President Joe Biden launched an attack on Donald Trump and the Republicans, accusing them of being a threat to democracy.
The US president accused the Republican of "bowing down" to Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticizing him on issues ranging from abortion to the economy.
"Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War, have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today," he said
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"What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack at both at home and overseas."
Trump's recent remarks casting doubt on the US commitment to NATO were "bowing down to a Russian leader," he added to shouts from Democrats. "I will not bow down."
The annual set-piece presidential speech gave Biden a rare opportunity to pitch his reelection message to his closest political supporters and opponents and a national television audience of millions of voters before the November election.
In opinion polls, Trump, 77, leads Biden by a small margin. However, he faces various criminal accusations related to his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and reluctance to return boxes of top-secret information after reluctantly leaving the White House.
Trump had promised retorts during his address, which was posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, but the response was lukewarm and glitchy, with the website continually crashing.
"He looks so angry when he's talking, which is a trait of people who know they are 'losing it.' The anger and shouting is not helpful to bringing our Country back together!" Trump posted.
In his speech, Biden criticized Republican abortion opponents, saying they have "no clue about the power of women in America" on what Democrats perceive as a critical vote-winning issue.
He praised the flourishing US economy as the "greatest comeback story never told," despite the fact that Americans are still dissatisfied with high prices and polls show that many believe their economic conditions have not improved.
