WASHINGTON • President Joe Biden took on Donald Trump in a fiery speech to Congress on Thursday, accusing his election rival of threatening U.S. democracy and kowtowing to Russia, as he laid out his case for four more years in the White House.

In his last State of the Union address before the election, Biden, a Democrat, charged Trump, his Republican challenger in the Nov. 5 election, with burying the truth about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin and torpedoing a bill to tighten restrictions at the U.S. border with Mexico.

The 68-minute speech gave Biden, who is suffering from low approval ratings, a chance to speak directly to millions of Americans about his vision for another four-year term and offer a contrast with Trump, whose name he did not mention but whose presence reverberated throughout the speech.

Speaking before a joint session of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, Biden opened his remarks with direct criticism of Trump for his comments inviting Russian Putin to invade other NATO nations if they did not spend more on defense.

“Now, my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever you want,'” Biden said. “I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”

Biden, who has been pushing Congress to provide additional funding to Ukraine for its war with Russia, also had a message for Putin: “We will not walk away.”

The president also drew a contrast with Trump over abortion rights and the economy, and he directed several barbs at Republican lawmakers in the chamber with off-the-cuff banter that appeared designed to assuage concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Biden came out swinging at the top of his speech with robust attacks. He accused Trump and Republicans of trying to rewrite history about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot by the former president’s supporters seeking to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory.

“My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6. I will not do that,” Biden said, a signal that he will emphasize the issue during his reelection campaign. “You can’t love your country only when you win.”

He also knocked Republicans for seeking to roll back healthcare provisions under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and accused them of driving up deficits. He also jibed them for taking money from legislation they had opposed.

Biden faces discontent among progressives in his party about his support for Israel in its war against Hamas and from Republicans over his stance on immigration, though the mood among Democrats in the chamber was rapturous. They greeted Biden with cheers and applause, prompting him to quip that he should leave before he even began.

Trump, meanwhile, sent a steady stream of messages blasting Biden on his Truth Social platform.

“He looks so angry when he’s talking, which is a trait of people who know they are ‘losing it,'” Trump wrote. “The anger and shouting is not helpful to bringing our Country back together!”

Republican response

U.S. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, who will deliver Republicans’ formal response to Biden’s speech, planned to attack him over immigration and the economy.

“The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting. Our country can do better,” she will say, according to excerpts. “President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable.”

Britt also planned to have a “tough conversation” with the public in her response to Biden.

Britt, 42 and the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the Senate, will point to her experience as a mother of two to urge voters to reject Biden at the polls in November.

“Tonight, the American family needs to have a tough conversation, because the truth is, we’re all worried about the future of our nation,” Britt said in excerpts of her speech. “The country we know and love seems to be slipping away. 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.”

The Alabama senator, who is considered a rising star in the party, will say Biden is “not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader. America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation.”

Instead, Britt will say, the GOP can offer voters a chance at the American dream if they switched course in November.

“There is no doubt we’re at a crossroads,” Britt will say. “We all feel it. But here’s the good news: we the People are still in the driver’s seat. We get to decide whether our future will grow brighter, or whether we settle for an America in decline. Well, I know which choice our children deserve – and the choice the Republican Party is fighting for.”

Age, economy at issue

Opinion polls show Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, closely matched in the race. Most American voters are unenthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago.

Trump, facing multiple criminal charges as he fights for reelection, said he plans to deport millions of immigrants who have crossed into America illegally if he wins a second White House term. Representative Troy Nehls, a Republican, wore a shirt with Trump’s face and the words “Never surrender” on it.

The speech may be the Democratic president’s biggest stage to reach voters weighing whether to vote for him, choose Trump, or sit out the election. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for his party’s presidential nomination, had dropped out on Wednesday.

Biden emphasized his support of abortion rights and pledged to make them the law of the land if Americans voted in enough Democratic lawmakers to do so.

He also sought to burnish his reputation about the strength of the U.S. economy and renew his quest to make wealthy Americans and corporations pay more in taxes, unveiling proposals, including higher minimum taxes for companies and Americans with wealth over $100 million.

Any such tax reform is unlikely to pass unless Democrats win strong majorities in both houses of Congress in November.

Biden proposed new measures to lower housing costs, including a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers — an acknowledgement of consumers’ distress over high mortgage interest rates — while boasting of U.S economic progress under his tenure.

The U.S. economy is performing better than most high-income countries, with continued job growth and consumer spending. But

Americans overall give Trump better marks in polls for economic issues.

“Joe Biden is on the run from his record … to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created,” Trump posted before the speech on his Truth Social platform.

Gaza port, Ukraine funds

Biden sought to cool anger among many Democrats over his support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, which killed 1,200 people. Hamas also kidnapped some 250 Israelis and foreigners. The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said 30,700 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

Biden announced that the U.S. military will build a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea.

Biden pushed again for a $95 billion aid package for weapons to Ukraine and aid to Israel that has been blocked by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Emily Jacobs of the Washington Examiner contributed to this article.