US President Joe Biden warns during his State of the Union speech that democratic values were under attack in the United States and abroad.

“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War, have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today,” he tells Congress at the Capitol. “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas.”

Biden vows he will not “bow down” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, fiercely criticizing rival Donald Trump from the first moments of his State of the Union address.

“My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want,'” Biden tells the joint session.

“I will not bow down,” Biden says. “In a literal sense, history is watching.”

President Biden touts the strength of the US economy during his State of the Union speech to Congress, pointing to the country’s post-pandemic recovery.

“Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink,” he tells the joint session of the House and Senate at the Capitol.

“Now our economy is literally the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three years — a record. Unemployment at 50-year lows,” he says.

Biden: I won’t rest until hostages freed; warns Israel not to use aid as bargaining chip

US president announces establishment of Gaza maritime corridor in State of Union speech. In last-ditch effort to secure deal by Ramadan, CIA chief lands in Doha after day in Egypt