Biden speech: “He flipped the switch and started the election campaign”

Agile and energetic – that’s how US President Biden showed himself in his State of the Union speech, says Daniels’ America expert. He addressed important issues, attacked Trump and thus launched the election campaign.

ARD: For you, was it purely a campaign speech that Biden gave?

Laura from Daniels: It wasn’t just a campaign speech; it was also largely aimed at the rest of the world. Biden has dealt with a relatively large number of foreign policy issues and he made it clear right from the start that he was concerned with the resilience of democracy – internally and externally. He addressed all the threats that exist within the country but also outside the country.

“Agile and energetic”

ARD: Was there anything surprising, anything unexpected for you in this speech?

from Daniels: During the course of the day there was news about the transport of aid and the establishment of a temporary port in Gaza. But of course the president’s determination and reversal of his Israel policy, which he made clear in this speech, was also a surprising moment today.

ARD: In your opinion, was it a convincing, strong speech by the President?

from Daniels: Yes, he has definitely made it clear that he is ready to campaign against Donald Trump. Despite all the prejudices that exist regarding his age and health, he has shown that he is very agile. He spoke energetically and basically he has now flipped the switch in his party and started the election campaign with this speech.

Criticism of Trump

ARD: In all likelihood there will be a new duel between him and his predecessor in office. Trump never misses an opportunity to personally attack Biden. What kind of election campaign are you expecting between now and November?

from Daniels: Certainly one with lots of personal attacks. Of course, Biden does it differently in style than Trump. Even today he did not address Trump personally, but spoke about the “former president” or about his “predecessor” – but he strongly criticized him for his policies. We will probably see this more often in the future. And as is so often the case in election campaigns, it is to be expected that both sides will try to look for scandals. And one must definitely assume that the rhetoric will be generally more aggressive.

Economy and migration as top topics

ARD: But both will also try to score points with topics. What problems are currently particularly affecting people in America?

from Daniels: People often talk about the economic situation, which is actually good, but is not perceived as particularly good by many citizens. This is a big topic. Another is migration, especially because the number of refugees who have crossed the southern border in recent months has increased again. There are concerns in many states that they cannot cope with this situation.

And then there are more specific issues such as abortion, artificial insemination or student loans, which many citizens still have to pay off. Especially with the latter there is a call for more support from the government. People often don’t hear much about these topics in Europe. But in the USA these are important points.

Biden wants to score points left of center

ARD: Which groups of voters are now particularly courted by Republicans and Democrats?

from Daniels: The Democrats want to send a clear signal to the groups a little left of center, which have been very critical of Israel and are critical of Biden’s Middle East policy. Above all, it is about young voters and also those for whom climate issues are very important. She is courting Biden, that is very obvious.

With Trump it’s exactly the opposite: he wants to appeal to certain groups that have previously voted for Democrats, for example people who have recently immigrated. And he would also like to appeal more to the black population – that looks quite good in the surveys.

ARD: As of today, who do you think has a better chance of becoming president?

from Daniels: It will definitely be an incredibly close race. Trump is currently ahead in polls by a few percent – sometimes four, sometimes five. However, these were still polls from the time when the primaries took place. The big question now will be: Will Nikki Haley’s supporters now migrate to him or will they orientate themselves towards Biden? Or do they not vote at all?

For Biden, there are the previously mentioned groups of voters that he needs to keep an eye on. Because otherwise he would miss the crucial few percent to get the majority in the end.

The interview was conducted by Stefan Schlag, NDR Info