With both parties’ nominees locked in, Thursday’s State of the Union played more like a campaign-rally-cum-stand-up-comedy — complete with crowd work and hecklers.
President Joe Biden took advantage of the bully pulpit to highlight his administration’s successes and contrast them disfavorably with those of his predecessor on everything from economic performance to foreign policy. He did so without once using Donald Trump’s name.
Biden opened by urging Congress to pass weapons aid to Ukraine, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop there if Kyiv’s defenses falter. He also called out Trump for saying he would let Moscow “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that don’t meet spending commitments. His message to Putin was simple: “We will not walk away. We will not bow down.”
On the more politically sensitive subject of Gaza, Biden defended Israel’s right to go after Hamas while decrying the humanitarian nightmare that is unfolding there. He announced the construction of a temporary pier in Gaza overseen by the US military that may be able to increase the amount of food entering the enclave amid rising starvation. He promised, however, that there would be no US boots on the ground.
On the domestic front, Biden played to women and middle-class workers, key elements of the electoral coalition he hopes will deliver him a second term in November. He promised to reinstate a constitutional right to abortion and crack down on domestic violence, telling Republicans they had “no clue” about the power of women.
He gave Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, a shout-out for leading a successful strike last year and pointed to his own union bona fides and record of reviving the US auto industry. Biden will be relying on union voters to secure swing states in the upper Midwest like Michigan and Wisconsin that pushed him over the line against Trump in 2020.
Biden was under pressure to demonstrate vigor. Barring a few gaffes, he gave a strong performance, says Clayton Allen, Eurasia Group’s director for the United States, but one good night may not be enough.
“A strong delivery won’t substantially change the fact that 73% of voters still see him as too old, and he has to perform nearly flawlessly over the next 8 and a half months to keep age concerns at bay,” he says.
As has become the pattern in recent years, some Republicans in the audience shouted at the president during the speech – and on occasion, the president shouted right back.
“Spirited back and forth exchanges with Republicans in the audience — what would have been headline-grabbing breaks of protocol a decade ago — tonight were just more confirmation that the US is headed into a bare-knuckle fight of a campaign,” says Allen.