Will it be this guy?
President Joe Biden won’t mention a certain multiply indicted someone during tonight’s State of the Union address, but TFG will be the the elephant in the room.
Dan Pfeiffer notes:
Tonight, you will likely hear President Biden run through his impressive list of accomplishments — the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and so forth. If you read this newsletter, you have heard Biden talk about these things countless times. You know all about it. Well good for you, but you are in the minority.
Biden will use tonight’s address to accomplish multiple things. One of his main goals will be to replay for Americans his greatest hits: wage gains, low unemployment, and factory construction generated, in part, by onshoring industry that had left the U.S. As Pfeiffer suggests, it’s lengthy, and most Americans have no idea what Biden’s accomplished since beating Trump in 2020.
Because the GOP message machine is working overtime to make sure Americans don’t. More on that later.
As important, Biden needs to make no mistakes. That’s a tall order, and one reason the address may be shorter this year. The press will be watching like hawks for stumbles. Biden is old. Have you heard? Even with viewership down for the SOTU, it is still likely to be Biden’s biggest audience of the year. The White House wants snappy clips for the news, not gaffes.
One way Biden will try to quiet the “he’s too old” narrative will be by bringing some heat tonight. The Washington Post reports that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders since last fall has urged Biden to take on the disconnect between how well the economy is faring (great) versus public perception that it’s not:
In the roughly hour-long meeting, Sanders urged Biden to affirm the public’s frustration over the economy and focus on identifying the political opposition to enacting the president’s agenda — such as big businesses and pharmaceutical firms — rather than convince the public they should be pleased with current circumstances. Sanders also quoted to Biden a line from a 1937 address by Roosevelt, still two years from the end of the Great Depression: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” Sanders has personally reiterated the message multiple times since then, including in another meeting at the White House with top officials last week, the people said.
Another way Biden will try to tamp down “he’s too old” on the anniversary of the police riot at the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Ala. 59 years ago, will be by bringing some heat and some Dark Brandon energy to the address. Let the GOP jeer. They’ll do it anyway.
Recall last year’s speech, the Post adds in another story:
Biden’s delivery must be snappy and strong with notes of defiance and wit, they say. One Democratic aide said this speech is more important than any poll that has been released recently.
Democrats hope he has another speech like last year’s, when he accused Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare. That led to outbursts by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and others who yelled “liar” and “you lie.”
Biden then declared, “We all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare are off the books now, right?”
Democrats erupted in applause and laughter.
“People want to sort of see how the president is doing,” said Michael Waldman, a Bill Clinton speech writer. “They want to see if he has vigor and command and is a happy warrior.” So do I.
For their part, Republicans are trying to retcon the Trump years, as we saw on Wednesday in clips from Rep Elise Stafanik’s (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.).
Chris Hayes punched back.
Biden’s job is not just to remind voters what he’s accomplished, but to rub Republicans’ noses in the mess (and violent insurrection) Trump left in his wake.
I’ll be watching to see if Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a Trump boot-licker, will actually utter the words, “I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the United States.”
MAGA Blasphemy!
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