Bogged down in polls and reeling from the incident of shooting down Chinese balloons over the weekend, White House Chief Joe Biden will try to tell Americans in his State of the Union address Tuesday that he remains, despite everything and their age, the best option for them to have.
On Monday, the 80-year-old Democrat posted photos to Instagram from his Camp David residence in which he wore a warm vest and surrounded by advisers and drafts of his “State of the Union address.”
The challenge is great: to convince the United States that it is the architect of the economic recovery and the guarantor of its future success.
In Washington, barricades were erected around the Capitol for this great political speech before Congress.
Biden, who according to experts will soon announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections, will have to convince his compatriots to keep him in office until he is 86 years old.
Why he estimates he needs more time to deliver on his big promises: revive industry for the benefit of the middle class, appease a polarized society and to defend the US position against increasingly audacious autocracies like China.
numbers against
You won’t have an easy life. According to a survey by Washington Post and the ABC channel, 62 percent of Americans believe the Democrat has “done little” or “almost nothing” since taking office in January 2021.
And this is a big deal for Biden, who doesn’t stand out for his charisma or his oratory and relies entirely on one trick: his balance.
The mammoth investments and major social reforms undertaken by Biden do not impress the electorate, nor do the strong economic growth and low unemployment rate. What worries them is inflation.
The government does not give up and plans a series of trips for Biden, in order to “show how the president’s program creates jobs, renews our infrastructure, lowers the cost of living, invests in our future and gives results for homes often neglected”.
road to 2024
The White House starts from the idea that although Biden does not arouse enthusiasm, the practical sense of voters can always be appealed to.
The president must, therefore, multiply the inaugurations of tunnels and bridges, and travel the country to talk about the cost of living, and incidentally prove that you have enough energy to continue to rule.
The Democrat knows from experience that, as in 2020, he must stand as the candidate of reason against former Republican President Donald Trump, already in the campaign, and other potential candidates.
Facing the Republicans who now control the House of Representatives, Biden will likely appear as a pragmatic president, open to political dialogue.
The Republican billionaire’s candidacy is also not exciting.
According to the Washington Post and ABC poll, 62% of Americans would be “disappointed” or “unhappy” if Biden were re-elected in 2024, and 56% if Trump were.
The topics of the speech
In his State of the Union address, the president traditionally covers all possible domestic policy issues, but this year, as in 2022, international ones will come to the fore.
Last year, Biden addressed Congress just days after the invasion of Ukraine and now he will be able to present himself as the leader of the Western response against Russia.
But above all, he is expected to talk about China.
According to a spokesman for the White House, John Kirby, the president will speak about the “role of the United States in the world” in general, and “the management of the strategic rivalry with China”.
The conservative opposition accuses him of lack of firmness in the case of the Chinese balloon shot down on US territory.
Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador who hopes to challenge Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, tweeted: “Biden let China step on us. Time for America to be strong again.”
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.