We were born from an idea" - Biden called on Americans to unite at the Prayer Breakfast

US President Joe Biden called on Americans to respect each other to "redeem the soul" of the nation. In his speech during the National Prayer Breakfast, which took place on Thursday, February 2, in Washington, the head of the White House assured that he would build relations with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on respect.

"Let's kind of hold hands, just a little bit. Let's start treating each other with respect. That's what Kevin (McCarthy) and I are going to do, I'm not kidding. The meeting last night was very good. I think we should do it for across the board. That doesn't mean we have to agree, fight, but respect each other," President Biden said.

Newly elected House Speaker Republican Kevin McCarthy met with the Democratic president on Monday. The White House said the two had a "frank" and "direct" discussion, with McCarthy later saying he was encouraged by the prospect of reaching an agreement on the country's budget and calling the meeting a "good first start."

"Over the past two years, we have had deep differences that divide us, but we have proven that we can come together to do great things for the country," Biden said in his speech. "We can redeem America's soul."

Biden urged Americans to "worry about each other", he recalled how many people have died in the country in the last few years - as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, extreme weather conditions, mass shootings.

"Too often in our politics and in our lives, we see each other as opponents, not competitors. We see each other as enemies, not neighbors. And no matter how difficult these times are, if we look closely, we will see strength and determination , which have long defined what America is," said the US president.

Biden called on his people to "move forward together" to succeed in the serious challenges facing the country.

"Let's keep our word. Let's keep the faith. Let's remember who we are. We are the United States of America. We were born from an idea. No other nation was born from an idea," Joe Biden emphasized. And this idea, according to Biden, is that all men and women are created equal, endowed by God with inalienable rights to life and liberty.

The National Prayer Breakfast is held every year in the American capital. Politicians and religious leaders from all over the country and abroad are usually invited to this meeting. Officially, the purpose of such a meeting is to pray together, talk about the importance of faith (of different religions), humility among leaders.

Unofficially, such prayer meetings began to be held during World War II, but with the participation of the country's president, the first National Prayer Breakfast was held in 1953 during the Eiserhauer administration.

According to American publications, it was President Eisenhower, who was not very religious, but attended prayer breakfasts, that the phrase "In God we trust" on dollar bills and the words "under God" in the "Pledge of Allegiance" belong to the country. This was one way to resist communism and reduce the popularity of the Soviet Union in the US after World War II.

Since then, presidents have attended National Prayer Breakfast