Biden Celebrates Defeating the Pandemic, Warns of Delta Variant

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Key Takeaways

• US President Joe Biden hails success over the pandemic but urges caution against the Delta strain
• As the stock market takes a break today, major indexes hover in record territory

President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a July 4 speech in which he declared that the United States had almost achieved “independence” from the deadly coronavirus. He hailed the vaccination efforts across the states while he also cautioned against complacency with the rapidly spreading Delta variant.

Speaking at an event with 1,000 people in attendance, Joe Biden gave a celebratory speech on the 245th anniversary of the founding of the United States. “We are closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus,” the President said.

“Today, all across this nation, we can say with confidence: America is coming back together,” Joe Biden said as the crowd cheered. “Today, while the virus hasn’t been vanquished, we know this: It no longer controls our lives, it no longer paralyzes our nation and it’s within our power to make sure it never does so again.”

He dedicated part of his speech to appealing for Americans who haven’t been vaccinated to get their shots, noting that the Delta strain is spreading rapidly. “Do it now, for yourself, for your loved ones, for your community, and your country,” he said.

Optimism Pervades the US Economy

Mr. Biden has been optimistic for months that Independence Day will bring a return to a more pre-pandemic way of life, saying earlier that he has a goal of vaccinating at least 70% of the adult population by July 4.

The White House, however, a couple of weeks ago, acknowledged that officials wouldn’t be able to reach the President’s goal as vaccinations have slowed in recent months and many are reluctant to get their first jab. Still, the rate of vaccination rate came close at 67.1%.

Against that backdrop, businesses are reopening and the economy is recovering. President Biden struck an optimistic tone in his remarks on the latest jobs report that showed 850,000 new positions were added to the labor market in June.

“We’re seeing record job creation and record economic growth — the best in four decades and, I might add, the best in the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, as the stock market is taking a break today in observance of Independence Day, traders and investors remain optimistic that the ongoing swift economic recovery will continue to accelerate. Major US benchmarks were lifted on Friday, propelled by the strong jobs report, which topped expectations for roughly 700,000 and beat the previous report of 583,000 in May.

On Friday, as the US economy signaled it continues to recover, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 152.82 points, or 0.44%, to 34,786.35. The S&P500 soared 32.40 points, or 0.75%, to its seventh straight session of gains, ending the day at a fresh record of 4,352.34. The Nasdaq Composite surged 116.95 points, or 0.81%, to a new record of 14,639.33.

Friday’s stock performance sealed another solid week of gains. The Nasdaq Composite gained a total of 1.9% over the last five trading days. The S&P500’s strong run added 1.7% last week, and the Dow Jones gained 1.1%.