Joe Biden has barely started his State of the Union address, the annual presidential speech to Congress, when he gets his first standing ovation. “Freedom will always conquer tyranny,” the president says. “Putin thought he could waltz into Ukraine, but he ran into a wall of strength he didn’t see coming: the Ukrainian people.” All representatives of the people, Democrat and Republican, stand up.
A standing ovation also follows as Biden draws attention to Ukraine’s ambassador Oksana Markarova, seated next to First Lady Jill Biden. People stand up for Biden’s new decision to close US airspace to Russian aircraft. They run wild when Biden calls Putin “a dictator” and threatens Russian oligarchs: “We’re taking your yachts, your luxury apartments and your private planes,” he says. “We are coming after your illegitimate wealth!”
This is Biden’s own “George W. Bush moment,” who twenty-one years earlier uttered the infamous words that he would “smoke Osama bin Laden and other terrorists out of their holes.”
With all those ovations on Tuesday night, the US Congress makes a clear and rare unified statement to Putin and the rest of the world: America, that polarized country, is of one mind right now. Together for the Ukrainian people, together against Putin. Some politicians have taken to the seats of the Capitol with yellow-and-blue scarves around their necks or a brooch on their jackets next to the American flag.
Then it’s about inflation
But then the interior comes into play. “We come together tonight in an America that has endured two of the toughest years this nation has ever known,” Biden said. “So many families live from paycheck to paycheck, struggling with the rising prices of food, gas, housing and so much more.”
From now on, it is mainly his own party members who clap.
Historically high inflation is believed to be the main driver of Biden’s popularity rating, one of the lowest a president has ever had during his term: 37 percent of Americans say he’s doing a good job, 55 percent disapprove of him, a survey shows. poll by The Washington Post and ABC News.
Biden reiterates what he also likes to emphasize in previous speeches: that 6.5 million new jobs have been created. “More in one year than ever before in American history.” He promises that more will be produced in the country itself: more Made in America So. “When we use taxpayers’ money to rebuild America, we will buy American products to support American jobs.”
†USA! USA! USA!‘ shouts the voice in the hall.
Guidelines for both parties
It marks the first time in history that a US president has delivered a State of the Union address with the backing of two women behind him in the podium: Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Party Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Every now and then he explicitly reaches out to the Republicans: for example, when he says that the police should get more money, not less. Then back to the Democrats, when he says the rights of the LGBTI community must be protected, especially of transgender people. He also mentions plans that are good for both parties: he will tackle the opiate pandemic and want to protect the privacy of children on the internet.
But this speech is ultimately one for his own supporters. Biden wants to cut tax breaks at the top to reduce income inequality, a plan that disgusts Republicans. “I am a capitalist,” Biden insists, “but capitalism without competition is exploitation.” He argues for lower drug prices, affordable childcare, better care for the elderly and cheaper housing.
What the president doesn’t mention is that many of these plans have already fallen through as part of his voted down last year. Build Back Better-law. In January, when Biden had been president for exactly one year, he promised to break the law into pieces to get it through the Senate, but that has not happened so far. So Americans still don’t know how, and when, he’s going to get these plans done.
Often rewritten
In recent weeks, Biden has been criticized domestically for not being tough enough against President Putin. Developments in Europe meant that Biden’s speech had to be rewritten again and again in recent weeks. The unanimous reactions Tuesday evening signaled a relief for both parties: the US is once again leading the world stage. With that, Biden can tick off another of his election promises.
It remains to be seen whether a speech like this one will help Biden win in November’s midterm elections. Republicans are doing better in the polls. For voters, his performance on the world stage is unlikely to be decisive.
President Biden closes his State of the Union address with, yet again, a standing ovation from the entire room. “Let’s stop looking at each other as enemies, but see each other for what we are,” Biden says, “one another’s compatriots.” Its volume increases. “Today we are stronger than a year ago, and in a year we will be stronger than today. This is our time to meet and overcome the challenges of our time. And we will.’