Biden to urge positivity and hope in State of the Union address
Despite the many challenges his presidency has been fraught with, US president Joe Biden will restore Americans’ opitmism in his State of the Union address.
Biden has had a difficult first year in office: from Donald Trump threatening US democracy to the Afghan debacle, from waves of new Covid variants to economic turmoil, and now Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Yet when he addresses the joint session of Congress on March 1, Biden hopes to bring out the positive. According to Biden’s Press Secretary Jen Psaki, the highlight of his address will be “His belief in the resilience of the American people and the strength of the American people.”
Biden claims he is delivering on his promises to unify the nation, end Covid-19 and restore US prestige abroad. However, Biden will have a hard time convincing the American public.
“I think we’re making slow progress on some of these things, but that’s where we’re moving,” he said in a recent YouTube interview.
In a new Washington Post-ABC poll, only 37 percent approve of Biden’s presidency, and 55 percent disapprove. An NPR poll found that more than half the country considers Biden’s first year a failure.
The disillusionment is building ahead of the November mid-term elections. Most likely the elections will deliver at least one of the chambers of Congress to Republicans.
American currently faces the highest inflation in 40 years. To add to it, Biden now also faces an enormous challenge through Russian actions in Ukraine.
Biden has been appreciated for imposing historic Western sanctions on Russia, while supplying the Ukrainian military with massive aid.
However, it is well established that US voters generally care little about foreign policy.
According to the Post-ABC poll, 54 percent of Americans think the economy got worse under Biden and only 17 percent that it improved.
The White House, however, insists that on the whole, the economy is booming.
Job creation and GDP have rebounded since the pandemic shutdown. Inflation, Biden argues, is temporary, linked to global supply chain issues triggered by Covid-19.
“It’s hard for people to get their arms around the fact that we’re the fastest growing economy for 40 years, wages are actually up and not down, unemployment is the lowest it’s been… just incredibly low,” Biden said in his weekend interview.
However, convincing the Americans about this is what is crucial in the State of the Union address.
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