Pandemic, war and a rocky economy loom large over Biden’s first state of the union
Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday before a bitterly divided Congress, seeking to inspire a pandemic-weary nation deeply unhappy with its leaders and government, while projecting strength to the world after Russia unleashed the largest land war in Europe since the second world war.
The prime-time address comes at a precarious moment for Biden and the world. Speaking in the House chamber, Biden will interrupt harrowing coverage of combat in a European capital, as evidence builds that Russian attacks are striking civilian areas and Russian president, Vladimir Putin, threatens nuclear war.
It is a starkly different backdrop than White House officials had anticipated when they began drafting the speech, which typically draws millions of viewers.
“There’s no question that this speech is a little different than it would have been just a few months ago,” White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters on Monday.
Finalized between situation room meetings and calls with allies, Biden will attempt to deliver an address that balances the crisis with domestic challenges that polling shows are most important to American voters, such as the economy, inflation and a stalled domestic agenda. He has already warned that sanctions on Russia could cause oil prices to rise further. US inflation is already at its highest in decades.
The president, Psaki said, would use the opportunity to emphasize American leadership and to lay out his efforts to “rally the world to stand up for democracy and against Russian aggression.”
The speech, and all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds it, arrives as Biden’s approval rating falls to new lows, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Just 37% said they
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