President Joe Biden is hoping his last State of the Union before November’s general election improved the public’s impression of him and his administration after he used the prime-time opportunity to defend his record and respond to critics in real-time.
But although he is unlikely to persuade any Republican critics, days before former President Donald Trump becomes the GOP’s 2024 presumptive nominee, he is hoping he appealed to Democratic and independent skeptics, some of whom have concerns about his age and others who disapprove of his approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
Biden’s hourlong address was disrupted by Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), particularly during his immigration section. Greene, wearing a pro-Trump Make America Great Again hat, had earlier implored the president to say the name of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who last month was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant in Greene’s home state of Georgia.
“Lincoln Riley?” Biden replied, mispronouncing her name. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal! That’s right? But how many of thousands of people being killed by illegals?”
Biden similarly misspoke during his healthcare section when he mistakenly listed Moscow as a place where prescription drugs are cheaper than in the U.S.
“I’m gonna get in trouble for saying this, but anybody wanna get in Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow … I mean, excuse me,” Biden said, correcting himself. “Well, even Moscow, probably.”
But amid the slip-ups, Biden appeared to keep his composure, even as lawmakers and, at one point, a guest shouted criticisms at him.
“If any one of you don’t want that money in your district, just let me know,” the president said of lawmakers who voted against projects funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law.
“You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut? I kinda thought that’s what your plan was,” he added later.
Other memorable moments included House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) rolling his eyes behind Biden’s and shaking his head at various points of the speech, including when the president criticized Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for his war in Ukraine and Trump and Republicans for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth about January 6th,” Biden said. “I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here’s the simple truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.”
Biden has also been criticized for his abortion section, during which he scrutinized the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization with justices in attendance.
But instead of hiding from criticism about his age, Biden confronted it, reminding the public that, at 81, he is only four years older than Trump, 77.
“It’s not how old you are; it’s how old are your ideas? Hate, anger, retribution are the oldest of ideas, but you can’t lead America with ancient ideas,” Biden said. “I see a future where we restore freedoms and not take them away.”
Afterward, Biden was overheard having a conversation with Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) about the age concerns.
“No one’s gonna talk about cognitive impairment now!” Nadler said.
“I kinda wish sometimes I was cognitively impaired,” Biden replied.
Biden delivered the State of the Union during a critical juncture of his presidency and campaign. Though he and his aides seemed to have welcomed a 2020 general election rematch between himself and Trump, the former president has an average three percentage point polling advantage over him, despite multiple criminal indictments.
Biden’s polling can be partly attributed to public perception regarding the economy, with the president acknowledging during the State of the Union that he has to do more to decrease costs. To that end, he announced more populist economic policies, including raising the corporate tax to 28%, increasing the minimum income tax for billionaires to 25%, and expanding Medicare taxes for the wealthy.
Biden’s State of the Union guest list, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, suggested he would argue for more funding for Ukraine.
But the addition of only Navy Commander Shelby Nikitin, who was awarded the Bronze Star earlier this year for her leadership aboard the USS Thomas Hudner when it was attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea, and not anyone connected more directly to the Israel-Hamas war risked rankling more liberal Democrats. Many members of the so-called “Squad” did not stand up for Biden when he arrived at the House of Representatives’s doors for the State of the Union and held up “Lasting Ceasefire Now” placards during his remarks.
“This war’s taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined,” he said. “Thousands and thousands of innocents, women & children, girls and boys, also orphaned … It’s heartbreaking.”
Pro-Palestinian ceasefire protesters earlier closed down Pennsylvania Ave., his most direct motorcade route to Congress, an hour before Biden’s State of the Union. The White House had earlier previewed that the president would announce he is ordering the U.S. military to construct a temporary seaport in Gaza, creating another entry point for humanitarian aid.
With Biden’s other notable guests including Kate Cox, the mother-of-two who could not terminate her pregnancy in Texas last year, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, and Maria Shriver, another familiar face in the House chamber was former New York Republican Rep. George Santos.
“No comment,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), who last month won a special election to replace the expelled Santos, told the Washington Examiner.
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Johnson this week asked Republicans for “decorum” during the State of the Union, but Taylor Greene, who last year called Biden a “liar,” said that depended on the president. One congressman did yell “Lies!” during the president’s economy section Thursday night.
Biden is scheduled to take his State of the Union message, workshopped last weekend at Camp David, on the road in Pennsylvania on Friday and in Georgia on Saturday.
