Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address – One Person’s Opinion

The following blog constitutes my assessment of President Biden’s 2024 SOTU address.

To no surprise, based on the post-address media coverage, generally, one’s opinion and analysis of the SOTU depends on whether one is a Biden supporter or a Trump supporter.

Biden’s supporters have been ebullient over the fact that his delivery was mostly devoid of any of the fumbling, stumbling and bumbling, which have characterized his public appearances over the last few years. I concede that this was true for the most part, but I would add that that was a very low bar to hurdle, akin to a high jumper clearing a two-foot bar.

Like many observers I was struck by his tone. He came across as strident, almost shouting and lecturing. I found that very odd and off-putting. It was not typical of him at all. It was like he had drunk several cups of coffee or red bull or ingested some other kind of stimulant.

In my experience, presidents use the SOTU address to try to unify the electorate. It is their rare chance to address the entire electorate, to highlight their past accomplishments, present their vision for the future, and make the case that they are the person to lead us there. Yes, they want to present their record in the best possible light, but more importantly they want to heal, or at least alleviate any fractions between the two parties. Their message is conciliatory rather than contentious.

Biden, on the other hand, did not do that. His address was more akin to a campaign speech. He played to his base rather than the broad electorate. I understand that he wanted to shore up his support on the left, but nonetheless I think that was a mistake. Every presidential candidate knows one has to appeal to the middle in order to win.

He doubled down on his policies, which are largely unpopular.

In the process he lied and exaggerated repeatedly. The most egregious were with respect to the border and the economy. For example, after spending three years telling us the border was secure, which was an obvious lie, he maintained that Congress had to pass a bi-partisan bill, which he supports, to fix it. He blamed Trump and the GOP for Congress’ inaction. He conveniently ignored the fact that (a) the border fiasco is entirely due to his policies and (b) he can resolve the problem on his own by issuing executive orders, which is how he caused it in the first place. Regarding the economy he tried to convince us inflation was the lowest in decades when anyone who has bought food, filled their gas tank or tried to buy or rent a home knows from personal experience that is a lie. All he did was demonstrate that he is out of touch with Americans’ daily lives and problems.

He claims he supports Israel, but his actions speak to the contrary. For example, he continued to insist Israel must stand down, and he continued to advocate a two-state solution, which neither Israel nor Hamas wants. Furthermore, the proposed port in southern Gaza he is supporting is ill-advised. Humanitarian aid sounds good, but there is no guarantee the aid would get to the people for whom it is intended.

He continued to exhibit absolutely no compassion for those Americans who have been victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. Also, he refused to honor Laken Reilly, or even say her name until he was shamed into it. And after he was, he proceeded to mispronounce her name as Lincoln Reilly, twice, even though he had her name written on a card right in front of him. He compounded his error the next day when he apologized for using the term “illegals,” saying he should have referred to them as “undocumented,” which is a “wishy-washy” characterization favored by the far left. He did not apologize to the Reilly family for mispronouncing Laken’s name, and to my knowledge he still hasn’t.

He did not address the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan or the names of those Americans who were killed as a result. He still has not addressed the rampant anti-Semitism in our schools and in our society in general.

He continued to offer no meaningful solution to the rampant crime wave in our cities and the coddling of criminals. He continually tried to portray Trump as soft on Russia and being subservient to Putin when, in reality it is he who has demonstrated those characteristics. He basically ignored his and his family’s corrupt dealings with Russia, China and other enemy states.

CONCLUSION

In summary, I think Biden did very little to repair his image or expand his support base. I think he will continue to lose support among Hispanics and Blacks, which will not augur well for his chances for re-election.

It will interesting and illuminating to see what the post-address polls show.