U.S. Senator Katie Britt delivered the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech Thursday evening in a kitchen table address from her home in Montgomery.
Britt, the only Alabamian ever to deliver the response, focused in particular on Biden’s response to the crisis at the southern border, his economic policies, the rising national crime rate, and also the perceived weakening of the U.S. on the world stage by hostile countries.
Watch the full Republican Response to the State of the Union by Sen. @KatieBrittforAL: pic.twitter.com/cHmYjVRR2P
— GOP (@GOP) March 8, 2024
“Like so many families across America, my husband, Wesley, and I just watched President Biden’s State of the Union Address from our living room,” said Britt. “What we saw was the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than I’ve even been alive.”
American families are concerned with the direction of the country under Biden, Britt said.
“I wish he understood what real families are facing around kitchen tables just like this, ” said Britt. “This is where our family has tough conversations and where we make hard decisions. It’s where we share the good, the bad, and the ugly of our days. It’s where we laugh together. It’s where we hold each other’s hands and pray for God’s guidance. And, many nights, it’s where Wesley and I worry.”
“I know we’re not alone,” the Senator continued. “Tonight, the American family needs to have a tough conversation, because the truth is, we’re all worried about the future of our nation.”
“The country we know and love seems to be slipping away,” Britt said. “It feels like the next generation will have fewer opportunities – and less freedom – than we did. I worry my own children may not even get a shot at living their American Dreams.”
Britt went into detail about her own personal “American dream.”
“My American Dream allowed me, the daughter of two small business owners from rural Enterprise, Alabama, to be elected to the U.S. Senate at the age of 40. Growing up sweeping the floor at my dad’s hardware store and cleaning the bathroom at my mom’s dance studio, I never could have imagined what my story would entail.”
“To think what the American Dream can do across just one generation, in just one lifetime, is truly breathtaking.”
“But right now, the American Dream has turned into a nightmare for so many families.”
She then called out Biden for suspending deportations and granting amnesty to millions of illegals “minutes after taking office.”
She spoke in particular about one of her more sobering experiences while visiting the border.
“When I first took office, I did something different. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas, where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me.”
“She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at age 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped. The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoe-box of a room, and they sent men through that door, over and over again, for hours and hours on-end.”
Britt said that the border crisis has caused a large rise in overdoses and homicides.
“President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable. From fentanyl poisonings to horrific murders. There are empty chairs tonight at kitchen tables just like this one because of President Biden’s senseless border policies.”
She then spoke about a young Georgia nursing student recently murdered by an illegal from Venezuela.
“Just think about Laken Riley,” Britt said. “In my neighboring state of Georgia, this beautiful, 22-year-old nursing student went out on a jog one morning. But she never got the opportunity to return home. She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland.”
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“That could’ve been my daughter. It could’ve been yours. Tonight, President Biden finally said her name. But he refused to take responsibility for his own actions.”
“Mr. President, enough is enough. Innocent Americans are dying. And you only have yourself to blame. Fulfill your oath of office. Reverse your policies. End this crisis. And stop the suffering.”
“Bidenomics” and its effect on American families was Britt’s next point of contention.
“Sadly, we know President Biden’s failures don’t stop there. His reckless spending dug our economy into a hole and sent the cost-of-living through the roof. The worst inflation in 40 years. The highest credit card debt in history.”
“Hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet today. And with soaring mortgage rates and sky-high childcare costs, they’re also struggling to plan for tomorrow,” said Britt. “The American people are scraping by while the President proudly proclaims Bidenomics is working!”
Britt also accused the left, led by Biden, of going easy on serial offenders.
“Despite what he tells you, our communities are not safer. For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police – all while letting repeat offenders walk free.”
“The result is tragic but foreseeable—from our small towns to America’s most iconic city streets, life is getting more and more dangerous.”
She noted that Biden’s failed diplomacy has caused hostile countries across the globe to see the US as weak.
“From abandoning allies in his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan… to desperately pushing another dangerous deal with Iran, President Biden has failed.”
“We’ve become a nation in retreat. And the enemies of freedom see an opportunity. Putin’s brutal aggression in Europe has put our allies on the brink.”
“Iran’s terrorist proxies have slaughtered Israeli Jews and American citizens. They’ve targeted commercial shipping. And they’ve attacked our troops nearly 200 times since October, killing three U.S. soldiers and two Navy SEALS,” Britt said. “Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party is undercutting America’s workers. China is buying up our farmland, spying on our military installations, and spreading propaganda through the likes of TikTok.”
“The CCP knows that if it conquers the minds of our next generation, it conquers America. And what does President Biden do? He bans TikTok for government employees, but creates an account for his own campaign. You can’t make this stuff up!”
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“America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation.”
In closing, Britt delivered a rallying call to Republicans across the country urging them to revive the “heroic spirit of our great country.”
“We are the Party of hardworking parents and families. We want to give you and your children the opportunities to thrive – and we want families to grow. It’s why we strongly support continued nationwide access to invitro fertilization. We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world.”
“Every generation has been called to do hard things. American greatness rests in the fact that we always answer that call. It’s who we are.”
“Never forget, we’re steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world. We walk in the footsteps of pioneers who tamed the wild. We now carry forward the same flame of freedom as the liberators of an oppressed Europe.”
“America has been tested before, and every single time, we’ve emerged unbowed and unbroken,” the Senator declared. “Now it’s our turn — our moment to stand up and prove ourselves worthy of protecting the American Dream.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
