President Biden
Joe Biden Manchester bolsters the status of key voices in the 50-50 Senate The Memo: How COVID Year Rocked Politics Post-Pandemic Plans For Lawmakers: Chuck E. Cheese, Visiting Friends, Hugging Grandchildren MORE Thursday marked a year since the pandemic restrictions were imposed, urging Americans to get together and do their part to stay vigilant against the coronavirus to return to a semblance of normalcy by the summer.
In his first prime-time speech as president, Biden made an emotional appeal to Americans who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 and those struggling with economic and personal hardships after a year of isolation.
The president balanced his look back on the grim year by displaying a sense of optimism. He outlined the steps his government is taking to ramp up vaccine distribution, including a call to states to make all adults eligible for an injection by May 1.
In the country, hospitalizations, deaths, and general cases have steadily declined in recent months as the weather warms and more Americans are vaccinated. Many states have begun to lift restrictions, but Biden cautioned that progress could be lost if Americans don’t come together with a sense of national purpose to defeat the virus.
“Even if we do everything possible, defeating this virus and returning to normal depends on national unity,” he said. And national unity is not just how politicians and politicians in Washington vote, what the loudest voices say over cable or online. Unity is what we do as fellow Americans. Because if we don’t say vigilant and the circumstances change, we may need to fix the constraints to get back on track. “
Biden announced he would direct states to make all adults eligible for injections by May 1. The administration plans to incentivize vaccinators and increase locations where Americans can get their vaccinations, and it commended the creation of a government-run website and call center to help people find a vaccination appointment as soon as they become eligible.
The Biden administration has obtained enough vaccine doses to have enough supplies for every adult by the end of May, although the president warned that this does not mean that every American will have been vaccinated by then.
But with each of those steps and the continued masking and social distance from the public, Biden said, the country could see an environment where it’s safe to hold small gatherings on July 4 with friends and family.
Biden, who leaned in empathy during the pandemic, acknowledged the pain and loss the American people have felt over the past year, with more than 530,000 Americans dying from the virus, losing millions of jobs and closing thousands of businesses.
“Although it was different for everyone, we all lost something. A collective suffering, a collective sacrifice, ”said Biden. The president then pulled a postcard from his jacket pocket that he used to keep track of the number of deaths from the virus.
Biden reflected on the missed birthdays, weddings, graduations and first dates, as well as the loss of life and employment that many have experienced.
“It’s the details of life that matter most, and we miss those details,” said Biden. “It has all taken a terrible price on the psyche of so many of us because we are essentially a people who want to be with others.”
Nonetheless, the speech carried a clear message of hope for an end to the pandemic.
The president’s speech came after he achieved his first major legislative victory with the approval of his $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus plan, which he signed into law earlier Thursday.
The bill provides funding for direct payments for many Americans, increased unemployment benefits through September, the distribution of vaccines, and school reopenings. Administration officials have framed it as critical in the fight against the virus.
During his speech, Biden also sometimes sought a clear contrast with his predecessor.
Former President Trump
Donald Trump The Memo: How COVID Year Turned Politics Upside Down Biden Seeks His Moment With Pandemic Address A Year With The Coronavirus: How We Got Here MORE was often criticized for a lack of empathy in discussing the toll of the pandemic and for his government’s overall response to the pandemic.
Without mentioning Trump by name, Biden said the US faced “ days, weeks and then months of denials, ” a reference to its predecessor’s frequent downplaying of the dangers of the coronavirus.
Biden went on, repeatedly pledging to tell the truth and urging Americans to have confidence in the government’s response to the pandemic.
“You owe nothing less than the truth. And for all of you asking when things get back to normal, here’s the truth: the only way to get our lives back, to get our economy back on track, is to beat the virus, ”said Biden.