Joe Biden turns the State of the Union address into an election message

He centenary ritual was repeated Thursday evening: the Sergeant at Arms made the announcement in a loud voice, the doors of the House of Representatives opened and the president of the United States appeared walking triumphantly into the center of the chamber among the greetings of deputies, ministers, judges and special guests at State of the Union Address, the message that the head of the White House sends out in this area every year.

Once at the lectern, Joe Biden’s message was not just another message: in the midst of the election campaign, when his popularity is in the red and doubts grow about his ability to govern, the 81-year-old president, the oldest in the history of the country, he tried to take the initiative before the next presidential election on November 5, when he will face Donald Trump, and warned that it will be a crucial event for the nation’s democratic future.

Biden took advantage of the millions of people watching him on prime time television and More than just a president, he was a candidate: he warned of the dangers that a Republican return to power would entail. for women’s rights, foreign policy, economy and democracy.

With a speech read in a tteleprompterwhich protected him from possible confusion or missteps due to his stuttering, it was seen with energy and raise the tone to emphasize key themes. Biden’s goal beyond Trump was to highlight this he still has the strength to be presidentthan his work at the White House it has benefited the lives of Americans and what you need four more years to expand his agenda.

“It’s not just any time. Our democracy is in danger, at home and abroad“he said and mentioned the war in Ukraine. He also alluded to the attack on the Capitol: “Democracy has triumphed,” then he shouted.

“I came to office determined to overcome one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s history. And we did it. This is nothing new, but in thousands of American cities and towns They are writing the greatest recovery story ever told. So we will tell that story here and now,” Biden said.

And he added: “The recovery of the United States means building a future of American possibilities, build an economy from the center out and from the bottom up, not from the top down, we invest in all of America, in all Americans, to ensure that everyone has a fair chance and we leave no one behind,” a mantra that dominates his campaign.

Biden highlighted his economic management, with a country recovering from the pandemic until achieve much more vigorous growth than expected, unemployment at 4%, inflation collapsed from a peak of 9.5% per year in July 2022 to the current 2.4%, with wages outpacing the inflationary pace. However, Americans still don’t feel like they’re in a better situation.

In his speech, Biden went further and proposed increase in the minimum tax of multinationals at 21% and asked billionaires to pay at least 25%. This is in contrast to Trump’s policy of lowering taxes.

Biden did it other advertisements seeking electoral impact. He said he ordered the US Army establish a port in Gaza to transport more humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory, at a time when its policy of support for Israel This angers Muslim and Arab voters in the United States, and even young college students.

The president received a wake-up call from the last election, when a significant percentage of Democrats – up to 19% in some states – elected a Voted “not committed”. to protest his handling of the conflict between Israel and Gaza. Indeed, 65% of Americans disagree with his handling of the Middle East.

Furthermore, Biden appealed to the female electorate, a sector very reluctant to vote for Trump when he dedicated part of his speech to the issue of abortion, which was limited by the conservative Supreme Court, despite the fact that the majority of Americans are in favor of maintaining the right embodied in 1973 in Roe v. Guadare.

“If the Americans would send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you: I will reinstate Roe v. Wade again as a law of the land,” he promised.

After the impulse of after triumphing in 15 states on Super Tuesday, Biden appears to be continuing a high-profile week 56% of Americans disapprove of his management and when Trump leads him by two points in November, according to RealClearPolitics polling average. Also search limit doubts about his mental capacity to govern when a New York Times/Siena poll revealed it Sunday 72% of his likely voters “strongly” or “somewhat” agree that Biden is too old for another term.

Beyond age, Biden seeks to contrast himself in another way with Trump, who faces 91 charges in court. Without naming him, he noted: “My life has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values ​​that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair chance. Don’t stir up hatred. Now, some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge and punishment. That’s not me”.

As usual, there were a number of them special guests, chosen for their symbolism. In the box was a woman from Alabama whose IVF treatments were stopped following a decision by a state court and another in Texas to whom was denied an abortion in that state, despite her doctors having warned of health complications resulting from the pregnancy.

There were also relatives of the victims of Hamas terrorism, the head of the United Auto Workers union and other union members, to show the president’s support for labor issues. Other guests, including a mayor, a police officer and the prime minister of Sweden, whose country has just joined NATO, represented a wide range of issues, including student debt relief, infrastructure, of work and the the ties with the European alliance that Trump usually puts in check.

Two of the guests, the Ukrainian first lady, Olena Zelenska, and the widow of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, refused invitations from the White House.

As always, a member of the cabinet was named “designated survivor” and for security reasons did not attend the meeting, where all the country’s political power and line of succession lies. In this case, the one who remained in a safe place was the Minister of Education, Miguel Cardona.