It had been clear for some time that Biden had big plans as president.
But in this speech it becomes clear for the first time how fundamentally the new president wants to turn the USA inside out.
Biden is really serious: the motto is not to mess, but to plop.
He is planning new, gigantic investments in America's welfare state, infrastructure and education system.
Overall, Biden wants to push plans that, taken together, will cost the fairytale sum of six trillion dollars over the next ten years.
All of this is to be financed through new debts and higher taxes for the wealthy and companies.
Biden's agenda is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious political projects of the post-war period.
Well-meaning commentators in the US media are already drawing parallels between him and the legendary President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who led the US out of the "Great Depression" in the 1930s.
More money for new roads, new railway lines, new power lines, investments in research and development, in the school system, childcare, and climate protection.
There is practically no area of public life that Biden wants to leave out of his billions in spending in the years to come.
This, he promises, will create millions of new jobs.
At the same time, America will be able to continue to compete with China and other countries in a number of economic areas.
"Our competitors are catching up," he warns.
"But we want to keep the lead."
A fight for democracy
For Biden, there is more to all of these plans than just the idea of redistributing money.
That becomes clear in this speech.
For him it is also about fundamental issues, namely the survival of American democracy and the "American way of live" in the 21st century.
“We have to prove that our democracy still works.
We have to show that our government works and can deliver concrete results for the people, ”says Biden.
The world's autocrats in China and elsewhere are just waiting for America's democracy to fail, the president said.
"We'll prove they're wrong."
Biden gives this speech unusually late.
Usually, shortly after their inauguration, presidents speak for the first time in front of both chambers of Congress to set out their vision for the country.
This ritual is then repeated every year with the so-called "State of the Union Address".
Biden deliberately postponed his first appearance for a long time.
The tactic behind this is clear.
He knows that many citizens are still skeptical about him, especially the former voters of the former President Donald Trump.
Now, after almost 100 days in office, he can already show some successes in this speech, with which he wants to woo her trust.
"We have already achieved a lot," says Biden, referring to his first major stimulus package of $ 1.8 trillion, which was recently passed by Congress.
The more than 200 million vaccine doses against the corona virus that have already been distributed would also help the country come out of the crisis.
"The whole world looks at us with envy," says Biden.
"Our vaccination campaign is a logistical masterpiece."
Petrified faces among the Republicans
No question about it, this speech also makes it clear that Biden has the famous political "momentum" on his side.
At least for now.
Many of the plans he presented are extremely popular with many voters.
In surveys, for example, a good 70 percent of Americans support Biden's idea of raising taxes for the rich and companies.
Whether that will be enough to break the opposition Republicans in Congress against his plans is questionable.
Because of the complicated filibuster rules, Biden will also need support from the ranks of the opposing side in many of the votes in the Senate.
During his speech, Biden occasionally receives some courtesy applause from the ranks of the Republicans.
But that was it.
Most of the time, Republican MPs follow the president's speech with faces that look petrified.
When Biden proposes to finally pass stronger gun laws and police reform on behalf of George Floyd, some of them just shake their heads sullenly.
Even well-meaning Republicans are unhappy with some parts of Biden's agenda.
"Biden was elected to rule the country calmly, not to charge this gigantic debt," comments former Republican governor of Ohio John Kasich, actually a Biden friend.
“His planned tax increases would also be poison for the economy.
That kills investments and can cost jobs. "
In Biden's own party, the conservative Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia is once again skeptical.
"I'm worried about these big debt plans," he said in response to the president's announcements.
Biden is of course aware of all of this.
Therefore, at the end of his speech, he makes one more attempt to invite his critics to cooperate.
"Let's get started together," he calls into the hall.
"Doing nothing is not a solution."