The specter of Donald Trump, political doll and unusual Biden: the State of the Union speech, under the magnifying glass

He never called him by name: 13 times he said “my predecessor” and other times simply “a former Republican president.” But the specter of Donald Trump covered absolutely everything the state of the union speech of President Joe Biden, who on Thursday launched an energetic and strong electoral message that will undoubtedly give him a boost in the race with the tycoon for the White House.

We will see if this is a temporary effect or not. But a quick CNN poll showed as much Thursday night more than 6 out of 10 of those who attended the speech they had a positive reaction to the message (35% very positive) and only 35% reacted negatively.

It is well known that Biden, 81, does not have the vitality, charisma or speaking skills of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and there was little expectation that he would have a brilliant evening. But the president he showed his political pulse in front of millions of viewers in prime time and surprised: There were 67 minutes in which we saw an unusual, decisive, heated Biden, far from his usual low, opaque and mumbling tone.

With the help of the teleprompter, without experiencing major snags or stumbling too much With the stutter that he has carried with him since childhood and which still complicates his diction, this time he raised his voice forcefully, gave a high-voltage political speech focused on demolish his electoral rival for the presidential elections in November and demonstrate that you have the capabilities and the agenda govern another four years.

He shot Trump non-stop, without even mentioning itand said, among other things, that it is resentful and vindictive. This endangers democracy and undermines women’s rights. Which during the pandemic failed in the most fundamental thing, namely taking care of the population. And that he doesn’t love the United States because he lost the elections.

His energy has been a major factor in pushing back against the growing sense among Americans that he is too old for another term. He even allowed himself to joke about his age: “I know it might not seem like it, but I’ve been here a while.”, he said, eliciting laughter from the audience. “When you get to my age, some things become clearer than ever,” she added. He even went so far as to mock Trump, who is 77, on the topic: “Some other people my age see a different story: an American story of grievance, revenge and punishment. That’s not me.”

A very close race

But criticizing Trump and showing vitality is not enough in a race that appears very close. That’s why Biden also focused on expansion his proposal for another term and he presented himself no longer as the expert politician he is, but as the man from Scranton, the bourgeois Pennsylvania city where he was born.

He directed his agenda towards that sector, with a tax increase for businesses, with lower drug prices for retirees, with loans for students, with support for unions and with the improvement of the economy in general. He said the numbers were “on the brink” when he took over. And that “now our economy is the envy of the world,” she shouted.

Biden said the country has recovered from the pandemic to achieve much more vigorous and rapid growth than estimated, unemployment at 4%, inflation that has collapsed from a peak of 9.5% per year in July 2022 to the current 2.4%, with wages outpacing the inflationary pace.

However, the Americans They don’t feel like they’re better yet, indicate the polls e The economy is one of their big concerns. Biden extended an optimistic hand to them for the future. “This allows us to build a future of possibilities” and to invest so that “everyone has fair opportunities and we leave no one behind”, she added.

Immigration, a hot spot

A hot point of the message was immigration, where an attempt was also made to underline the contrast with Trump. “I will not demonize migrants by saying they are ‘poisoning the blood of our country’” and “I will not separate families,” the Democrat said, criticizing the Republican’s anti-immigration rhetoric.

He asked lawmakers to approve Bipartisan legislation to resolve the crisis. There the president demonstrated his reflexes by responding unscriptedly to an opposition representative who shouted the name of a girl killed by a Venezuelan who entered the country illegally.

The bizarre staging of the response speech

The response speech that the Republicans offered immediately after Biden was delivered by the senator Karie Britt, 42 years oldwhich sought to target the area that Trump’s campaign needs today: voting mothers and young people from the suburbs, two receding segments.

With a green dress sitting in the kitchen of his housewith a plant and in the background a basket of fruit At the counter, Britt spoke on the edge of emotion the entire time, between laughter, deep sighs and tears. You focused on immigration and you said so It was a “shame” encouraged by Biden, which he accused of destroying families and generating violence in the streets.

His speech immediately It was a trend on social networks for his style, which many have described as “strange”, “theatrical” and “overly dramatic”, even from conservative leaders.

As he spoke, Biden was still in the chamber, greeting lawmakers and taking selfies with guests until the light went out. The effect may not last long, but it was undoubtedly a fantastic evening for the president and the Democratic campaign.