WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden delivered his third State of the Union address on March 7 amid mounting concerns about his age and mental fitness in a critical election year.
He seized the opportunity to laud his achievements despite low job approval ratings, notably on crucial policy issues like the economy and illegal immigration. He sought to prove that he was worthy of a second term.
One of the highly anticipated moments of the State of the Union was the president’s response to concerns about his age.
“I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while,” he joked as he neared the end of his speech. “And when you get to my age, certain things become clearer than ever before.”
President Biden, 81, is the oldest sitting president in American history. If he wins reelection, he'll be 86 by the end of his second term.
“In my career, I’ve been told I’m too young and I’m too old,” he said. “Whether young or old, I’ve always known what endures. Our North Star.”
A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed that President Biden’s age is increasingly worrying Americans, including those who supported him in 2020. According to the poll, 61 percent of respondents believed President Biden was “just too old” to be an effective president.
The State of the Union address came a few weeks after a special counsel raised concerns about the president’s mental sharpness and characterized him in a report as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden’s FDR Moment
In his address to the joint session of Congress that started at 9:26 p.m. local time, President Biden began his speech by stating that “freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas.”He likened the moment to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s address in January 1941, when “Hitler was on the march” in Europe.
He warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin is similarly on the march, attacking Ukraine and causing chaos across Europe and beyond. He urged Congress to approve Ukraine aid and “stand up” to Putin.
He then spoke about January 6th, describing it as “the gravest threat to our democracy since the Civil War.” He accused his predecessor and some Republicans of burying the truth about the Jan. 6 events.
During his address, President Biden took repeated swipes at former President Donald Trump, without directly naming him.
The State of the Union address, which lasted 68 minutes, echoed the president’s reelection campaign speeches in both tone and style.
The president said that he assumed office during the most challenging times of the pandemic. He took credit for the post-Covid-19 economic recovery, calling it “the greatest comeback story.”
“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. And we have,” he said. “It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns, the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told.”
He went on touting his legislative wins and other initiatives, claiming that they boosted record investments and created 15 million new jobs.
Reactions
While Democrats believed the speech was strong, positive, and unifying, Republicans criticized President Biden for being partisan and hostile.“The speech was strong, and President Biden was strong,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on X (formerly Twitter). “He was filled with strength and optimism for the future and for the middle class in America.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) contrasted the president’s vision with former President Donald Trump’s “Make American Great Again (MAGA)” plan.
“President Biden’s hopeful, unifying, forward-looking vision stands in stark contrast with an extreme MAGA agenda that seeks to rip away our freedoms, rig the economy for the ultra-rich, and abandon our responsibility to protect and defend,” she said on X.
However, Republicans said that the State of the Union address sounded more like a campaign speech.
“It was a completely hyper-partisan speech. I don’t know how to describe it. It was a campaign speech, and a pretty vitriolic one,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
“I tried to keep a poker face, but it was very difficult,” he added.
During the State of the Union speech, cameras caught Mr. Johnson rolling his eyes and shaking his head on multiple occasions.
Biden Puts Abortion Front and Center
As expected, President Biden during his address emphasized abortion rights, a platform issue for his 2024 presidential campaign. He called on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, which was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court nearly two years ago.“Clearly those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” President Biden said.
“But they found out when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023, and they will find out again in 2024. If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”
The White House and Democrats invited dozens of guests to bring this topic to the forefront of the State of the Union address.
One of the guests was Kate Cox, a Texas woman who had to leave her state to seek an abortion after her unborn baby was diagnosed with a complication.
Another guest was Latorya Beasley, an Alabama woman who was impacted by the recent ruling in her state regarding frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Border Crisis
The Biden administration is currently dealing with a historic crisis at the southern border. His State of the Union address came amid rising public disapproval of his border policies, with many Americans holding him responsible for the current surge in illegal immigration.Last week, President Biden visited the South Texas border in Brownsville. During his visit, he urged Congress to pass a border security and immigration reform bill that was agreed in the Senate.
He criticized Republicans and the former president for obstructing the Senate deal.
He doubled down on his message during the State of the Union address.
“We can fight about the border, or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it,” President Biden said. “Send me the border bill now!”
Republicans, however, rejected the Senate border deal, arguing that its provisions weren’t strong enough to prevent the influx of illegal immigrants.
“He could fix this yesterday, and yet he’s refused to do so,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told The Epoch Times.
Illegal Versus Undocumented
During his address, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) interrupted the president, demanding that he recognize the recent murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student from Athens, Georgia, allegedly by an illegal immigrant.President Biden went off script. “Lincoln Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right,” he said, mispronouncing the student’s name as Lincoln.
He then addressed Ms. Riley’s parents: “My heart goes out to you, having lost children myself.”
President Biden came under fire from progressives for referring to the killer as “illegal” instead of “undocumented.”
Gaza Announcement
During his speech, President Biden announced that he had directed the U.S. military to build a port in the Mediterranean, on the Gaza coast, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.The temporary pier will receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters to address the urgent needs of the civilian population.
The president’s State of the Union message on Gaza, however, was overshadowed by a large protest in the nation’s capital. Demonstrators calling for a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas blocked a route from the White House ahead of the president’s speech.
The protest delayed President Biden’s arrival at the Capitol by about 30 minutes.
The president received a cold reception during the State of the Union from some “Squad” members who have been critical of the president’s response to the conflict in Gaza.
These members include Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).
They withheld their applause and refused to participate in chants of “four more years” during the president’s speech.
