As America Celebrates Independence Day, Biden Urges For Unity

U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday celebrated America's Independence Day, offering a message of optimism and unity, at a time when freedoms, as Biden put it, was under assault, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports from the White House.

In his remarks at a July 4th barbecue with military families at the White House, Biden urged unity despite divisions in the country: "On this day amid the storm and strife, may we commit ourselves to a principled patriotism," he said.

America is "always becoming, always on the move, always a work in progress," Biden said.

"From the deepest depths of our worst crises, we've always risen to our higher heights," he added. "We've been tested before, just as we're being tested today, but we've never failed because we have never walked away from the core beliefs and promises that define this nation."

Biden suggested that better days lay ahead even as he acknowledged the struggles Americans are going through under the country's high inflation.

The first couple later watched fireworks from the White House balcony, while hundreds of military family members and administration staff enjoyed the show from blankets and picnic tables on the White House lawn.

Earlier in a day, Independence Day festivities at George Washington's Mount Vernon mansion estate included a naturalization ceremony featuring new citizens from 42 countries, including Ukraine and Georgia. 

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.