Before his important appearance in Congress, some wondered whether the US President could even deliver an hour-long speech without making a mistake. Joe Biden passes the test.
With a combative appearance in Congress, US President Joe Biden tried to score points in the election campaign and dispel doubts about his mental fitness. During the traditional state of the nation speech to both chambers of parliament on Thursday evening (local time), the Democrat was energetic and aggressive.
The 81-year-old presented himself as a counterpart to his expected challenger in the November presidential election, Donald Trump, whom he did not mention by name, but simply referred to as his “predecessor.” This stands for anger, revenge and the past, he himself stands for decency, dignity and ideas for the future, explained Biden. He responded to skepticism about his old age with self-irony.
Biden is struggling with serious image problems
Biden wants to run for a second term in the presidential election at the beginning of November, but is struggling with serious image problems. His popularity ratings are in the basement – still below Trump’s ratings at the same time in his presidency. Many voters see the economy in poor shape despite growth and low unemployment. Recently, the US government’s Middle East policy has also alienated many Arab and younger voters. And many in the country see Biden’s advanced age as a major problem. He tried to score points with his appearance on all of these topics.
The thing about age
Biden offensively discussed his age several times. “I know it may not seem like it, but I’ve been at it for a while,” he joked. “Throughout my career, I’ve been told time and time again that I’m too young and too old. Whether young or old, I’ve always known what lasts.” Biden’s age is his biggest liability in the election campaign. He entered the White House in 2021 as the oldest president ever and would be 86 at the end of a second term. Biden regularly makes headlines with embarrassing blunders and slips of the tongue, which Republicans, especially Trump, regularly exploit.
Especially recently, negative headlines about Biden’s mental state have increased. The much-noticed speech in Congress in the middle of the election campaign was a kind of test for Biden to get out of the low mood. The President delivered the more than hour-long speech without any major embarrassing mistakes or slips of the tongue. At the same time, Trump continually criticized his opponent and posted three dozen live ticker-style posts on the platform he co-founded, Truth Social, during the speech in which he mocked the Democrat’s performance.
Chips, Snickers and lots of domestic politics
In large parts of the speech, Biden focused on domestic political issues that concern many Americans in everyday life: inflation, jobs, drug prices, rents, taxes, crime – but also the cost of chips and chocolate bars like Snickers. The issue of migration was a hot topic and was particularly hotly contested in the election campaign. Republicans interrupted the president several times with heckles, which Biden countered.
The president clearly distanced himself from Trump’s migration policy course. “I will not separate families,” said the Democrat. He will not ban people from entering the country because of their faith. And he will not “demonize immigrants and say they are poison in the blood of our country.” Instead, Biden again reached out to Republicans and called on them to work together. Most recently, at Trump’s behest, Republicans in Congress blocked a bipartisan negotiated law that provided more resources for border security and stricter rules.
Business
Biden devoted a lot of time to the economic situation, because the economic satisfaction of Americans could determine the election. And that’s exactly where it gets stuck. The US economy is actually not in bad shape. Inflation has fallen significantly. The situation on the labor market is also good. But that doesn’t seem to resonate with people in the USA. According to surveys, many people are frustrated by high prices in supermarkets. Biden praised the economic policy impulses he had set and argued that they were not immediately noticeable. “It takes time, but the American people are starting to feel it.”
Middle East
Foreign policy took up less space. However, the president placed a special emphasis on the Middle East conflict, as he has recently lost support among many voters here too. Muslims, Americans of Arab descent and many younger people in the country complain that the US is too one-sided on Israel’s side and is doing too little to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population. Demonstrators gathered not far from the Capitol on Thursday evening.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, in which terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 in Israel on October 7th. Israel responded with massive bombings and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
In his speech, Biden urgently denounced the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, promised further help to the people there and urged Israel’s leadership to do more to protect innocent Palestinians. The situation was “heartbreaking,” he lamented. “Israel must allow more aid deliveries to Gaza,” warned the Democrat. “Humanitarian aid must not be secondary or used as a bargaining chip.”
Biden announced that he had ordered the US military to set up a temporary port on the coast of the Gaza Strip to bring aid to the area by sea. In view of the catastrophic situation, the USA began delivering aid from the air last weekend. It is noteworthy that the USA feels compelled to take these steps because its ally Israel, which it supports militarily in the fight against the Islamist Hamas, is restricting humanitarian aid.
Ukraine
Biden also reiterated calls on Congress to release more aid to Ukraine, which has been resisting a Russian invasion for two years. Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be satisfied with Ukraine, Biden warned – and said directly to the Kremlin chief: “We will not run away.” The United States has been Kiev’s most important ally in the past two years since the start of the war, supplying weapons and ammunition on a massive scale. However, there has been no supply from the USA for quite some time. The background is a domestic political blockade in the US Congress, where Republicans have so far refused further aid to Kiev.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
