Every year the current president gives the State of the Union Address before Congress. This speech is an opportunity for the president to tell congress the problems and issues that they want to see fixed within the nation, through congress’s powers. This year, the address was particularly important and potentially advantageous due to the fact that Biden is running for reelection. The State of the Union address took place on March 7, at 9:00pm EST.
Biden walked into the chamber, greeting constituents and taking selfies everywhere he turned. It took Biden ten minutes to reach the podium where he would deliver his address. Considering the nation’s concern about President Biden’s health and age as of late, Biden spoke as if he was shot out of a cannon. Making jabs at his “predecessor,” speaking down upon the actions of the Republican party and making promises that ignited multiple ovations from the Democratic party.
There were a myriad of topics that Biden touched on within his speech. One thing he talked about were the things that have improved since his term and that he wishes to keep improving. Two of these things that go hand in hand were job creation and inflation.
Biden is no stranger to speaking on his job creation accomplishment. Extracted from a speech Joe Biden gave on December 8 via The White House website he said, “The economy created 199,000 jobs in November, for a total of over 14 million jobs since I took office. That’s more than 14 million additional Americans who know the dignity and peace of mind that comes with a paycheck. The unemployment rate has remained below 4% for 22 months in a row, and inflation has fallen by two-thirds.”
Inflation was brought up early in his speech when talking about how we have turned “setback into comeback.” Biden said, “Wages keep going up. Inflation keeps coming down. Inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent — the lowest in the world and trending lower.” These are just some of his boasts, which are supported by data, but some people believe these accomplishments can be discredited since they occurred post-pandemic. The economy could only have gone up after Covid, due to the massive job loss with quarantine, but the improvements still stand.
Biden explained the many hopes that he has for the future. He wants a sufficient decrease in student loans for public service workers; an increase in the taxes of big corporations and very wealthy people; increase teacher wages; a decrease in insulin prices, as well as other drugs; and to “…restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.” All of these hopes have a trend to them, a consistency that lies within their values. Biden is really trying to be a president for the people, wanting to enact changes that uplift the lower and middle class.
“Above all, I see a future for all Americans. I see a country for all Americans. And I will always be President for all Americans because I believe in America. I believe in you, the American people.”
President Biden also spoke on international affairs, like Israel and Palestine; Russia and Ukraine; and China. Biden urged Israel to not put humanitarian assistance on the back burner and stated the immense importance of innocent lives within their conflict with Hamas on the Gaza strip. Biden also said, “…the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time. Concerning the Russia and Ukraine conflict, Biden stressed how America’s inaction could cause a domino effect that leads to the deterioration of democracies, like our own.
“If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish to do us harm. Briefly, but notably, Biden says to China that we will no longer tolerate their unfair economic practices and we wish ‘peace and stability’ for the Taiwan Strait. He also stated that, “We want competition with China, not conflict.”
The duration of the State of the Union Address included a ton of heckling from Republican house representatives. One of these Republicans was Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. According to the Washington Post’s reporting on the matter, they say MTG arrived “Wearing a bright red ‘Make America Great Again’ hat and pins on her lapel referring to Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who was killed in February.Greene shouted at Biden, who had picked up one of the pins honoring Riley on his walk to the rostrum to give his speech.”
The happenings of this and other events is especially interesting considering that House Speaker Mike Johnson advised his colleagues to show decorum and not heckle during the speech the day prior, behind closed doors. Although the killing of Ms. Riley was tragic and should never be repeated, Biden said flatout in his speech that, “I will not demonize immigrants, saying they are poisoning the blood of our country,”.
This goes hand in hand with his mention of how he will fix the border, with no issue if there’s legislation for him to sign. He talks about how the nation can either talk about fixing the border or we could actually just go on and fix it.
The southern border was brought up one last time in the latter part of the night when the highly anticipated Republican response by Alabama representative, Katie Britt, spoke about being a mom; how out of touch Biden is to the American people; and a sex trafficking incident that happened to Karla Jacinto.
Although sex trafficking is very real across America in general, Jacinto says she was sex trafficked before Biden’s presidency and that the usage of her story for political gain was “not fair”, as CNN reports. The Republican response overall was performative and heavily scripted. The timely points that the Republican party potentially wanted to convey was overshadowed by a motherly performance at a kitchen table.
The night was over, with very few applause or even smiles from the Republican party and Biden taking a stand to show how well he still is for the job as our president. You can’t help but wonder, “Is this the way it’s supposed to be?” There’s extreme partisanship within our government and it was apparent more than ever March 7th within the U.S. Capitol. Here’s some insight from Millbrook educator, Mr. Segal, on the matter: “When people are not inspired by any one individual, they tend to lean pretty hard into their party platform instead, which in our current state of affairs are very far apart from each other. I am hopeful that once the election is over and the cameras aren’t so bright that the government will get back to work and focus on the American people as a whole, not just what is best for their individual party constituents.”
