Feb. 12 (UPI) — President Joe Biden shared warm greetings and laughs with both Democrats and Republicans during the annual Governors Ball Dinner at the White House.
Biden was joined by governors from both sides of the political aisle on Saturday night when he touted the work his administration has accomplished on a bipartisan basis. He praised the work governors did at the state level while navigating the pandemic and ensuing economic crisis.
“I don’t think it’s been a tougher two years being a governor. That’s why we started off with a controversial piece of legislation, making sure you had enough money, each one of you,” Biden said to applause.
Biden joked that while many Republican governors may not say so publicly, his relationships with them have been productive.
The president emphasized the importance of Democrats and Republicans working together with the goal of achieving progress that makes the lives of everyday people better.
“I said I wanted to be President for everybody, not just blue states or red states, but for everybody,” he said.
“And — and I think, to the best we can, we’ve tried like hell to step up, particularly to the governors and mayors that — people every day are looking at people straight in the eye, face to face, and wanting to know what’s going on, what’s going to happen.”
Echoing his message throughout the past few weeks, during which he has visited the sites of major infrastructure projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Biden gleamed at what the law will accomplish in the next decade. He reiterated that it would not have been passed without several Republicans crossing party lines.
Biden said he expects success with his plans to “rebuild the economy,” which he has repeated will be done “from the bottom up and the middle out.”
In his closing remarks, the president said he hopes to see policy discussions become “a little bit less partisan,” moving forward.
“And, look, I’d like to make a toast to remembering who in God’s name we are,” Biden said. “We’re the United States of America. We can get big things done if we do it together.”