Recap of President Biden's State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) – President Joe Biden faced a tough—and at times—hostile crowd as he addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night in his second State of the Union.

He stood his ground as Republicans heckled and booed. Still, he insisted lawmakers work together instead of fighting.

“Because the soul of this nation is strong,” Biden said. “Because the backbone of this nation is strong. Because the people of this nation are strong. The state of the Union is strong.”

President Biden seized on a major prime-time address to a joint session of Congress to reflect on the past two years and lay out his vision for the next two.

Biden described an inflection point for the country, arguing that the U.S. economy has made a turnaround.

He said, “Two years ago, the economy is reeling. I stand here tonight after we’ve created with the help of many people in this room, 12 million new jobs.”

He also touted some of his major legislative accomplishments.

“I signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming president,” Biden said.

A notable difference from Biden’s last State of the Union address was Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seated behind the president,

He was, at times, stoic as Democrats applauded the speech and at other times, visibly trying to quiet his colleagues as they heckled Biden including on the topic of entitlement cuts.

“Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” President Biden said. “I’m not saying it’s a majority. Let me give you, anyone who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy. I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”

Still, the president insisted that he will work with the other party.

“There’s no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this congress as well,” he said.

Foreign policy was also in the spotlight following the dramatic downing over the weekend of a Chinese spy balloon.

Biden only made a passing reference to the incident and instead emphasized America’s readiness to compete with China.

The guests invited to Tuesday night’s speech by First Lady Jill Biden painted a story of some of the president’s top priorities and challenges over the past year.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the U. S. gave a reminder of how much the war in Ukraine has tested and dominated Biden’s second year in office.

Other guests included Paul Pelosi, who was violently attacked in his home and raised alarm about political extremism and husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the parents of Tyre Nichols, a man whose death after a violent beating by police officers prompted outrage and grief across the country.

“Let’s commit ourselves to make the words of Tyre’s mom true,” the president said. “Something good must come from this. All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment. We can’t turn away.”

many experts see the address as an unofficial starting point to Biden’s expected campaign to seek a second term in office for the man who is already the oldest to ever serve as president.