Biden addressed Americans over prayer breakfast

02/02/2023

1 minute read

2023.02.02 15:24

By Kristina Sobol

Budrigannews.com – During Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast, President Joe Biden urged Americans, particularly Republicans and Democrats in Congress, to reclaim their humanity and collaborate for the common good.

“I think we see each other as enemies, not friends,” the Democratic president told the attendees, who included Democrat Nancy Pelosi, Arizona’s unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and Biden’s seatmate, Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Biden stated at the U.S. Capitol:

“My prayer for this prayer breakfast is that we start to see each other again… argue like hell with each other, but still go to lunch together.”

“Despite our deep disagreements over the past two years, we have demonstrated that we can work together to accomplish significant goals for the nation. “We can save America’s soul,” Biden told the lawmakers gathered.

Members of Congress attend the annual, nondenominational National Prayer Breakfast, which has been going on for seven decades. The National Prayer Breakfast Foundation, led by former U.S. Senator Mark Pryor, organizes it.

Dwight Eisenhower was the first president to attend one in 1953.

A day after they met on the U.S. debt ceiling, Biden urged lawmakers who frequently fight to treat each other with respect and gave the example of his new friendship with Speaker McCarthy.

“Kevin and I are going to do that. That isn’t a joke. Yesterday’s meeting was productive, Biden stated. I think we have to do it all at once.”

The president noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence, and major storms have battered the United States over the past several years. However, he said that America is resilient.

Biden stated: