Tipsheet

Here’s a Roundup of Notable Guests Attending Biden’s State of the Union

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  March 07, 2024 9:00 AM

President Joe Biden will deliver his annual State of the Union address at 9 p.m. on Thursday. The audience will include a long list of invited guests with ties to hot-button issues throughout Biden’s tenure. Here’s a look at who to expect.

Evan Gershkovich’s parents

The parents of Evan Gershovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who has been locked up in Russia on espionage charges since last March will attend Biden’s State of the Union address with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

“We are grateful to Speaker Johnson for inviting us to attend the State of the Union and for providing the opportunity to highlight Evan’s wrongful detention,” the parents, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich, told WSJ. 

“We’re also grateful to President Biden for his continued work on Evan’s behalf. Evan is an American, and he was doing his job as a journalist. He is most importantly a beloved son and brother, and we want him home,” they added.

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Gershkovich, 32, is an American citizen. He was detained on March 29, 2023 by Russia’s Federal Security Service will he was reporting for WSJ in Yekaterinburg. Soon after, the Biden administration designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, but negotiations to bring him home have not been successful.

“By hosting Evan’s parents, Congress will shine a spotlight on the unjust detention of their son,” Speaker Johnson told the outlet. 

“The United States must always stand for freedom of the press around the world, especially in places like Russia, where it is under assault. The Administration must bring Evan home,” he added.

The mother of an alleged MS-13 gang member murder victim

Another one of Johnson’s guests for Biden’s State of the Union address is Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed in her mobile home in Maryland in 2022. Hamilton was slain by a suspected member of the gang MS-13 who was released in the United States.

As Townhall previously covered, Nobles has been vocal about the Biden administration’s role in her daughter’s death. 

"I’m honored to be a guest of Speaker Mike Johnson at the State of the Union. I am so glad that my efforts to share Kayla's story and bring awareness to what is happening at the border are being recognized," Nobles said in a statement this week. "I will continue fighting and demanding accountability for what is happening at the border. I hope positive changes will occur in the future to save many lives. Something must change."

In addition, Johnson invited Stefanie Turner, a mother who formed the organization Texas Against Fentanyl after her son, Tucker, was killed by taking an “illicit Percocet pill,” according to Live Fox Now.

"While I carry the pain of losing my only son, Tucker, I also represent all the families who have to learn to live life again after the death of their loved one. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We are so disgusted that more is not being done to stop this war on the American people. We have had enough," Turner said in a statement.

"President Biden’s open-border catastrophe is undermining the safety of our communities and ripping families apart," Johnson said in a statement to Fox News Digital this week. "Tammy Nobles and Stefanie Turner are two of the many parents who’ve experienced the devastating effects of the catastrophe at our border, having tragically lost their children to criminal aliens and fentanyl, which is pouring through our borders."

"I’m honored to be hosting Tammy and Stefanie at the State of the Union, as we fight for a secure border and to hold President Biden accountable for his failure to protect this country and the American people," Johnson added.

NYPD officers who brawled with illegal aliens

Johnson, along with Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), will host NYPD Police Officer Zunxu Tian and Lt. Ben Kurian, who were attacked by a group of illegal aliens in Times Square in January, according to the New York Post. 

“Sanctuary cities have endangered American citizens across the country. Brave law enforcement officers, like NYPD Lieutenant Ben Kurian and Police Officer Zunxu Tian, should never be victims of the senseless crimes these policies encourage,” Johnson said in a statement obtained by The Post.

Mia Schem

Johnson invited Mia Schem, a young Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas, to Biden’s State of the Union address. 

“At the State of the Union, I will be honored to host Mia Schem, who experienced the terrors of Hamas firsthand,” Johnson said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “Mia spent more than 50 days in captivity after being kidnapped on October 7th. I’m proud to stand with Mia and join her in demanding the release [of] all the hostages still held captive by Hamas. We must continue to fight to get them home.”

In a statement to the outlet, Schem said she felt “deeply honored to have been invited” to the address.

“While my thoughts and prayers are constantly with my friends who are still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, I am grateful to the Speaker for allowing me to show my gratitude for all the United States Government has done to assist the people of Israel in their time of need,” she said. “The bond between our countries is more important than ever and cannot be broken. As believers in God, we continue to pray together for peace.”

Families of Hamas victims

Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and other members of Congress are hosting a total of 17 relatives of Americans killed or held hostage by Hamas.

According to Live Now Fox, a list from the Families of the American Hostages in Gaza coalition said the attendees include relatives of six hostages still held captive, two released captives and two hostages who were killed.

The Times of Israel noted that the group said it urged Congress members in a letter to “show solidarity and a firm commitment to securing the swift and total release of the hostages by wearing yellow ribbons and dog tags” during the State of the Union. 

Gold Star family member of Kabul explosion victim

According to Fox News, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), invited Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee, who was one of the 13 American servicemembers killed by ISIS-K at Abbey Gate during Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. 

“More than two years after the death of Christy’s daughter-in-law and 12 other U.S. servicemembers at Abbey Gate, the Biden administration still refuses to take accountability for the tragedy it caused,” McCaul said in a statement. 

“I hope Christy’s attendance sends a clear signal to President Biden and the American people that I will not rest until a complete and thorough investigation has occurred – and that people are held accountable for what happened,” he added.

Kate Cox 

Kate Cox, the Texas woman who made headlines for aborting her unborn child in the second trimester of pregnancy over a disability, will accompany first lady Jill Biden to the State of the Union, which Townhall previously reported. Cox sought a court order in her home state of Texas to abort her unborn child when she discovered she was diagnosed with trisomy 18. In a legal filing, Cox claimed that her unborn child would die shortly after birth if she carried the pregnancy to term. Cox eventually traveled out-of-state for the abortion to end her unborn daughter’s life. 

In an interview, Cox claimed that her decision to get an abortion made her feel both “joy” and “grief,” claiming the two could “coexist” in her situation. 

According to SBA Pro-Life America, Biden is expected to push abortion without limits in his address. 

Kayla Smith 

The Democrats’ pro-abortion guest list doesn’t stop with Cox. Democrat Washington Sen. Patty Murray invited Kayla Smith, a former Idaho resident who traveled to Seattle for a so-called “life saving” abortion. 

According to Murray’s office, Smith was 19 weeks pregnant when she learned that her baby had “serious and fatal fetal anomalies, including inoperable heart defects.” Due to Idaho’s pro-life laws, she was unable to have an abortion in her home state. At 21 weeks, she traveled to Seattle to get an early induction of labor. 

“In 2023, Kayla and her family left Idaho and moved to Washington state, where they now reside—their decision to move was based in large part because they wanted to grow their family in a state nearby where basic reproductive health care was legal and protected,” Murray’s announcement stated.

“I grew up in Washington and felt safest coming back to get care here. My husband and I have since welcomed another little girl into our family and now currently reside in Washington,” Smith said in a statement. 

“We felt strongly about raising our girls in a state where they would have bodily autonomy. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to sit alongside Senator Murray at the State of the Union address and continue to share not only my story, but the story of so many other women who have unfortunately been forced to flee their home state for abortion care,” she added. 

Dr. Caitlin Bernard 

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana-based OB/GYN who provided an abortion to a 10-year-old child from Ohio will attend Biden’s State of the Union with California Democrat Rep. Judy Chu, according to IndyStar.

"Patients must be able to make these personal and sometimes complicated decisions and doctors must be able to offer this care without interference from powerful people who are motivated by politics or ideology," Bernard wrote in a statement obtained by the outlet.

"We need bold, immediate change to protect and expand access to reproductive care, and I look forward to hearing from President Biden about his plans to take this important action for patients and providers.”

Bernard provided the abortion to the 10-year-old girl in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. Predictably, when she told her story to reporters, it sent shockwaves across the country.

Mia covered how Gerson Fuentes, a 27-year-old illegal immigrant, confessed to raping the child. In addition, he was reportedly dating the child’s mother. 

First person born via in-vitro fertilization

Democrat Sen. Tim Kaine (VA) will bring Elizabeth Carr, the first American baby conceived through IVF in 1981 in Norfolk, Virginia to the State of the Union address. Kaine is bringing Carr in response to a court ruling in Alabama that prompted a number of clinics to halt IVF treatments.

As Leah covered, the ruling determined that frozen embryos are children, and the destruction of unused or nonviable embryos is common practice.

Two Democratic senators reintroduced legislation to codify access to in vitro fertilization as a result of the ruling. 

“If you truly care about the sanctity of families, if you’re genuinely, actually, honestly interested in protecting IVF, then you need to show it by not blocking this bill today,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, said. “It’s that simple.”

“Reserving the right to object,” Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) said, seeking recognition. “I support the ability for mothers and fathers to have total access to IVF and bringing new life into the world. I also believe human life should be protected. These are not mutually exclusive.”

On X, Kaine claimed that IVF is “[coming] under threat from GOP extremists” who want to protect the lives of the unborn.