President Joe Biden released a video of him speaking to various Hollywood actors, all of whom have played a U.S. president at one point, for advice ahead of his State of the Union speech on Thursday.
The video, released on social media, featured Biden speaking to five different actors on a Zoom call, with the president joking he had never spoken “to so many presidents all at one time.” The actors present in the Zoom call were Morgan Freeman, Tony Goldwyn, Geena Davis, Michael Douglas, and Bill Pullman, all of whom gave the president tips on what they learned when playing a U.S. president.
“You may’ve heard I’ve got a big speech coming up,” Biden wrote on X. “So, I thought I would hear from some folks who have done the job before — sort of.”
Freeman, who played President Tom Beck in the 1998 film Deep Impact, suggested that “hope is the strongest force we have in this country” and suggested that Biden remind U.S. residents “how you’re working for us.”
Pullman, whose best-known role is President Thomas J. Whitmore in the 1996 film Independence Day, told Biden that characters in his film were able to unite against the alien invasion. He praised Biden for his past speeches on seeking to unite the nation, stating that “time will remember the importance of your words.”
A number of actors who have played a U.S. president were absent from the video, including Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah Bartlet in the television series The West Wing, and Harrison Ford, who played President James Marshall in the 1997 film Air Force One.
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The State of the Union speech this year will air on Thursday at 9 p.m. EST and will mark Biden’s third such address to Congress since taking office in 2021. Biden is giving this speech approximately eight months before the 2024 presidential election, which is expected to be a rematch between him and former President Donald Trump.
Trump said he would “correct” Biden during a live watch of the president’s speech, stating that “it is important for the Country to get the TRUTH!” Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), meanwhile, is delivering the Republican Party’s response to Biden’s State of the Union address.