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.
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…
