Ukraine Ambassador, Pat Gelsinger, Haugen... Biden's Message Seen Through Invited Figures

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Among the guests invited to U.S. President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address after his inauguration were Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, Frances Haugen, the whistleblower from social media giant Facebook, and Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel. All of them represent key policies or themes addressed by President Biden in his speech.

The White House announced on the 1st (local time) that, at the invitation of First Lady Jill Biden, these individuals listened to President Biden's speech from seats around the First Lady.

The most notable figure was Ambassador Markarova. President Biden raised his voice condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine for a significant portion of the speech. The ambassador's attendance was interpreted as an emphasis on solidarity with Ukraine. Early in the speech, President Biden introduced Ambassador Markarova by saying, "Light will overcome darkness." He urged, "Let us stand and send a signal to the world and Ukraine," which was followed by a standing ovation inside the Capitol.

Former Facebook employee Haugen is recognized as a representative figure of the serious mental health issues facing young people in the U.S. and the Biden administration's response to them. Last year, Haugen revealed that "Instagram knew through internal research that it harms teenagers' mental health but neglected to act." Earlier, the White House introduced her as an "advocate who has raised her voice about teenage mental health across the technology and social media industries."

Also present was the CEO of Intel, who has announced aggressive investment plans amid the global semiconductor chip shortage. CEO Gelsinger announced earlier this year that Intel would invest at least $20 billion to build semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Ohio, USA, and last month launched a $1 billion foundry fund. President Biden, who has mentioned Intel's initiatives several times in official settings, urged corporate investment and emphasized the administration's efforts to ease supply chain issues during this speech as well, highlighting Intel.

In addition, steel union workers, nurses, educators, indigenous activists, and military spouses were invited to the speech. A 7th-grade student involved in diabetes-related activism was also among the invitees. The President's sister, Valarie Biden Owens, and Vice President Kamala Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, also sat near the First Lady.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.