Photo: J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty
Such guests are a customary part of each president’s annual speech.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, was seated next to the first lady, who greeted her warmly with a hug before the PresidentJoe Bidenbegan his address.
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After acknowledging the ambassador, Biden said, “Let each of us here tonight in this chamber send an unmistakable signal to Ukraine and to the world. Please rise if you are able and show that.”
Markarova stood with Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag in one hand and held her other hand over her heart as those gathered in the House of Representatives erupted in applause.
“Yes, we the United States of America stand with the Ukrainian people,” Biden said.
The first lady’s youngest guest was Joshua Davis, 13.
“He and his dad have diabetes,” the president said during his address, “which means they need insulin every day. Insulin costs about $10 a vial to make. But drug companies charge families like Joshua and his Dad up to 30 times more.”
“Imagine what it’s like to look at your child who needs insulin to stay healthy and have no idea how in God’s name you’re going to be able to pay for it,” Biden continued. “That’s what I think about,” he said.
Then the president wished the seventh-grader — who attended the address with his mother, Shannon O’Leary Davis — a happy birthday.
The Bidens also invited Joseph “JoJo” Burgess, a U.S. Army veteran and a 20-year member of the United Steelworkers.
Frances Haugen, a specialist in algorithmic product management who worked at Facebook, leading a team dedicated to combating misinformation and fighting espionage before publicly criticizing the company’s practices, also sat in the viewing box with the first lady.
From left: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi.Saul Loeb - Pool/Getty
“We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit,” the president said after mentioning Haugen, who is an advocate for transparency and mental health in tech and social media, according to a White House description of her work.
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections,” Biden continued, “ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
Other guests included: Refynd Duro, a progressive care nurse from Ohio who has been treatingCOVID-19patients throughout the pandemic; Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger; Melissa Isaac, a member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe who works at the Michigan Department of Education; Danielle Robinson, widow of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson who died in 2020 after being diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder and stage 4 lung cancer; and Kezia Rodriguez, who is a full-time Bergen Community College student who benefits from the school’s tuition-free child care program and introduced Dr. Biden when she visited the campus in January.
source: people.com
