State of the Union
As he approaches reelection, President Joe Biden gave a boisterous third State of the Union address, maybe one of his most significant addresses to date.
His list of goals was lengthy and included highlighting his achievements while in office, planning for a second term, easing worries about his age and health, and drawing comparisons with Republicans—including competitor Donald Trump.
What emerged was an angry address that has nothing in common with other States of the Union speeches. Biden’s advisors believe that his sharply political address would allay Democratic concerns about his political future. Biden was determined to show off his vitality and wanted to interact with Republicans.
Five key points may be drawn from Thursday’s State of the Union address:
Biden challenges Trump
Even though Biden did not mention his predecessor by name, it was clear that Trump was the focal point of this year’s State of the Union address, making it one of the most highly charged ones in recent memory.
It was symbolic of the unique political era that Biden is living in, one in which the political conventions of previous decades—which Biden has publicly expressed a desire for—have essentially been overturned.
The president made several jabs at Trump; in his planned speech, he mentioned “my predecessor” thirteen times. This provided Biden with the chance to take advantage of the bully pulpit, which is one perk of holding public office.
Greeting “my predecessor” at the beginning of his speech, he criticized the previous president for his remark that NATO countries failing to meet defense expenditure targets may face an invasion by Russia.
He attacked election fraud shortly after, labeling the 2020 election the “gravest threat to democracy” since the American Civil War.
By then, a trend had become apparent: Democrats in the audience cheered Biden on as he frequently contrasted himself with Trump on issues like abortion, immigration, taxation, and more.
Seeing as how Biden sees the future of American democracy on the ballot in the approaching general election campaign, it was as obvious a sign as any. Furthermore, despite his efforts to highlight his own achievements, Biden placed equal emphasis on cautioning about the potential consequences should Trump win reelection.
Despite worries about his age, Biden comes across as powerful and enthusiastic.
Concerns about Biden’s age and suitability for government have by this point established themselves as one of the main themes of the presidential campaign. It’s a major factor in the claims made by several Democrats that they would have chosen a different candidate.
Therefore, whether he wanted to or not, Biden would have to address the matter at his State of the Union speech. In addition to the content of his speech, the way he talked and carried himself during it had a significant impact on how his message was understood by the American people.
The president surprised fans by coming out with a fiery address that was very different from some of his more reserved ones. He spoke loudly for the majority of the speech.
Biden has been honing and carefully practicing his speech for most of the past week, both in the White House and at Camp David, the presidential retreat. That seemed to pay off on Thursday night when he delivered it firmly.
Aides admitted in advance of the event that the president was prepared to discuss, if not linger on, this issue in his speech because it was a matter that was on voters’ minds.
On that front, he tried to diffuse the situation and pin the blame on his rival by arguing that Trump is about the same age as him but has a bitter and archaic mindset.
During his remarks, Biden made the comment, “When you get to be my age, certain things become clearer than ever,” to some laughter.
He continued, saying later that we “cannot lead with ancient ideas.” The problem facing our country is not how old we are, but rather how old our ideas are.
The president persuasively argues in favor of US leadership overseas.
When it comes to foreign policy, State of the Union speeches normally take a backseat as Congress and the American people are the speeches’ main audience, and their issues are primarily domestic in nature.
But Biden is the president of foreign policy during a period of intense tensions across the world for reasons that are not totally under his control. The future of US support for the Russia-Ukraine war is uncertain as it continues. Furthermore, the terror acts on October 7 have sparked Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe that is causing division within Biden’s political alliance.
Thus, even though Biden’s advisers concede that foreign policy isn’t always at the forefront of voters’ thoughts, it was unavoidable that Biden would devote more time to it than in prior speeches. It also guided a large chunk of his speech’s opening.
Protests along his motorcade route demonstrated the overwhelming dissatisfaction at his conduct of the Israel-Hamas war, even before he entered the Capitol.
During his address, Biden emphasized how important it is to get more humanitarian help into Gaza and said that he would be ordering the US military to build a makeshift port there so that additional supplies of food, water, and medication may reach the region.
The current president attempts to reset and reshape the story for 2024.
If Biden had one goal going into his address on Thursday, it would have been to reaffirm to American voters—many of whom might have lost interest in him during the previous three years—what precisely he has been doing.
Despite the fact that the economy is, by most accounts, roaring back from the COVID-19 years, polls indicate that many people remain dissatisfied with the direction the nation is going. Many Americans, when questioned in surveys, are unaware of the achievements Biden has been working on to help revive the economy.
This is partly the reason why Biden calls his address “the greatest comeback story never told”; it’s a jab at what he sees as unfavorable media coverage that doesn’t go away and a recognition that he should do more to make his agenda more understandable to regular Americans.
However, Biden’s staff also recognizes that a balance needs to be found and that people who have legitimate worries about the state of the economy shouldn’t always be lectured about bright spots in the economy that they don’t personally see.
For this reason, Biden has centered most of his campaign around populist ideas that Democrats believe would win, such as cutting the cost of prescription drugs and boosting taxes on the affluent and businesses.
Democrats also think it will be beneficial to express their outrage at corporate greed and price-gauging, especially given how low Biden’s polling numbers are due to rising living expenses.