First Lady's Guests at Biden's State of the Union Announced
Published Date: 2/7/2023
Source: Bloomberg Quicktake
The family of Tyre Nichols, U2 lead singer Bono, Ukraine’s ambassador to the US and Paul Pelosi will be among First Lady Jill Biden’s guests at Tuesday’s State of the Union address. They are among a group of more than a dozen people invited “because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris administration’s policies,” the White House said in a statement. The guest list customarily offers an early look into the themes and messages that a president plans to highlight in his annual prime-time address. The custom dates to 1982, when President Ronald Reagan invited a man who dove into the icy Potomac River to come to the aid of a plane crash victim. The invitation of the mother and father of Nichols, an unarmed Black man who died after being beaten during a traffic stop by Memphis police, suggests President Joe Biden will use the address to call on Congress to act on a series of policing reforms he’s sought throughout his administration. The appearance by Pelosi — who was attacked late last year by a hammer-wielding home intruder who was looking for his wife, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - indicates that the president will likely again denounce political violence and extremism, which he has tied to Republican lawmakers since the Trump presidency and Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, where Biden will deliver his speech before both houses of Congress. Other guests also embody the president’s legislative priorities for the remainder of his first term. Brandon Tsay, a California man who disarmed the gunman responsible for killing 11 people at a dance studio during Lunar New Year celebrations earlier this year, is likely to be mentioned as Biden calls for Congress to reinstate an assault weapons ban. The invitation to a Texas woman who nearly died after doctors became concerned that medical intervention could run afoul of her state’s abortion law suggest Biden will call for the restoration of abortion rights. And the invitation of Ukraine Ambassador Oksana Markarova — who was also a guest at last year’s speech, which was held shortly after Russia’s invasion - suggests Biden will press lawmakers to continue financing military and other aid for her country, even as some House Republicans call for eliminating the assistance. -------- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/BloombergTV Bloomberg Quicktake brings you global social video spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktakeNow Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake