Biden’s Setting the Stage for Reelection Bid: Gingrich on State of Union

Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, on Feb. 7, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was largely dismissive of what he called the “fantasy” vision that President Joe Biden presented in Tuesday’s State of the Union speech, but one thing Gingrich gave credit for was the tone.

“I thought it was designed to set the stage for him running for reelection,” Gingrich, an Epoch Times contributor, said in a Feb. 8 interview. “I think his theme of ‘let’s finish the job’ probably will be his slogan for the re-election.”

That rallying call to “finish the job” appeared 12 times throughout the speech, during which a smiling Biden claimed credit for the economic recovery while appealing for unity in the face of smatterings of heckling from some Republican lawmakers.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) gives a thumbs down during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Feb. 07, 2023. Win McNamee/Getty Images

But age will be a major hurdle for Biden—he will be 82 years old by the 2024 presidential election.

“Will Americans really want to elect somebody who’s going to serve until he’s 86? We don’t know,” he said, adding that the early polling numbers haven’t looked in Biden’s favor.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that only 37 percent of Democrats support a second Biden presidency, down from 52 percent before the November midterm elections.

That said, Biden still has a good chance of winning, Gingrich said.

“He’s still their best known national figure,” he said. “And if he does run, given all the assets of the president and the sheer amount of money he gets to spend and the size of his cabinet, he'll probably win—and at least win the nomination.”

“He’s a serious guy. He’s been at this his whole life,” the former speaker continued, noting that Biden has been in politics for more than half a century. “He showed last night as he was coming out of the chamber, and he likes talking to people, he likes being part of the game. And so I think he'll do everything he can to get reelected.”

Gingrich thought the speech “well written” and said he saw a “chance for real dialogue” between the two sides.

“I thought that was pretty clever to congratulate both McCarthy and McConnell and set the right tone,” he said, referring to Biden’s opening acknowledgements before the speech.

A few unifying moments arose throughout the speech, including when Biden recognized two guests, RowVaughn and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather respectively of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old black man who died after a police beating in January in Memphis, Tennessee.

Biden’s call for reshoring American manufacturing and restoring supply chain independence also received rounds of applause from the entire chamber.

“I think that there’s a chance for real dialogue,” said Gingrich, adding that finding common ground will be beneficial to both sides. In last week’s meeting between House Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Biden on the debt ceiling, he said, the two “went out of their way to try to be positive and try to be respectful, and they showed real concern for working together.”

U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) before delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

Biden’s 73-minute speech left several openings for bipartisan cooperation, which Gingrich identified to be combating the fentanyl crisis, strengthening the border, and investing in federal infrastructure to make sure all construction materials will be American-made.

But the former speaker still held some skepticism.

While Gingrich said the emphasis on American manufacturing and infrastructure were all valid, he questioned “which parts of [Biden’s] speech are grounded in reality, and which parts are just words.”

“He says he’s going to have a program to help control the border, but everything we know so far is that they’re not doing anything to control the border—it’s basically wide open,” he said.

“They just have to see whether or not when you get down to the details, whether or not it’s real.”