It could have been the most important speech of his term in office: In his State of the Union speech, US President Biden had to show above all that he is fit enough for another four years. How did he present himself?
1. Every sentence is an exclamation
Biden put pressure on from the first minute. Every sentence ended with an exclamation mark. Like a hurried auctioneer, he hammered through his topics – firm in his voice, clear in his statement: “Putin, we’re not going away!”, “You can’t just love your country when you win!”, “The right to Artificial insemination must be preserved!”, “No child should go hungry!” or “Banishing books is wrong!”
Yes, he mumbled sometimes and often had to cough. His entire motor system, including his face, seemed stiff and strained. But he maintained the high pace and dynamism of his speech from start to finish. And that the president knows what he is talking about and is passionate about what he does – there was no doubt about that.
He parried the Republicans’ heckling almost perfectly. However, he was tempted to call a suspected murderer an “illegal.” That hasn’t been his style so far. And his party friends will hold that against him for a long time.
2. Biden freaks out his Democrats
If you didn’t know better, you would have thought that Democratic senators and representatives were not at a Biden speech, but at the Taylor Swift concert. They applauded, shouted, cheered and screamed as if all their favorite songs were being played.
That was also the case, because Biden provided many safe templates: support Ukraine, protect abortion, new taxes for billionaires. Above all, they wanted to show the world that it is very possible to get upset over this unpopular president. But it seemed a bit fake at times.
The Democrats – like Senator Elizabeth Warren here – celebrated Biden like a pop star.
3. There was nothing more than eye-rolling among the Republicans
House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly urged Republicans to behave appropriately – after they disrupted Biden’s speech with rude heckling last year. Marjorie Taylor Greene will never be forgotten, clearly visible in her bright white coat with a fur collar, as she shouted loudly and visibly pleased with herself that the president was a “liar.” This time too, the MP couldn’t be missed – thanks to a red “Make America Great Again” cap. Others wore T-shirts with Trump’s mugshot.
Not to be missed was Marjorie Taylor Greene with her “Make America Great Again” cap.
Acoustically, the Republicans couldn’t compete with the excited Democrats, but they repeatedly managed to involve Biden in small skirmishes only to find that he had the laughs on his side.
Priceless was the facial expressions of Johnson himself, who was constantly in the picture behind Biden and gave a bored eye roll along the lines of “Really now?” cultured, but sometimes also nodded involuntarily, for example on the subject of school education. That could prove bad for his Republican career.
Republican Troy Nehls also attracted attention in a T-shirt with a portrait of Trump.
4. Biden presents himself as a caretaker
As expected, Biden presented himself as a concern for families and working people, while he portrayed Trump as a protector of the rich and an enemy of democracy. However, he did not mention the name, but only spoke of “my predecessor”.
Biden called on the Israeli government more clearly than usual not to use aid for the Gaza Strip as a means of pressure. His announcement to build a temporary port off the coast was one of the key statements of the speech and clearly an attempt to reach young and progressive voters.
Climate protection was touched upon rather briefly; the protection of artificial insemination and abortion appear to be important election issues, as Biden went into it in detail.
5. Trump calls Biden “angry and crazy”
And how did Donald Trump react to the speech? The ex-president is afraid of germs (he describes himself as a “germaphobe”) and can’t stand Biden. During Biden’s “State of the Union” the two apparently came together when he posted after the speech: “Don’t shake his hand, he’s been coughing in there all night!” Trump spent the evening in front of the television and was apparently quite upset.
The promised live fact check on his “Truth Social” platform consisted of statements like “He wants to take away everyone’s guns.” Or: “The Republicans have no plan to cut Social Security, a made-up story by Fraudster Joe!”
He also made a barrage of Trump-typical comments, such as “He’s so angry and crazy” and “The coughing, the coughing, always the coughing!”
Conclusion: momentum, but no turnaround
Biden has shown that he can and wants to fight. Is that enough to convince the skeptics? During the 1980 campaign, Ronald Reagan asked a question that is often quoted today: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” Many Americans spontaneously say “no.” If Biden wants to win, he has to change that.
And by the way: Yes, there is actually a “designated survivor”, a minister or, more rarely, a minister who is not there – in case there is an attack. This time it was Education Minister Miguel Cardona. He watched Biden’s appearance from a distance at a secret location. So if there had been a deadly attack on the Capitol during the State of the Union address, he would have been the only surviving member of the government to become president.