The President of the United States made an emotional endeavor to persuade Democrats of his sentience—rather than being “sleepy” and destined for defeat. He chose to opt out of delivering a traditional State of the Union address. Instead, he decided to turn the once unifying event into the most overtly partisan and divisive in recent memory. The notion that he could endure through a speech of such length was astonishing to many. Not surprising to them, undoubtedly, is the realization that many assertions made in this speech were lies.
As always, the speech was too long and persistently marred by dictatorial-esque applause—akin to what may have been heard in Saddam's Iraq. The administration brought guests solely to showcase them as political tokens and pledged fantasies. It was a long speech about how big government can save your life.
The Constitutional requirement is that the president “from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union.” Remarkably, the initial portion of the speech did not refer to the state of our Union. Mr. Biden kicked off the address by comparing the Russian threat to Ukraine to Donald Trump’s potential election. One might speculate whether Mr. Obama has been providing him with remedial evening courses on dividing the country in extraordinary ways. To trivialize aid to Ukraine as a mere battleground of Democratic versus Republican contention is a staggering abdication of ethical duty on Mr. Biden’s part. Such partisan framing harms the prospects of getting crucial aid passed that the Ukrainian people need to repel Vladimir Putin’s aggression. Yet, it appears this administration revels in exploiting any tragedy for political gain.
Subsequently, he shifted focus to the events of January 6th—accusing Republican members of a lack of patriotism while insinuating that a significant swath of the American populace embodies the very antithesis of virtue. Astonishingly, for a sitting President of the United States, the bulk of his address was dedicated to vilifying a fair portion of the citizenry he swore to serve. Four years prior, Mr. Biden campaigned to transcend the day’s partisan bitterness—promising to evoke the nation’s finest rather than its basest instincts. In his inaugural speech, he proclaimed that his “whole soul” was in “uniting our people” and “uniting our nation.”
The entire narrative rings hollow. This man, in a position to fix things, says he needs to be reelected to the same position to fix things. The address was rife with the usual liberal tropes—vilifying “my predecessor,” mentioned an unprecedented fourteen times, and Republicans, vociferously scolding the Supreme Court justices to their faces for overturning Roe v. Wade and suggesting they “don’t realize the politics that oppose your legal decision.” This rhetoric is even more jarring considering the recent assassination attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Undoubtedly, this speech was a triumph for the progressive Democrat. It sounds like the Democratic National Convention speech to be given in Chicago this summer. Maybe the two addresses got swapped? A fair portion of the speech focused on Mr. Biden’s two-state solution—keeping Michigan and Minnesota in the Democratic column.
He spent much of the speech heaping critique against Israel rather than Hamas terrorists. Opting to accept figures from said terrorists over those from our ally, Mr. Biden lamented the casualty toll from Israeli operations in Gaza. He then announced the deployment of American troops to construct a port in Gaza to facilitate humanitarian aid that Hamas will intercept, no doubt, yet asserted this would somehow be accomplished without deploying ground forces. How exactly will we build it, then? Are we going to build it in the water and then give it a little push towards the coast? Inevitably, we will have to build it on the beach—has Mr. Biden even considered the risk of attacks from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, or other terrorists against our troops?
It’s a cheap stunt—meant to claw back anti-war students and voters in Dearborn. There was no attempt to reach out to the Jewish community about the increased threat of violence and fear many of them now live with—the president spared no time to mention the historic rise of antisemitism recently.
This address should dispel any lingering notions of Mr. Biden as a custodian of norms or a unifying figure. The only thing Mr. Biden has united in his presidency is the country against him. His approval rating sits in the mid-to-low thirties, and seventy-two percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. He is bleeding swing voters—and for good reason!
Swing voters will not believe the economy is great—they pay attention to their grocery, energy, and mortgage bills—nor will they believe that the Democrats champion border security and fiscal responsibility or that they have an unyielding dedication to democratic principles, especially after trying to scrub Mr. Trump off the ballot.
As I flipped through the channels over coffee, I found the adoration on ABC and CNN for the speech was almost comical, as if Mr. Biden had transformed into William Jennings Bryan and delivered the Cross of Gold Speech. It was sad, as if their cheers and praise could conceal our naked emperor. His speech, marred by frequent slurs, was egregiously partisan and angry—delivered with the same tone of an angry old man telling kids to stop skateboarding on the sidewalk.
Honestly, beyond its recently found partisanship, the whole thing is a waste of time. Nothing of substance ensues; the grand declarations made by the president are forgotten the next day, and the event is filled with noise that would drive the Grinch to ire. Not even King George III indulged in such ostentation. The rise of the State of the Union to a pep rally has coincided with the decline of civility, and decorum has been traded for the theatrics that voters are tired of.
The speech will resonate little beyond the confines of the Washington D.C. enclave, Northern Virginia, and a select group of overly zealous suburban dwellers, including myself, who have too much time on their hands—consider the viewership metrics. A minuscule fraction of the populace, approximately eight percent of Americans, watch the State of the Union, give or take.
The unmistakable takeaway from last night's speech was the insufficiency of the “Sleepy Joe” narrative. Whether bolstered by stimulants or genuinely more aware than many have been led to believe—Mr. Biden navigated and can navigate speeches with undeniable energy and dynamism—save for the occasional slur or gaffe. Should Republicans wish to make this State of the Union Mr. Biden’s last, they should focus on attacking his record, not the man's energy.
I found the most disappointing part of the speech was its unmistakable “Trumpian” essence—fraught with ire, saturated in hostility, unmistakably partisan, and intrinsically divisive. It is, at its heart, a quest for retribution. It's becoming clear that we are the “Divided States” of America, and one questions whether civility will ever return to our politics.