WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden wrapped up his first address as president Thursday night, touting America’s progress with COVID-19 vaccinations, saying hope was to be found and pleading with Americans to stay vigilant.
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Biden directed states to make all American adults eligible to receive the vaccine no later than May 1.
In his first prime time televised address as president, Biden also touted the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief stimulus package he signed into law hours earlier.
— Savannah Behrmann
GOP responds to Biden’s speech
After the president’s address, the head of the Republican National Committee criticized President Joe Biden for taking a victory lap on a “$1.9 trillion boondoggle disguised as COVID ‘relief’ ” and said former President Donald Trump deserves credit for the coronavirus vaccine.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Biden marked the solemn occasion of the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown by touting a “partisan” bill that wasn’t sufficiently targeted to fighting the pandemic.
The bill that Biden signed into law Thursday did not draw a single GOP vote.
By contrast, she said in a statement, the “aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront the virus” that Trump announced in his speech exactly a year ago led to the “fastest creation of a vaccine in modern history.”
McDaniel said the nation should focus on getting Americans back to work, allowing students to return to school and “finishing the work the Trump Administration started in distributing vaccines.”
— Maureen Groppe
Biden touts getting vaccinated in public, in contrast with Trump
President Joe Biden said the COVID-19 vaccines are so safe that he and Vice President Kamala Harris got vaccinated in public.
The remark follows recent reports that President Donald Trump privately receivedthe vaccine in January while he was president. He is the only former president to not be vaccinated in public.
Every living former president except Trump appeared in public service announcements released Thursday that urge people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The ads feature former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. They also include former first ladies Michelle Obama, Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton and Rosalynn Carter.
— Savannah Behrmann
‘America is coming back,’ Biden says
President Joe Biden mentioned one of the seldom talked-about casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic: the loss of faith in government.
“We lost faith in whether our government and our democracy can deliver on really hard things for the American people,” he said.
But, he said, the nation’s response to the deadly disease is proving something he has stressed over and over again to foreign and U.S. leaders.
“It’s never, ever a good bet to bet against the American people,” he said. “America is coming back.”
— Michael Collins
Biden pleads with Americans to ‘do their part’
President Joe Biden pleaded with Americans to do “their parts” and get vaccinated.
“I need you, the American people. I need you. I need every American to do their part. That’s not hyperbole. I need you. I need you to get vaccinated when it’s your turn and when you can find an opportunity,” Biden said.
He continued that if Americans do their parts, stay safe, and get vaccinated, there can be small Fourth of July celebrations “where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we also begin to mark our independence from this virus.”
— Savannah Behrmann
Biden: ‘Stick with the rules’
President Joe Biden urged Americans to “stick with the rules” so the recovery doesn’t stall.
“We’ve made so much progress,” he said. “This is not the time to let up.”
Biden didn’t mention them, but several GOP governors have been lifting mask mandates against the advice of national health officials.
Biden said the nation has to stay vigilant. Conditions can change, which could require reinstating restrictions, he said.
— Maureen Groppe
Biden: Listen to Fauci
President Joe Biden urged Americans to listen to Dr. Anthony Fauci on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.
“My message to you is this: Listen to Dr. Fauci,” Biden said, adding that he’s one of the “most distinguished and trusted voices in the world.”
“He’s assured us that vaccines are safe,” the president said. “I know they’re safe.
— Rebecca Morin
CDC to issue guidelines for post-vaccination
Biden said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue guidance in the coming weeks on what Americans can do once they’ve been fully vaccinated.
The new guidelines will “lessen the confusion, keep people safe and encourage more people to get vaccinated,” he said.
— Michael Collins
Vaccine eligibility to open to all by May
Biden announced that he is directing states to open vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1.
Alaska became the first state to do so on its own on Tuesday.
The White House’s COVID19 task force determined that vaccinations of the prioritized populations should be far enough along by the end of April that restrictions can be lifted.
“That means you’ll be able to get in line beginning May 1,” Biden said.
He called that “much earlier than expected.”
Biden also said he will exceed his goal of administering 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days of office. That initial marker will be achieved on day 60, he said.
“No other country in the world has done this,” he said.
— Maureen Groppe
Biden denounces attacks on Asian Americans
Biden used his prime-time address to denounce what he called “vicious hate crimes” against Asian Americans.
Asian Americans have been “attacked, harassed, blamed and scapegoated” for the COVID-19 pandemic, which originated in China, Biden said.
“So many of them are fellow Americans, are on the frontlines of this pandemic trying to save lives — and still are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America,” he said. “It’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it must stop.”
— Michael Collins
