On Thursday night, President Biden took the stage to deliver a passionate State of the Union address in the U.S. Capitol to the American people. Biden, who is often ridiculed by his opposition for his age with nicknames like “Sleepy Joe,” entered the limelight with a speech that struck at allegations of his cognitive abilities and left his supporters proud.
The State of The Union is a speech that occurs usually once a year in the earlier months, and is a time for the president of the United States to lay out their goals for the next year. It’s an important occasion in this nation because this gathering is one of the few times all branches of Congress and the president’s cabinet of advisors are all convened in the same space. Republicans, Democrats, senators, representatives, Supreme Court judges-everyone was present on Thursday night. With the 2024 election on the horizon, the State of the Union speech was a time for Biden to address America’s concerns and show out as a promising choice for voters, and with everyone in the Capitol, an array of reactions were sure to take place.
Biden, 81, stood and delivered over an hour long speech as vice president, Kamala Harris, and house speaker, Mike Johnson were seated behind him. The first key point he highlighted was the importance of democracy and the threats to it overseas with the war between Russia and Ukraine. He also notes Donald Trump’s stance with Putin, describing it as dangerous. However it’s important to note that throughout the speech, Biden never names Trump but instead subs him with phrases such as “my predecessor” and “the former President.”
Biden also brought attention to the issue of immigration and put the focus on the GOP and Donald Trump-whom he claims likes to play politics about the issue instead of working together to create a real solution.
“I’m told my predecessor called members in the Senate Congress and demanded they block the bill,” the president said. “He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him. It’s not about him or me. It’d be a winner for America!”
Some republicans were rejective of those statements, such as Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene who then interrupted the speech wearing a MAGA hat, shouting “Say her name” in regards to Laken Riley. Riley was a 22 year old nursing student who was killed last month by Jose Antonio Ibarra-an illegal immigrant.
“Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal-that’s right,” Biden said in response. “But how many thousands of people are being killed by legals?”
This statement received some controversy on both ends as listeners found it inappropriate for the president to use the term “an illegal” in reference to an undocumented person. Biden has since walked back on that statement saying he should’ve used the latter term.
Overall Biden’s message about immigration was: “We can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it,” which he stated when finishing that topic.
Biden also addressed abortion rights and the necessity to protect a woman’s choice opposed to conservatives that vow to annihilate Roe.
The president tackled notions of him bringing the economy down by noting record highs during his term. Unemployment for Black and Hispanic workers reached an all time low under his presidency and he also cited a decline in inflation. He then unveiled his future plans for the economy revolving around tax credit and the housing market.
Lastly before closing out his speech, Biden spoke on Gaza and the Israel-Hamas war. He cited exponential casualty numbers and emphasized a need for more humanitarian aid from Israel to be brought into the region.
Biden finished off his speech by setting the record straight for himself-simmering all the rumors about his age and brain. He highlighted his accolades throughout his career and how in the beginning they told him he was too young. He shared how he was VP to the first Black president in American history and president to the first Black and first female VP in American history.
Overall Biden’s State of the Union speech was effective. He highlighted essential points in politics, and stood strong against opposition while maintaining a goal of everyone coming together to fix the greatest issues this country is currently facing.
Following Biden’s speech, Alabama Senator, Katie Britt, delivered the opposition for the GOP. Britt, 42, who is the youngest senator in Congress, called Biden’s speech “the performance of a permanent politician who has actually been in office for longer than [she] has been alive.”
Britt said that Joe Biden “just doesn’t get it” and that he’s “out of touch” with American society as his policies-in her opinion-actually hurt Americans more than help. She critiqued him on the border crisis and used a story of a sex trafficked woman to shape this. Following the speech, journalists have questioned the validity of this woman being sex trafficked during Biden’s presidency, and Britt’s delivery has been criticized by the Democratic party.
