Joe Biden delivers feisty State of the Union address with vision for his second term

The president needed to appeal to voters as he and Donald Trump are neck and neck in the presidential contest

Joe Biden confirmed a new US mission to deliver aid to Gaza and repeatedly took aim at Donald Trump in his State of the Union address on Thursday, offering a pointed preview of the general election in November.

Biden's most significant announcement came toward the end of his roughly hour-long speech, when he confirmed that the US military would establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the coast of Gaza" capable of receiving large shipments of water, food and medicine. Biden pledged the mission will not involve deploying American troops on the ground and would facilitate a significant infusion of supplies into Gaza.