Biden Delivers ‘Fiery’ Campaign Speech
The state of the union is apparently fiery.
As has mostly been the case in recent years, I skipped the State of the Union last night. The reaction of the press to it was almost comically uniform.
Beginning with the overseas press:
BBC (“State of the Union: Biden draws election battle lines in fiery speech“):
President Joe Biden delivered a fiery State of the Union address on Thursday, taking repeated swipes at Donald Trump and covering the broad themes of his re-election campaign.
Mr Biden used the term “my predecessor” to refer to Mr Trump 13 times in a speech that lasted more than an hour.
He accused his likely election opponent of “bowing down” to Russia and criticised him over the Capitol riot.
Mr Biden also covered immigration, abortion, the economy and Gaza.
The atmosphere in the House chamber was raucous at times, with loud cheering from Democrats and heckling from some Republicans.
It was a spectacle more typical of a political convention than a State of the Union address – a constitutionally mandated report that is usually heavy on pageantry and policy.
But this is an election year and the stakes for Mr Biden were high. He was feisty and confrontational as he sought to draw the battle lines for his nascent campaign.
Reuters (“Biden takes on Trump and Republicans in fiery State of the Union speech“):
President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his case for re-election in a fiery State of the Union speech that accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and torpedoing a bill to tackle U.S. immigration woes.
In a 68-minute address to Congress, Biden, a Democrat, drew sharp contrasts with his Republican rival and gamely challenged Trump’s supporters in the chamber during a speech that was watched as much for the 81-year-old president’s performance as it was for his policy proposals.
Biden charged Trump, his Republican challenger in the Nov. 5 election, with burying the truth about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin and blocking a bill to tighten restrictions at the U.S. border with Mexico.
On the Middle East, the president said he had been working for an immediate ceasefire to last six weeks between Hamas militants and Israel, and he warned Israel against using aid to Gaza as a bargaining chip.
The greater thrust of his remarks focused on Trump, though Biden did not mention him by name.Biden opened by declaring democracy under threat at home and abroad and criticizing Trump for inviting Putin to invade NATO nations if they did not spend more on defense.
“Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever you want,'” Biden said. “I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”
Biden, who pressed Congress to provide additional funding to Ukraine for its war with Russia, also had a message for Putin: “We will not walk away.”
France 24 (“Biden takes on Trump and Republicans in fiery State of the Union speech“):
President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his case for re-election in a fiery State of the Union speech that accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and torpedoing a bill to tackle US immigration woes. France 24’s international affairs editor Kethevane Gorjestani delivers her verdict on the president’s address. [This is paired with a video]
Domestically, CNBC’s Christina Wilkie continued the theme (“Biden electrifies Democrats, spars with Republicans in fiery State of the Union address“):
A spirited President Joe Biden delivered a fiery, partisan State of the Union address on Thursday, fit for an election year with enormously high stakes in a divided nation.
“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault here at home as they are today,” Biden said early in the speech.
“What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack, both at home and overseas, at the very same time,” he said.
“Overseas, [President Vladimir] Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” the president said to cheers from Democrats and a applause to smattering of Republicans.
“My message to President Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down,” Biden said.
The president also celebrated Sweden’s ascension into NATO earlier in the day, as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson sat to the left of First Lady Jill Biden in her guest box.
On domestic policy, Biden was even more confrontational than he was on foreign affairs, repeatedly calling out Republicans and sparring live on TV with some of the loudest voices in the GOP caucus.
As a coterie of conservative Supreme Court justices sat just feet away from him, Biden excoriated them for overturning the reproductive rights enshrined in Roe vs. Wade.
“In its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court majority wrote that, ‘women are not without…electoral or political power’,” Biden said.
Then he paused and said to them, “You’re about to realize just how much.” With that, Democrats in the chamber jumped to their feet and clapped and cheered.
You get the idea.
Others:
- AP headlines their report “Biden uses feisty State of the Union to contrast with Trump, sell voters on a second term.”
- WaPo headlines theirs “Biden delivers State of the Union with fiery political tone.”
- YahooNews’ Andrew Romano gave us “Key takeaways from Biden’s fiery State of the Union speech.”
- Not to be outdone, ABC’s Tal Axelrod provided “7 takeaways from Biden’s fiery State of the Union.”
- CBS News labels their video “President Joe Biden gives fiery State of Union speech.”
Astute readers will have noticed a theme.
Given the narrative by Trump and his fellow Republicans—bolstered by the national press—that Biden is a dotard deep into senility, coming across as “fiery” is almost certainly a good thing.
As a general matter, I find the increasing practice of turning what is ostensibly an annual report to Congress on the state of the union into a partisan rally shameful. But that genie’s long out of the bottle and Presidents using the forum to embarrass their opponents, call out the Supreme Court Justices who are expected to sit there stoically for opinions they dislike, and the like has become the norm. As has jeering the President from the stands.
Beyond that, while there are certainly policy issues where I disagree with him, the President sounded strong themes about American foreign policy leadership that, not so long ago, would have resonated with the Republican Caucus—indeed, could easily have been delivered by Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, or either George Bush.
The state of the union is strong. The state of our unity is “borked”.
As I noted in the open thread, an Ari Fleischer tweet last night seemed to insinuate they jacked Joe up on something, and I think we’re soon going to be hearing more explicit versions of that claim.
Ari Fleischer
@AriFleischer
No one is going to remember a single thing Biden says tonight. Everyone is going to remember how weirdly amped up he is and how bizarrely fast he’s speaking.
9:52 PM · Mar 7, 2024
@Kylopod:
Maybe Ari was watching Don Jr. and got confused.
Meanwhile Republicans all tried to climb on DRT’s “Why’s he yelling?” comment, as though this would land a media pile-on and he would come tumbling down like Howard Dean.
One of my favorite German words is Arschkriecher. That’s all I can think of when these people parrot his 3 barely-comprehensible lines.
I agree that it was very uncivil of Biden to note that Trump wants to be a dictator and to call out Putin’s allies in Congress.
But no worries, by Monday he will be old and senile again.
Does anyone want to talk about the Katie Britt GOP rebuttal?
They are having a fine old time mocking it over at BJ:
https://balloon-juice.com/2024/03/07/shut-up-hissy-kitty/
https://balloon-juice.com/2024/03/08/grim-dawn-open-thread-another-angle-on-gops-katie-britt-rebuttal/
The cognitive dissonance on my Facebook this morning is quite amusing. All the Trumpies seem….upset….that he didn’t come across as a feeble-minded old man, like they’ve been told.
Gee, according to Trump, “Biden’s speech is getting panned all over the world.”
@charontwo:
NYT on Britt:
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1765963925122638215
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/07/us/politics/alabama-senator-gop-response.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bE0.LGV8.xD4y8UCtNc2N&smid=url-share
gift link to NYT above
https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1765964891771277633
Katie Britt is popular with GOP megadonors, people Trump very much needs with his/GOP precarious finances. So – very much in the VP running, and also with appeal to evangelicals.
@charontwo: My “Somewhat More Political” family message group is roiling right now over a discussion of who should play her on Saturday Night Live.
@charontwo:
Trump claims Britt was fabulous. His fan club seems to disagree.
http://www.rawstory.com/katie-britt-sotu/
@charontwo:
I love my kitchen, and I would never, ever use it as background for a political speech.
There are two types of SOTU responses: ones that are remembered as disasters, and ones that are remembered as meh. The person should consider themselves lucky if they fall in the latter category.
It’s fun watching the MAGA meltdown this morning. It’s obvious to anyone paying attention that Biden crushed all expectations last night, while Katie Britt has even GOP partisans freaking out.
You can tell how well Biden did by the “outrage” by people like Hannity (and Fox in general) over the positive reaction to the speech by most media outlets.
HAHAHAHAHAHA
Holy hell. For everyone wondering “Why TF in a kitchen?” I’m guessing this was supposed to be a nod to the evangelical crowd who think that’s where women should be, making sammiches.
I don’t watch the SOTU or the speeches because they are theater, not information. But the aftermath of the response is…something to behold.
@Kylopod:
There are two invitations where the correct answer is “new phone…. who this?” One is Isaac Chotiner from the New Yorker asking to interview you. The other is an ask to give the SoTU response.
This goes double for rising stars and super brains.
(Context for Chortiner: https://danieldrezner.substack.com/p/why-do-people-talk-to-isaac-chotiner)
It seems the focus on Biden’s age and decline has backfired.
Pretty much the Republiqans, led as always by Lardass A. Drumpf, have succeeded mostly in lowering the bar for the president. And I mean they set it really low, like maybe under a Planck length off the ground by now.
@CSK:
I, for one, hope that Katie Britt is his choice to be Vice President.
@Kathy:
lol … That was the worst ‘set design’ I’ve seen since Covid forced people to Zoom meeting participation. I half expected her to excuse herself because the chocolate chip cookies were burning.
I can understand reporters and commentators using the same words right after the speech. After all, they have to get copy out fast. If, in a few days, they are still using the same, then they are just lazy.
I feel the same as the use of the word “firebrand” which apparently only applies to conservative or right wing. As in, “conservative firebrand” Marjorie Taylor Greene. Just lazy and unimaginative writing. It just grates after a while.
FWIW, anyone who is complaining that this was a campaign speech–in particular on the Republican side–is demonstrating how brief a memory they have. Likewise the same goes for Democrats complaining about Republicans breaching respect protocols.
For context, here is James write up of Trump’s 2020 SoTU (which was delivered earlier in the year, just prior to COVID reaching our shores.
https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sotu-ends-pretense-of-normalcy/
Tl;dr: Among other things, Trump gave a campaign speech and disrespected the Dems. Pelosi gave him a tepid introduction and tore up the speech at the end of it.
My morning routine is to read online WAPO, my local paper, the regional Tampa paper, and then NYT. I saw no mention of the counter-SOTU until I got to the Times, and when I went to find it again the story’s been demoted off the home page. It begins,
(Not going to spend a gift link on the article.) That was my reaction. We were watching a not very good movie on Netflix, decided the SOTU should be over, and caught the last few minutes of Biden and the first few of Britt’s response. My thought was, “Jeez, these people claim Hillary is shrill.” and went to bed. Way worse than watching Rubio fumble for his water bottle. If she was on Trump’s veep list yesterday, she isn’t this morning.
Let me add a general comment. These responses to the SOTU never seem to respond to the SOTU. What I heard of her speech could have been, and presumably was, written last month. “The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader.” hardly seems responsive to what James notes everybody else called a fiery SOTU, in which poor, dithering Biden, 81, ad libbed (OK, rehearsed ad libs) pretty effectively by all accounts. Is it that GOPs can’t ad lib? That they can’t afford writers who could anticipate the SOTU and have some stand by paragraphs drafted, ready to slip a couple into the teleprompter? That their speakers couldn’t handle a few unrehearsed lines on the teleprompter?
@al Ameda: You note COVID and Zoom. I pretty much got used to kitchens as backdrops for talking heads during COVID, and many still do it. Also dens, hotel rooms, living rooms, what have you. As with Britt last night, my reaction is often, “That is one clean, orderly kitchen. She must have help.”
@Kathy:
Someone, and I don’t find it above, commented that at several points Johnson looked like he was thinking of his unruly caucus members, “Don’t you people recognize bait when you see it?”
Oh well, at some point Biden will make a gaffe and the supposedly liberal MSM narrative will return to “81! Don’t you understand he’s 81!!’
As per usual, I didn’t watch.
From the morning reports, I gather that Biden did well in terms of not having any age issues and focused on promoting ideas popular with the Democratic base.
Overall, sounds like another typical SOTU. It will be interesting to see the viewership numbers when they’re available.
@Andy: “It will be interesting to see the viewership numbers when they’re available.”
I’m sure they’ll be down again, for the umpteenth time in a row. It’s much harder to make oneself sit through something like this when you know all the best bits are going to be all over the internet the next morning.
If I were still on the west coast I might have watched. But a 9:30 start time? No way…
@gVOR10:
Depending on the zoomy conference call/meeting, I relied on two virtual backdrops in my calls: (1) a calm, beautiful view of the Med from my villa’s veranda, and (2) the shot-up bridge of the Galactica after the Cylons shoot up the ship. I can’t help but think that either one would have preferable to seeing her kitchen (there’s way too many just like it here in Puddletown).
@Flat Earth Luddite: I often used Four Seasons Landscaping as a background, and it generally went unnoticed and unremarked upon.
I can see why Britt would not want to use that.
@gVOR10:
Soylent Green is People! Folks, Soylent Green is Pe…I mean don’t you understand Biden is 81!
It felt like you were teeing me up to provide the above response to your post. Apologies in advance to any fellow OTB folks who felt my attempt at humor fell flat.
@gVOR10:
One thing I learned from all the remote Zoom meetings is that some of my colleagues had very very nice home offices.
@Andy:..It will be interesting to see the viewership numbers when they’re available.
I watched some of it on my phone via CNN. That timed out and then I think my next phone access was via MSNBC (not sure). Don’t know if this will show up in viewership counts or not.
Didn’t stay tuned for the whole thing as I had to listen to the SIU Salukis on the radio lose out in double OT to University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus Flames in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference Basketball Tournament 84-82.
SIU fired head coach Bryan Mullins today after a 5 year 86-68 run.