© Reuters. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the governors of the United States and their wives during a formal dinner in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S. February 11, 2023. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno.
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By Andrea Shaal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday urged Republican and Democratic governors to continue working to overcome political divisions to improve Americans’ lives and rebuild economy after the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a formal dinner at the White House attended by Vice President Kamala Harris and 31 governors, Biden said both Republicans and Democrats have passed legislation investing in infrastructure and manufacturing. Domestic semiconductors are evidence of “some bipartisan progress”.
“I hope we get a little bit – I’ll try to – be a little bit less partisan and do things that we can really do to change people’s lives,” Biden said after days. meeting with governors in California. Washington DC.
He said he remains “ready to fight, like all of you,” and that Republicans and Democrats don’t always agree, but when they work together, it makes difference.
Republican Governor Spencer Cox of Utah, vice president of the National Governors Association, said it was “very symbolic” for Republicans and Democrats to “break bread together” at the White House.
Cox added that he believes most Americans would like to see more cooperation on political roads.
“This is what’s missing in our country,” he said, adding, “It’s hard to hate being around.”
Notably absent from the dinner was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has challenged Biden’s agenda on a variety of areas, from gun safety to LGBTQ rights.
Western country singer Brad Paisley played the guitar and performed “American Saturday Night” after dinner, telling the crowd he changed the second line of the song “because it referred to Russia and I don’t do that anymore.”
Instead, he sang: “She has Brazilian leather boots on the pedals of a German car. There’s a Ukrainian flag hanging behind the bar.”
Biden’s remarks echo his State of the Union address Tuesday, in which he challenged Republicans to help unite the country.
Speaking at a governors’ event at the White House on Friday, New Jersey Governor Chris Murphy, a Democrat and president of the association, said the laws passed bipartially last year were game changer for the US economy.
The ability of states to work together on other issues like mental health, he added, disproves “the narrative that politics has been completely divisive.”
